This is a lovely, simple recipe for roast chukar; Hungarian partridges would work fine, too — as would a domestic Cornish game hen. Partridges are in many ways little pheasants, with a flavor closer to chicken than their cousins the grouse.
Also like chicken, chukars can get dry in a hurry. That’s why I advise brining the birds overnight before roasting. It will give you a lot of wiggle room in the roasting process without making the bird a dessicated mess.
I have another recipe for salt-baked roast partridge, which is pretty spectacular, as well as a summertime recipe for grilled partridges.
Roast Chukar or Partridge
The sauce I chose to go with this recipe is an apple-based one; I like the combination of "chickeny" birds and apples. You make the sauce at the end, while the chukars are resting, so have everything ready to go before you get to that point. Serve this with polenta or mashed potatoes.
Servings: 2 people
Calories: 1113kcal
Ingredients
- 2 chukars or Hungarian partridges
- Kosher salt
- Celery stalks
BRINE
- 1/4 cup kosher salt
- 4 cups water
SAUCE
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons demi-glace, or 1 cup stock, boiled down by half
- 3 tablespoons Calvados or other apple brandy
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Get your tap water as hot as it'll go and pour 4 cups of it over the salt. Stir to dissolve. Let cool to room temperature. Submerge the birds in the brine, cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.
- Remove the partridges and pat them dry. Let them sit out at room temperature for 20 minutes, while you preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Stick a quarter of a lemon into each bird. Lightly salt the birds; they'll already be a little salty from the brine, so don't go overboard.
- Get a cast-iron pan or other oven-proof pan and lay down the celery stalks -- these are to keep the partridges up off the bottom of the pan. Roast in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Check for doneness with a thermometer. You want the breast to be about 155°F.
- Remove the birds to a cutting board to rest, then put the pan on the stove. Turn the heat on to medium and remove the celery.
- Melt the butter in the pan and sauté the shallots until the begin to brown. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well to combine. Cook down by half and turn off the heat.
- Serve the sauce over mashed potatoes or polenta and under the chukars. I prefer a big white wine with this, like a Chardonnay or a white Cotes du Rhone.
Nutrition
Calories: 1113kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 162g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 372mg | Potassium: 1887mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 350IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Iron: 35mg
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This was great. Made it last night with 4 chukkars I shot the day before.
One change I made was to put a layer of bacon over the birds (skinned, but otherwise whole) in the oven. Took just under 32 minutes to reach 155 degrees but low and slow is the way and the bacon added both some additional flavor as well as fat to keep them moist. Plus we had the benefit of bacon on the side. Served them over a layer of mashed sweet potatoes.
Very nice early fall dinner.
also, do you have any suggestions on the brine for these birds? will just basic brine (4tbsp salt: 1 quart water) work okay?
The chukars I have are quartered/halved. Can I still use the recipe if they’re not (quite) whole? I figure I could still brine them, and roast them atop some lemons?
Ashley: Skin on? Sure, you could roast them as halves. Honestly I would not use this particular recipe for birds in that state. I’d pan roast them.
Very great recipe! I prefer to use Huns, but Chukars work equally well. The apple brandy sauce is very good.
I cannot get Chukar with skin on; how should I alter this recipe so as to not have the birds dry out?
Rebekah: You don’t. Roasting birds without skin is a bad idea. But you can cook them this way: https://honest-food.net/2015/10/26/pan-roast-partridge-recipe/
I did this on a pheasant and just added a few extra dashes here and there. I only brined the Pheasant for 5 hrs too ( found it the morning I was making the meal). It turned out amazing still! Served over steamed rice. The sauce made the dish. Although the Demi Glacé is freaking hard to find if you don’t have time to make from scratch. great recipe
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Awesome recipe for chukar scale 1-10. =11