Salmis de Bécasse (Salmis of Woodcock) is a traditional French recipe for a classic game dish of woodcock that are oven roasted, quartered, and served with a sauce made from the bones, red wine and stock pounded to a smooth paste. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic French version of: Salmis of Woodcock (Salmis de Bécasse).
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Ingredients:
2 woodcock
2 tbsp butter, melted
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 clove
375ml red wine
400ml stock
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Method:
Brush the woodcock with the melted butter then place on a roasting dish, transfer to an oven pre-heated to 210°C and roast for 12 minutes. Quarter the birds and remove as much skin, bone and entrails as possible. Wrap the meat in foil and set aside to keep warm.
In the meantime, add the skin, bones and entrails to a mortar and pound with the clove and shallots until you have a smooth paste. Pour the wine into a pan and stir in the offal paste. Bring to a simmer and continue cooking until the volume has reduced by about half.
Stir the stock into the wine mixture and cook for a further 30 minutes. Skim any fat from the surface then pass through a fine-meshed sieve and continue cooking until the sauce reduces to a syrupy consistency.
Arrange the woodcock flesh on a plate, pour the sauce over the top and serve accompanied by croutons.
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