It all brings me back to a very similar conversation I had in a place so very far off from here, the place my new British friends call "ArKansas." Guns are one of the great American debates, one of the most singularly divisive topics. Once in Arkansas, sitting on a tree stump around a campfire, the Commish told me that he taught his daughter how to use a shotgun when she was ten. He wanted to demystify it, to teach her responsibility, to help her understand it was a tool to be respected and understood. But in America, guns are not a.s.sociated with cla.s.s, but with those who are less evolved-more "backwoods." Here in the "backwoods" of England, however, shotguns and rifles are a symbol of cla.s.s and sophistication. They are desirable and viewed as useful, tools with a purpose. To know how to shoot them well is to demonstrate that you are, in fact, evolved. Somehow that notion was lost on the journey across the Atlantic. Hunting in the United States became a.s.sociated with some sort of white, middle-aged mancation-guys going out into the woods together to drink gallons of beer, tell dirty jokes, and occasionally shoot at something. But in truth, just like Texas Hill Country, this kind of hunting at Ellington is once-in-a-lifetime hunting-it isn"t easily accessible for an everyday omnivore.
I think about all of this as I walk slowly along the wet path back to the estate, listening to the conversation turn to another meal to come. It seems impossible that one could consume any more food and drink on this day, but there is the important matter of supper, which includes a bowl of drunken berries. Fergus is already making plans for the full English "brekkie" the next morning. But as is expected with the fragile human body, people begin to fall in and out of sleep on the couch in the library, leaning their heads on each other"s shoulders, breathing softly and sometimes heavily. Fergus sits with a girl"s head on his shoulder, puffing his pipe, wearing a faint look of amus.e.m.e.nt.
"Sleep, sleep, sleep," he says, "Sleep, sleep, sleep mode. And when you awake, if you"re so inclined, you can have a light pastor dinner." And we do. With cheeks ruddy and bellies full, we all fall asleep.
Curried Pigeon
Serves 4 The day of the British estate shoot, my college friend Annabelle invited me to help her "curry the pigeons." I had never done this before. She told me that curry was recently voted England"s national dish. We unhooked two pigeons from the larder, brought them down to the stone cellar, and plucked and breasted them. She had always just removed the breast meat, but I suggested we pluck the b.r.e.a.s.t.s and leave the skin on, to improve the moisture. The results were worth that bit of extra work.
2 teaspoons salt
4 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons hot curry powder
1 teaspoon c.u.min seeds
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 pigeon b.r.e.a.s.t.s, skin on or off, bone in
1. In a small bowl, combine the salt, garlic, curry powder, c.u.min seeds, and olive oil and rub the mixture into the pigeon b.r.e.a.s.t.s.
2. Place in a container and cover. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight or up to 3 days.
3. Preheat the oven to 450F. Remove the meat from the refrigerator.
4. Place the pigeon in a baking dish and roast for 10 minutes. Remove and serve each breast on a bed of watercress, or slice the meat thinly off the breastbone and serve it on toast points with chutney as an hors d"oeuvres.
Also try: brant, coot, duck, gallinule, goose, grouse, prairie chicken, partridge, pheasant, pigeon, ptarmigan, quail, rail, snipe
Browned Woodc.o.c.k with Sherry Sauce
Serves 2 to 4 as an appetizer Woodc.o.c.k should be cooked simply so that you can revel in the meat, which is so hard to obtain. I like to simply brown them and use a simple sauce based on the pan juices, for a little extra flavor. American restaurants and food stores are not allowed to serve hunted game, but in England woodc.o.c.k is sold at all kinds of farmers" markets and butcher shops. Sometimes they will even tell you exactly which woods it was hunted in.
4 woodc.o.c.k, bodies plucked and insides removed, heads and beaks still attached
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon b.u.t.ter
1/2 cup sweet sherry
1/2 cup game bird stock (page 212)
Pinch of cayenne
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Season the woodc.o.c.k inside and out with salt and pepper. Dust it on all sides with 1 tablespoon of the flour. Secure the beaks between the two legs by tucking each long beak under a toothpick, which is speared through the thighs (this is the most traditional presentation, because it features the impressive beak).
2. Melt the b.u.t.ter in a saute pan and brown the woodc.o.c.k on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Remove the woodc.o.c.k from the pan and set it aside. Place the pan on the stove top. Deglaze the pan with sherry and bird stock; let simmer and reduce for 2 minutes. Whisk in the remaining tablespoon of flour, until there are no lumps and the flour begins to bubble, 1 minute. Season with a pinch of cayenne and a dash of lemon juice. Let simmer and reduce for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Pour the sauce over the woodc.o.c.k while it is hot and serve immediately.
Also try: brant, coot, duck, gallinule, goose, grouse, prairie chicken, partridge, pheasant, pigeon, ptarmigan, quail, rail, snipe
Duck with Cherry Sauce
Serves 2 to 4, depending on the type of duck When cooking a whole duck, it is important to consider the variety. A shallow water duck (e.g., mallard, teal, pintail, gadwall, black duck, wood duck) is ideal, one that has been feeding in grain fields, versus one (e.g., canvasback, redhead, scaup, and ring-necked duck) that has been deep-diving for fish. Any duck that is being cooked whole will also benefit from a brine (page 219), so that the breast meat and leg meat cook a bit more evenly.
1 whole shallow water duck, skin on
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons b.u.t.ter
3 shallots, minced
1 cup frozen or fresh cherries, pitted
1/4 cup vermouth
1 cup duck stock (page 212)
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1. Preheat the oven to 450F. Season the duck with salt and pepper inside and out. Cut 1 tablespoon of b.u.t.ter into pieces, slip them under the skin, and ma.s.sage them throughout the skin.
2. Truss the duck with kitchen twine. Brown it on all sides in 1 tablespoon of the b.u.t.ter in a heavy-bottomed pan. Remove the duck from the pan and set it aside.
3. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of b.u.t.ter to the pan. Sweat the shallots and add the cherries. Deglaze with the vermouth and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the stock and thyme and simmer for 5 minutes.