Fried Woodcock
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Dress and clean the woodcock.
Tie the legs and skin the head and neck.
Turn the beak under the wing and tie it.
Place a piece of bacon over the woodcock.
Cook and serve
Immerse in hot fat for 2-3 minutes.
Serve on toast.
Alternatively, split the woodcock through the back, broil while basting with butter, and serve on toast.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Woodcock
- Is the main protein, cooked whole or split, so it stays the centre of the dish.
- Bacon
- Lies over the bird and adds fat and savoury flavour as it cooks.
- Butter
- Basting fat in the broiled version, promoting browning and a rich, moist surface.
- Toast
- Serves as the base that soaks up juices and gives a crisp, plain contrast.
The step that matters
Immerse in hot fat for 2-3 minutes. Fat that is too cool soaks into the bird and makes it greasy, while fat that is too hot browns the outside before the inside is cooked. Keeping the fat hot and the time short gives a crisp skin and a moist interior.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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