I spent many weekends this summer scouting for elk, and during this time I came across many Blue Grouse or Dusky Grouse. In my early elk hunting days, one of my hunting partners would often harvest the grouse, but I had not undertaken this on my own. I was prepared, however as I knew my elk honey hole also had plenty.
One weekend as I walked to my wallow, I jumped a pair of grouse and was able to successfully take one with my bow. As I was planning to sit on the wallow for the afternoon, I literally had to field dress the grouse and put it in my backpack right there on the path. I took it back to camp that night and chilled it until the next day.
My children can be sometimes picky but I knew that this grouse was the perfect opportunity to try out my new air fryer. I took the grouse breasts and cut them into ¾ to 1 inch strips and prepared them along side some chicken thighs.
Ingredients
2 grouse breasts, cleaned and cut into strips
3 large eggs beaten
Approximately a cup of flour
Panko Bread Crumbs
½-1 Tablespoon of seasoned salt
Air Fryer
Directions
To make the tenders, first dip in the beaten egg then the flour and the panko. You want to make sure all of the surfaces are covered.
Place the breaded tenders in a preheated air fryer for 10 minutes at 370°F.
(Note: I also did this with chicken thighs; they needed to be cooked for 12 minutes.)
This is such a simple and easy way to cook grouse that is delicious and the whole family loves it. My son is constantly asking for more grouse. We are going to try duck next.