Eating Ortolan

Here's one from the 'Wouldya! Couldya?' files. It seems there is an innocuous little song bird (25g-just less than an ounce), called the Ortolan that makes its way across the Landes region,to the south of Bordeaux on its way to winter with the Hippo in africa. As yer do.


Here's the strange bit, Not only is this little fella considered a delicacy, but it's eaten guts, feathers an' all and served on fire - yep a la Tweedy-pie and Sylvester. Gizzards, testicles, Goofy Girls cooking, I like to think of myself as an adventurous eater. But I'm not sure if I could!


As this takes place in France there are a few ritual elements to consider - you're supposed to eat them with a napkin over your head. Strange yes, but that's not the only part. they are trapped in nets, then kept tin the dark for a month being fattened up on grain, and then drowned in armagnac. Classy.




Trapping the Ortolan has been illegal in France for ages, an this is supposed to be the zero tollerance year, but being an activity that's only practised in the depths of the countryside by a dwindling band (you wouldn't have to ask why) of old people it's not usually considered for prosecution.


'François Simon, a restaurant critic for Le Figaro, has tried ortolans on several occasions. "It's absolutely delicious: rather crunchy, with the texture and flavour of hazelnuts,"'

Get the whole story HERE

EDIT Thanks to Hubert some background is here in a story from '97

Your Pal

SBW

James' New Bloggers

James has been up to his old tricks ferreting out fascinating new voices for the bloggersphere and they are up to his usual high standard.

Well I would say that wouldn't I, he discovered me!!

The latest addition to his sporting shooter blog network is a chap called Andy Richardson with two blogs; one about the hunting outfit he runs north of the border, and for the other, when not afield he's writing up his adventures as a smallholder raising, growing, cooking and pickling his own foods.

As the wild fowling season has come to and end on both sides of the pond Andy has an interesting post on shooting pigeons with an over the counter air rifle and turning them into a goulash, and on the west coast Hank (HAGC) has been cooking up some barn pigeons he shot at the start of the year.

Like most city dwellers i loathe 'flying rats' unless they're on my plate, so while i was looking for a picture from 'Stop The Pigeon' I found kill the pigeons, as you'll see it's a remarkable website!

Well worth a look
Thanks for reading
Your pal the bushwacker.

The Uplanders - Yet Another Kind Of Bushwacking

I've recently added a new voice to my blog roll. Upland Feathers is a site dedicated to the thrills and spills of bird hunting on the other side of the pond.
Robert (half of the husband and wife team who put it together), says it's 'for sporting adventurers who have a passion for grouse, pheasant, quail, woodcock, and wild turkey hunting'.
Here in blighty the game bird season has just finished, (the pigeon season never ends) and doesn't start again until the autumn (fall). I was hoping (PLEAEEEESE BABY) to get back to South Dakota this summer to take on the challenge of Ringnecks.
If (yes dear 'when') that plan fails I'm hoping to get back to the eastern US later in the year to hunt that legendary American game bird, the turkey.
That's how I came to have read Upland Feathers. The sites a very useful clearing house of information for the visiting hunter.Featuring Where-to hunt on public lands - Public Lands! there is NO PUBLIC LAND in the UK. NONE. They also introduced me to the term 'Unboxing' which is basically the joy of taking new gear out of the box - and who doesn't love that? They follow it up too with 'In the field' gear tests and reviews the services of the guides, lodges and outfitters who can put a trip together for you. Interestingly they cover the political climate for hunters by keeping up to speed with the latest regulations from state and federal wildlife agencies and the local habitat Conservation programs.

Worth a look even if you're not planning on being there any time soon
Thanks for reading
SBW.

Picture credit dakota-pheasant-hunting.com

Tis The Season To Be Silly

There's more!

Hunting Birds or should that be Birds Hunting?

I’ve started following a really neat blog where a grade ‘A’ foodie from northern California, who didn’t grow up around hunting, has taken up wildfowling and bird hunting. At the start of her adventure she suspects that being a woman taking up a male dominated activity will be the hard part….
Between the lunkheads and the professionally patronising, she finds the same challenges we all face when going into the great outdoors; finding clothes to protect us from the worst the weather can throw at us, weapons and tools that consistently do the business when asked, and someone to show us how to get a result.
Nor Cal Cazadora sites some recent research showing that while hunter numbers are down, the number of women afield is rising, and rising significantly.
Except at my house.
I’m forever trying to sell Mrs SBW the benefits of eating wild meat and hunting for it ourselves, she remains unconvinced. Meanwhile on the other side of the world BoB (brother of bushwacker) is married to a woman made of sterner (and more weatherproof) stuff. When Mrs SBW was pregnant she wanted to: reorganise storage and redecorate the house. When Mrs BoB was in the family way it was a different story. Just before they left for New Zealand, we all got together for a family dinner. At the table I saw her staring dreamily at a Sunday roast saying wistfully, “when I get home I really want to shoot a pig” Mrs SBW further endeared herself (although not to me) when she pointed at me and chipped in “you can shoot this one if you like”.

Thanks for reading
Bushwacker.


Translation ‘Birds’ is english for ‘Chix’
Photo Credit

Bird Hunting From The Sofa

Bowman 2

"You will discover that to be a good shot is not the half of what it takes to make a tolerable bird slayer."
Maurice Thompson, The Witchery of Archery, 1879

Playing this game's lot like the guilty pleasure of buying delicious junk food, the 'twofers' can really make your day!
Bushwacker
PS on the site where I found the game a fella gave one of the best pieces of advice I’ve heard in a while.
'Don't take life so seriously mate, no one gets out alive anyway'

Who's a Clever Birdy?

There’s a veterinarian who’s a regular reader of this blog, a few years back he bought a juvenile Koi for a couple of bucks and watched it grow into a handsome specimen. He kept it in a pond at his mum and dads house in suburban Glasgow.

One day as he was making breakfast when he saw a large Heron swoop down and make off with his fish. All he could do was sling a tin of baked beans into the sky and shout, “come back with my effing fish”.


Today’s Fishing-blog.co.uk has a great story about a very smart heron who uses bread to ground bait a restaurants Koi pond.

Bushwacker.

The Shoplifting Seagull

Each morning the feathered felon stands outside a corner shop, in Aberdeen Scotland, waiting for the owner to open up.
When the door opens, he struts in, bold as brass, and helps himself to a bag of spicy Doritos. In the spirit of Robin Hood the gull is then seen sharing them with his pals. Gulls are seldom popular birds but this one seems to be becoming something of a local celebrity.

Full story from the 'current bun'