Recipes & Cooking  |  09/24/2025

The Hunter's Table // Pan-Seared Sharptail Grouse with Raspberry Sauce

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By Danielle Prewett

There are many native grouse species in the US, but when it comes to cooking, they shouldn't all be treated the same. Sharptails and sage grouse have dark red breast meat and should be cooked similarly to wild duck and are best served medium-rare to preserve the flavor and color of their meat (which turns an unappealing gray if you cook it all the way through).

This story originally appeared in the Fall 2024 issue of Quail Forever Journal compliments of Danielle Prewett. Danielle's Wild + Whole cookbook is available at MeatEater.

Pan-Seared Sharptail Grouse with Raspberry Sauce Recipe Image

Pan-Seared Sharptail Grouse with Raspberry Sauce

Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 4 sharptail or sage grouse breasts
  • ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
  • 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
  • Neutral oil, such as avocado or grapeseed
  • ½ cup salted chicken stock, homemade or store-bought
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • ¼ cup frozen raspberries, thawed, juices reserved (see note)
  • 1 tablespoon salted butter

Note: I've substituted raspberries for the buffalo berries I used in the meal that inspired this dish, but if you live in an area where buffalo berries are accessible, use them!

Instructions

  1. Remove the grouse from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour before cooking. Using a mortar and pestle, coarsely crush the peppercorns. Add the salt and rosemary and mix well. Just before cooking, season both sides of the grouse generously with the rosemary mixture, reserving a bit to season the pan sauce.
  2. Heat a large stainless-steel skillet over medium-high heat. Coat the bottom of the pan in a thin layer of oil. When it begins to shimmer add the grouse (skin-side down, if plucked), using tongs to press each breast against the pan to get full contact. Cook, undisturbed, until browned on the bottom, 1 to 2 minutes, then flip. Cook until browned on the second side, another minute or two, then flip again and cook for about 30 seconds. Check the meat for doneness—pull it when it reaches medium-rare, about 130°F. (Sage grouse breasts will take a couple minutes longer to cook) Transfer to a cutting board to rest.
  3. Pour the stock, vinegar, and honey into the same pan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring and scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. Boil for 3 to 4 minutes, until reduced by about half. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the raspberries (and their juices) and the butter. Shake the pan vigorously to emulsify the butter into the sauce. Cook gently for about 2 minutes more, until the sauce has thickened. Taste and season with some of the reserved rosemary seasoning. (This might not seem like a lot of sauce, but trust me—a little goes a long way!)
  4. Serve the grouse immediately with the sauce spooned over top.
 

Danielle Prewett is the founder of Wild + Whole and a wild foods contributing editor for MeatEater. She is passionate about the outdoors because hunting, fishing, gardening, and foraging enable her to connect with her food and eat consciously. She is the author of Wild + Whole: Seasonal Recipes for the Conscious Cook, A Wild Game Cookbook.

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