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Roast Partridges With Grapes
(Rebhuhner mit Weintrauben)
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| What You Need: |
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2 cups seeded green or red grapes, or 2 cups green seedless grapes
8 canned grape leaves, or 8 washed fresh grape leaves
½ cup dry white or red wine
¾ cup chicken stock, fresh or canned
½ cup sour cream
3 or 4 small bunches of green or red grapes (optional)
10 slices lean bacon
4 partridge hearts, gizzards and livers
4 one-pound oven-ready young partridges
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 whole juniper berries, coarsely crushed with a mortar and pestle
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| How To Cook: |
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1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cook 2 of the bacon slices over low heat in a small skillet only until they are somewhat translucent and soft but not brown. Drain them on a double thickness of paper towels and then cut each strip into 6 equal pieces. Wash the hearts, gizzards and livers of the birds and pat them dry with paper towels. Then wrap them individually in small pieces of the cooked bacon, keeping the giblets for each bird aside separately.
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2. Wash the partridges quickly under running water and dry them thoroughly inside and out with paper towels. Sprinkle the cavities of the birds with salt and a few grindings of pepper, then stuff each bird with its wrapped giblets together with 2 of the juniper berries and ½ cup of the grapes. Neatly truss the partridges with white kitchen string. Drape 2 uncooked slices of bacon across the breast and thighs of each bird, pressing the bacon snugly against the bird to keep it in place. Drape 2 grape leaves over each partridge.
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3. Place the birds on their backs on a rack in a large, shallow roasting pan and roast them in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, basting them every 10 minutes with 2 tablespoons of the wine. Reduce the heat to 350°F, and carefully remove and discard the grape leaves and bacon from the birds. Continue roasting for 15 to 20 minutes, basting every 5 minutes or so with the remaining wine and then with the juices as they collect in the pan.
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4. The birds are done when they are a golden brown and the drumsticks feel tender to the touch. Remove the string, transfer the partridges to a heated platter and cover loosely with foil to keep them warm while you make the sauce.
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5. Pour the pan juices through a fine sieve set over a mixing bowl. Measure the strained liquid, add enough chicken stock to make 1¼ cups and pour it into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low and beat in the sour cream, a few tablespoonfuls at a time. Cook for a moment or two to heat the cream through. Do not let it boil.
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6. Taste and season with as much salt and pepper as you think it needs. Then spoon the sauce over the partridges and serveat once.
Traditionally, the birds are accompanied by Weinkraut and mashed potatoes. If you like, you may garnish the partridges with bunches of grapes or line the platter with additional grape leaves, arrange the birds on the leaves and garnish them with grapes. Then serve the sauce separately in a sauceboat.
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