Fried Chipotle Ruffed Grouse Sandwich

If you love eating wild game as much as us, this time of year is… delicious. Recently, we went upland bird hunting in Manitoba’s Eastern Region and harvested a beautiful ruffed grouse. After getting back to the truck, Josh McFaddin cooked up an amazing Chipotle Grouse Sandwich. This is a certainty a recipe you do not want to miss, and is a recipe you can easily try for yourself the next time you venture into the grouse woods.

Ingredients (2 sandwiches)

• 2 grouse breasts
• ¼ Cup of our favourite hot sauce; Buffalo or Louisiana style work great
• ½ Cup of flour based seasoned meat coating
• Havarti cheese, sliced; jalapeno cheese is great
• 4 slices from a fresh loaf of bread

Chipotle Aioli

• About 1 cup canola oil
• 1 raw egg
• 2 Tablespoons crushed chipotle peppers in adobo
• Squeeze of lemon juice
• Pinch of salt

Slaw

• 2 cups purple or green cabbage, sliced very thin
• 1/4 cup red onion, sliced very thin
• Pinch of Salt + Pepper
• 3 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar

Instructions

For the Bird:

1. Flat pound grouse breasts2. In a bag, add breasts and hot sauce3. Coat in your dry flour coating until well covered4. Fry in canola oil at 350 degrees until cooked through and crispy (only a few minutes)

For the Aioli:

1. Start by cracking the egg into a large bowl, add in the chipotle, lemon juice and salt.
2. Whisk it all up until it’s well mixed. If accessible, this can be done in a blender.
3. Whisking real quickly, start to drizzle in the oil. As you whisk in the oil it will begin to bring all of the ingredients together as it emulsifies.
4. Keep on drizzling in the oil and whisking it in until things start to thicken and look creamy.
5. The more oil you add and whisk into the mix, the thicker it will get.

If things are looking runny, just keep on mixing and keep adding oil. Trust me, it will start to thicken up!

For the Slaw:

1. Mix together all of your ingredients in a large zip bag for portability.
2. Massage everything together until the cabbage and onion are well integrated and coated in the vinegar.
3. Set aside to let marinade for a few minutes.

The slaw will keep fresh for a few days in the fridge and can be used to top all types of snacks.

Assemble!

1. Take your bottom slices of bread and coat them with a solid spoonful of your fresh aioli.
2. Slap that hot bird breast down on there and place that cheese on top. Allow it to melt for a few seconds.
3. Take a generous amount of your slaw and stack that on top of the cheese.
4. For your final topper, spread some more aioli on your top pieces of bread and squish that down on top of the slaw.

You’re now ready to take a bite out of the best grouse sandwich you’ve ever made. Enjoy!

For more information on upland bird hunting in Manitoba, visit Hunt Fish Manitoba’s Game Bird page.

Celebrate the experience of hunting in Manitoba, submit your harvest to Manitoba’s Master Hunter Program.