Laurel of Mire Poix sent me some fancy Perigord truffles for review, what do to? Maybe I should ask Tinker and Tanker? They knew what to do! (Odd Richard Scary reference, sorry!)
I checked their web site and they had a nifty recipe for using the truffles under the skin of some game hen action. That’s something I could do, enjoy and complete without causing myself any undue grief. But where to find decent game hens? I didn’t want to buy the ones at my local grocery and my other haunts just don’t have them. I rested on my laurels for a few days and decided I was going to actually have to drive a distance to find what I was looking for, or did I?
While picking up the boys out in Lafayette, I remembered and spied Diablo Foods across the street from where I was idling at a traffic light. Diablo Foods isn’t for the feint of heart or the low in wallet funds. Their meat department is vast and well staffed, and breathtakingly expensive. I found what I wanted, good game hens, right there in the middle! Just in case I flubbed a run, I bought 4. Only came to 28 bux, sigh. I succeeded though and was on my way.
I’d had such great success with Kevin of Seriously Good‘s gastrique recipe, i decided to try it with apricots (there were in season at the time). And instead of actually following Mire Poix’s recipe (rules are meant to be broken), I decided to smoke the birds instead of roasting them or using their sauce.
I shaved the truffle and slid it under the skins, rubbed with salt-free butter, then a little bit of kosher salt over all. Install to smoker after the temp has settled, easy peasy. When dark meat has reached 160, pull and let rest. The gastrique recipe is dead simple and comes right together. J was lucky enough to be able to attend that evening and we dined like a king and queen on this exceptionally tasty meal. The truffles lend a nice earthy flavor, so delicate, so nice. The gastrique however, was a complete miss. It didn’t pair with the dainty truffled bird whatsoever. Don’t get me wrong, the apricot simmered with butter & vinegar was amazing, but it completely missed its mark. Oh, we suffer so. All things said, it was a great way to dress up those little birds and we enjoyed the meal greatly.
Thank you so much Laurel for thinking of me and my staff here at Meathenge Labs. Your gift was most certainly enjoyed and appreciated!
Biggles