Moroccan Spiced Grouse Breasts

Duane Radford | Article and Photos

When the publisher of Edmonton ’ s Sportscene Publications asked me if I was interested in writing a recipe column for a new magazine they were launching , I hesitated before answering . The magazine was the Alberta Outdoorsmen and the publisher thought that it needed a fish , wild fowl , and game recipe column . That was more than twenty years ago . I ’ m not a chef and hadn ’ t taken formal culinary training ; but , I figured if I turned down the offer somebody else would grab it . I ’ d already written similar articles for Sportscene Publications , so I said “ Of course , thank you !” I was , however , starting from ( basically ) scratch in what became a ( life ) long learning curve !

First , I researched the collection of recipe books that my wife , Adrienne , had assembled to see if I could find recipes that could be adapted for the magazine . I also tapped Adrienne for cooking information to make up for my lack of formal culinary training , and took cooking classes over the years to upgrade my knowledge about cooking in general , and barbecuing in particular . Barbecuing fish , fowl , and wild game is an art , not a science , because these meats are lean and have little fat . For the same reason , wild game should be cooked at a low or medium heat — and not overcooked — or it will be tough and chewy . It didn ’ t take long to figure out that not all cookbook recipes were genuine . Many were fake . Some had the wrong ratio of ingredients for marinades , ridiculous amounts and combinations

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