Sharptail Zürcher Geschnetzeltes or “Swiss Stroganoff”
This recipe is a 100% swiss classic. I had it many times in the four years I lived in Switzerland. Similar to a stroganoff, the flavor profile is quite different, due to the liberal amount of white wine.
It is traditionally made with the finest veal you can get, and I always believed that it was the wrong cut of meat for this flavorful and slightly heavy dish since the delicate veal flavor got lost in the white wine cream sauce.
Venison is another great fit for this dish, and I’ve made it plenty of times. Tasting my first sharp-tailed grouse last year I was sure I would find a fitting dish for this flavorful bird, and I believe it pairs well with this recipe.
The main target here is to not overcook the sharpie breasts during the sauce-making process. Therefore, we fry them first and take them out before we add anything else.
I made this dish many times on the road while hunting and people really like it. So here it is.
Sharptail Zürcher Geschnetzeltes “Swiss Stroganoff”
Ingredients
- 3-4 sharp-tailed Grouse/Prairie Chicken Breasts cut into strips
- 1 onion finely chopped (shallots are great too)
- 8 ounces of fresh mushrooms or 2 ounces of dried mushrooms (if using dried shrooms make sure to soak them ahead of time)
- 1.5 tbsp flour
- 1 cup of dry white wine
- 1 cup of heavy cream
- Zest of one lemon (optional)
- Parsley finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
- Egg noodles or Spaetzle
Instructions
- Heat fat in heavy large skillet or frying pan. I use duck fat or Ghee for this, but any high temp fat or oil will work. Add meat and fry on high heat till medium rare. Remove the meat and keep warm.
- Reduce heat and add onions. Sauté for a couple of minutes till onions get soft, add mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes longer. Now add the flour and mix it all up in the skillet. Make sure to scrape the bottom.
- Add wine and deglaze the pan making sure you scrape off anything that sticks to the bottom. Reduce the wine by about half.
- Add heavy cream, lemon zest and Parsley and stir over medium heat for a couple of minutes while you add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add meat and serve over egg noodles or spätzle.
