Maple-Glazed Grouse with Cedar-Smoked Pea Confit

This dish turns the humble pea into a silky, cedar-kissed confit, slow-poached in rendered bear fat with wild mint and spruce tips, then nests slices ...

4 servings
Canadian Wild Cuisine
🟡Intermediate★★★☆☆
Sep 28, 2025
17 views

Ingredients

🥬

300 g

Fresh peas

blanched and shocked in ice water

🌾

4 slices

Sourdough bread

1.5cm thick, lightly toasted

🥬

3 cloves

Wild garlic

or substitute young garlic

🍎

6 berries

Juniper berries

crushed with the back of a knife

📦

250 ml

Rendered bear fat

substitute duck fat if unavailable

📦

8 leaves

Wild mint

or substitute regular mint

📦

4 each

Fresh grouse breasts

skin-on, 150-180g each

📦

120 ml

Dark maple syrup

Grade B or late-season for intense flavor

📦

2 pieces

Jack-pine wood

or other resinous hardwood for searing

🥬

2 g

Black pepper

freshly cracked

🌶️

15 g

Coarse sea salt

for curing and seasoning

📦

2 handfuls

Cedar boughs

fresh green branches for smoking

📦

6 g

Spruce tips

fresh, finely chopped

Categories:🥩protein🥬vegetable🍎fruit🌾grain🥛dairy🌶️spice🫒oil💧liquid📦other

Instructions

Step 1
Set up a cold-smoker or stovetop smoker with cedar boughs and bring temperature to 25-30°C. Scatter the blanched peas on a perforated tray, smoke for 20 minutes, stirring once after 10 minutes to ensure even exposure. The peas should take on a light amber hue and resinous aroma without cooking further.
Step 2
In a heavy saucier, gently warm the bear fat to 70°C; do not exceed 80°C or the peas will burst. Add the wild garlic cloves, spruce tips, and half the wild mint. Slide in the smoked peas, ensuring they are completely submerged. Maintain 70°C for 2 hours; the peas will turn glossy and absorb the woodsy fat while remaining intact.
Step 3
Meanwhile, pat the grouse breasts dry. Using a sharp knife, score the skin in a 5mm crosshatch, cutting through the skin but not into the muscle—this promotes even rendering and creates pockets for the maple glaze. Rub with crushed juniper berries, coarse sea salt, and cracked black pepper. Rest uncovered in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to dry the skin.
Step 4
Preheat a cast-iron skillet over a jack-pine wood fire or on a stovetop set to medium-high (surface 220°C). No oil is needed; the bear fat from the confit will suffice. Place the grouse breasts skin-side down, pressing gently with a spatula for the first 30 seconds to ensure full contact. Sear 3 minutes without moving to achieve a deep mahogany, crispy skin.
Step 5
Flip the breasts, brush the skin with a thin layer of maple syrup, and sear flesh side 90 seconds. Brush the top with another coat of syrup, then transfer to a 190°C oven for 4 minutes (internal 58°C). Rest on a rack, skin-side up, for 6 minutes; carry-over heat will finish to a rosy 62°C.
Step 6
Warm the toasted sourdough slices on the edge of the pan to absorb a whisper of smoke. Spoon the cedar-smoked pea confit onto each slice, allowing some of the fragrant bear fat to soak in. Slice the grouse on a 30° bias into 5mm medallions, fanning over the peas.
Step 7
Finish with a final drizzle of maple syrup, a sprinkle of remaining wild mint chiffonade, and a few drops of the confit fat for gloss. Serve immediately while the skin crackles against the sweet, woodsy peas.

✨Chef's Tips

  • ★Maintain the confit temperature at a steady 70°C; use an instant-read thermometer every 15 minutes. Higher heat bursts the peas, lower heat fails to extract the cedar and spruce aromatics into the bear fat.
  • ★Choose Grade B or late-season dark maple syrup—its robust mineral notes stand up to game birds and smoke. Warm the syrup to 40°C before brushing so it spreads thinly and caramelizes quickly without burning.
  • ★If bear fat is unavailable, duck fat works, but add 2g of smoked paprika and 1g of porcini powder per 100ml to mimic the wild, earthy depth bear fat naturally carries.
  • ★Resting the cooked grouse skin-side up preserves the crispness; resting skin-side down steams and softens that hard-won crust. A 6-minute rest also relaxes proteins, ensuring juicy slices.
  • ★For an extra layer of boreal perfume, lightly torch a few cedar needles and quickly trap them under an inverted bowl with the plated dish for 30 seconds before serving—an aromatic veil that heightens the forest experience.
grouseconfitmaplecedar-smokedbear fatwild gameboreal