I just saw the first robin of the season. Up north, the robin is the first sign of spring. Here in the Deep South, the robin shows up for the start of winter.
I've been watching geese for two weeks. Normally the geese arrive a few weeks ahead of the robins.
Not a lot of folks know this, but robins are fine eating. A mess of robins, a dozen or so, make a fine stew. Just breast them out, add veggies, and simmer in a brown gravy till tender. The meat will fall off the bone. It is dark meat, full and flavorful with very little fat.
I offer the recipe simply as old-time folk knowledge. Robins, of course, are protected songbirds and harvesting them is strictly illegal. I myself would never consider harvesting robins in this day and age. I've been told that the best way to take them is with a pellet rifle, making head shots so as not to puncture the breast. All this information comes from old-timers who did such things years ago. Or so I've heard.
I hear the Cardinal is the "fiercest of the robin-sized" birds, but I don't know how they taste.
ReplyDeleteWhat I want to know is... when will the mosquitoes die? There's been a couple cold snaps so far, but no luck. The mosquitoes are awful this year. (Course, there WAS a good deal of standing water last fall).
I agree that the mosquitos have been terrible. Normally, it takes a frost to kill the mosquitos, or at least hammer them back to the tolerable stage.
ReplyDeleteCardinal, btw, is good seared quickly over an open flame, then dipped in sloe gin as an aperitif. Don't ask me how I know that.... it was a long time ago. And to this day I cannot abide the taste of sloe gin.