your thoughts on: Venison, duck, squab, rabbit, frog leg soup? Going to a fancy french place, what to order?

Question

hmmm, I dont like gamey things. I do like pork and white meat. Suggestions? But I also dont like animals I can recognize.

Answer 1

If you don't like gamey things, you may not like venison; I love it, but it has a rich flavor that almost (but not quite) makes me think of chicken liver and bacon. Still, a roast rack of venison in a classic sauce espagnole (saute carrots, onions, and celery with herbs, add tomato paste, cover in brown stock and reduce, then puree and thicken) is not to be missed. You need a big Bordeaux, like a Pauillac or a Medoc, for this -- or a powerful Rhone, or cross the Alps for a Barolo or even an Amarone. (Oh, I have goosebumps. Amarone was made to be served with venison. I can't believe I've never tried them together...)

Duck is delicious, not gamey but richer in flavor than chicken, and while not tougher, it is a denser meat. Duck (as does venison, for that matter) pairs very well with tangy fruit glazes -- cherries and orange are the classic additions, but my favorite duck was a pan-roasted Muscovy duck breast in a sauce made by deglazing the pan with cognac and demi-glace, then the chef tossed in a handful of fresh lingonberries (like tiny, sweet cranberries) and heated them till they swelled and burst. Fantastic.

Squab is highly reminiscent of dark-meat chicken, again not the least bit gamey but full in flavor. It's good with mushrooms, especially fuller-flavored ones like morels or black chanterelles, and is especially good if the pan is deglazed with something rich and earthy like armagnac. Though my favorite squab recipe is Chinese, minced with black mushrooms, water chestnuts and scallions and then served wrapped in lettuce leaves with a brushing of plum sauce.

Rabbit... I love rabbit. I like it simmered with dried tart cherries, cepes and shallots in a sauce made with madeira or dry marsala; I LOVE it served alla cacciatore over grilled polenta (not French, but the Medicis taught the French how to cook), and I even like it as the humble rabbit pie with carrots, onions and celery, served under an herbed biscuit crust. Rabbit is also denser than chicken, but it has very much that same savory but delicate flavor as a nicely seasoned chicken breast. If you like chicken and you are a heartless bastard like me, you will enjoy rabbit. Mmmmmm... can't forget lapin aux pruneaux, a Belgian rabbit stew made with dried plums and dark beer... About my only complaint about rabbit is that it's very bony, which makes it difficult to eat if it's just quartered and served. We like to brown the rabbit pieces (in a little bacon, as rabbit is so lean it needs a little fat to give it some texture and bring out the flavor), then pull it off the bone before dropping the pieces of meat back into the base of the stew where it can soak up the flavors of the wine, the aromatics, and the herbs. Highly recommended.

As for frog legs, everyone says they taste like chicken, but I think they taste more like alligator. The texture is chicken-like -- you know how the individual muscle groups in a chicken drumstick are separate when cooked? Well, frogs' legs do that too, but the flesh has a more reptilian taste -- ALMOST, but not quite, fishy. If you've ever had snapping turtle soup you'll recognize the flavor. Not for everyone (besides, I would be hard pressed not to kneel on the floor and sing "The Michigan Rag" while pretending to drag myself along with my hands. Why, yes, I AM utterly and hopelessly twisted, thank you for noticing...) The last time I cooked frogs' legs, though, I made them Cajun style, in an etouffee with crawfish, spicy sausage, and the "holy trinity" of Cajun cooking -- onion, celery, and bell pepper, with a rich tomato broth on top.

If it's a country French restaurant you're going to, you may be able to find a roast loin of pork stuffed with apricots, one of my favorites; try it with a Cotes du Rhone or a Cotes du Ventoux for the real southern French flavor (though if you prefer something lighter and chilled and don't mind wine from California, Bonny Doon's Vin Gris de Cigare is a bone-dry rose' made from the classic southern French varietals, syrah, grenache, cinsault and mourvedre; be sure to read winemaker Randall Grahm's notes on the bottle to find why he calls it "grey wine of cigar," it's a howl). Or raise some eyebrows and order an Oregon pinot noir, like a plump Torii Mor or an Argyle Reserve -- if they have the '95, it would be HEAVEN served alongside roast pork loin stuffed with apricots. It's very light in color and body, but it has that incredible blend of wild Italian cherries and black truffles in the aroma that I find so addicting in a good pinot noir.

And what about seafood? Coquilles St. Jacques -- scallops, about #4 on my list of favorite things from the ocean (we're having #1 or 2 for dinner tonight, fresh Copper River sockeye salmon, flesh as red as a ribeye steak and as finely grained as a maple plank...). The classic French preparation for scallops is to poach them in a little white wine along with baby shrimp and white mushrooms; then the scallops, shrimp and mushrooms are drained, placed on a heatproof platter and topped with a mornay sauce (a bechamel -- butter and flour, with milk whisked in -- to which cheese, usually gruyere, has been added), then browned under a broiler. Filet of sole a la belle femme is another classic, all about the technique and the delicacy -- dip the sole in flour, then in egg, then back in flour and saute in butter till golden-brown and crispy on the outside but tender and flaky on the inside.

Or if you don't like things that are recognizable when cooked, how about quenelles? They're made from pureed fish (we make them with scallops and red snapper, but you can use almost anything), mixed with beaten egg whites to hold them together; they are then shaped into little ovals and poached in a seasoned white wine broth. They are INCREDIBLY delicately flavored; I served them a Dijon mustard cream sauce, smooth and faintly aromatic from the mustard. These need either a super-brittle French chablis (Le Montrachet would be great) or, again, a top-notch Dijon-clone chardonnay from Oregon (okay, so I'm a fan of Argyle; get their Nuthouse Chardonnay, it's got a powerful mineral backbone and lots of the earthy "gout de terroir" that makes the red hills of Dundee, Oregon such a great viticultural region). Or of course, you could always serve them with champagne; Pol Roger or Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin would be good, or a Perrier-Jouet "flower bottle" as well.

I'd better stop. But if you want to see some dishes for yourself, get thee to a library and look up Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," or Jacques Pepin's "La Technique" and its sister, "La Methode." Julia is an absolute essential for anyone interested in French food, but the Pepin books have fabulous photographs, if you are as much into food porn as I am. (Dear Chez Panisse letters: I never thought I would be writing to you, but my wife and I recently had a fantastic threesome with a freshly caught salmon, a sprig of fresh rosemary, and indirect heat on a barbecue grill...)

Bon appetit!

Answer 2

French cuisine does incorporate the foods more commonly known in the states like chicken and pork and beef and fish. If you want to try something new I would recommend you start with duck. It's not gamey and has a nice texture though it is darker in colour than chicken. It's usually prepared with a sweeter sauce or with fruit, though it can be simply roasted with herbs like rosemary.

Another traditional french dish you might like is Cassoulet. It's a French version of baked beans with a combination of meats in it like chicken, pork and sausage. It isn't sweet like the american version but it's delicious.

The whole point of going to a restaurant with cuisine from another country is to try something NEW and expand your horizons. Leave your dislikes at the door and just try something different. It's not going to be the last meal you ever eat and you may find a new favourite.

Answer 3

Venison is gammy, I'd love to taste squab and duck but I heard duck is too greasy. Frog legs are supposed to taste like chicken so that wouldn't be to bad...

Answer 4

SQUAB IS YOUR BEST BET. EXCELLENT! IT'S HARD TO
SCREW UP SQUAB.
VENISON TO MY TASTE IS GAMEY AND CHEWY. HOWEVER SOME PEOPLE, INCLUDING ONE OF MY DAUGHTERS LOVE IT.
DUCK THERE WAS ONLY ONE RESTURANT IN HONOLULU
THAT COOKED DUCK TO MY LIKING.
RABBIT, IF YOU KNOW HOW TO COOK IT, GREAT. MY
GRANDFATHEER COOKED IN A CREAMY SAUCE. EXCELLENT.
FROG LEGS OR THE SOUP I HAVE'NT TRIED. HOWEVER,
I WOULD ASSUME IT WOULD BE LIKE TURTLE SOUP, WHICH IS VERY GOOD.
AS PERHAPS YOU CAN TELL, I WOULD DEFINITELY CHOOSE THE SQUAB. EXTREMELY, DELECTIBLE. YOU CAN'T GO WRONG WITH SQUAB.

Answer 5

well i went to france and i had the best chicken i have ever had (im 16) so u might be good in ordering that, i also had ox which is nasty and gamey so u dont wanna order that. well i hope i helped.

Answer 6

if i was you i would have duck its very nice not to gamey also frogs legs taste just like chicken

Answer 7

I'm like you--if I can't pronounce it, I typically don't eat it. Which is a b*tch and a half for French food. However, I'm certainly a fan of boeuf bourguignon. It's beef, Burgundy, carrots, onions. Oh, it's a stew.

Answer 8

my husband had frog legs once, he said they seriously taste like chicken. he also had duck before and said it tastes like chicken, but with a hint of a different flavor, good.

Answer 9

I was going to answer this but Scott F's answer made me too hungry. I'm off to the kitchen.

Answer 10

I don't eat critters or inerds.