7th Day of Christmas
Swan
with Roasted Root Vegetables
prep
5 Hr
cook
Varies
feeds
Varies
On the seventh day of Christmas Camp Chef made for me a bacon wrapped swan. This swan is swimming with a boat of bacon on a sea of vegetables. You'll hear your own swan song when you take a bite of this exotic dish.
Ingredients
for the root vegetables
2-3 pounds fingerling potatoes
1-2 turnips, chopped
1-2 parsnips, chopped
1-2 sweet potatoes, chopped
1 white or red onion, chopped
4-5 carrots, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Compound butter
1 legally harvested swan
Kosher salt
Compound butter
Black pepper
2 pounds bacon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup olive oil
1 carrot, finely diced
1/2 onion, finely diced
2 stocks of celery, finely diced
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 legally harvested swan
Kosher salt
Compound butter
Black pepper
2 pounds bacon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup olive oil
1 carrot, finely diced
1/2 onion, finely diced
2 stocks of celery, finely diced
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, finely chopped
2-3 pounds fingerling potatoes
1-2 turnips, chopped
1-2 parsnips, chopped
1-2 sweet potatoes, chopped
1 white or red onion, chopped
4-5 carrots, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Swan with roasted root vegetables
step 1
Preheat pellet grill to 350 °F.
step 2
Liberally salt swan with kosher salt, (dry brine method works well with wild game - salt meat and put in refrigerator overnight, uncovered on a cooling rack over a sheet pan). Use only a high-quality kosher or sea salt.
step 3
Cover entire bird with compound butter, set aside remaining compound butter for the root vegetables. Pepper to taste.
step 4
Make a weave with the bacon and place over the top of the swan.
step 5
Place root vegetables in a 14-inch cast iron skillet, spoon the remaining compound butter on top of the root vegetables.
step 6
Place vegetables on bottom rack of pellet grill, cook until vegetables are fork tender, salt and pepper to taste.
step 7
Place swan on top rack of pellet grill and cook until medium rare.
chef's note
Juvenile swan has the best flavor, however they can be difficult to pluck. We wanted to utilize as much of the meat as possible so we choose to skin the entire bird and created a faux skin. We used the bacon weave to create that skin. It worked fantastic! The bacon weave was crispy, held moisture and added fat for flavor.
