Rotisserie Roasted Partridge

One of our lovely followers, very kindly donated four partridges to us from his first shoot of the season.  We kept them whole and roasted them on the rotisserie.  Quick tip:  if you’re cooking more than one partridge tuck the feet into the neck of the adjacent bird, they then sit more securely on the spit.

Partridge is another delicious game with a slightly subtler flavour than other game birds.  It is very low in fat and high in iron so a healthy option and perfect for cooking on an open-fire grill.

We served partridge on a bed of butternut squash and pearl barley risotto.

BBQ Temperature

Ingredients

  • 1 partridge per person, we used 4 partridges
  • salt and pepper
  • oil, to baste

Equipment

Method

  1. Rub your partridges with oil, season with salt and pepper.
  2. Place your bird(s) onto your spit.  Tuck the feet from one partridge into the neck of the adjacent partridge and they will sit securely on the spit.
  3. Make sure the thumb screws are securely tightened on the spit forks, you want your spit spinning and your partridges rotating for a nice even cook.
  4. Cook your partridges at 180°C, don’t go too hot, you’ll dry them out.
  5. You’re aiming for an internal temperature of  75°C after resting, so remove the partridge from the Egg at around 70°C.

These are small birds so you could serve them whole but we prefer to take the breasts off the bird when you carve and cut across the grain of the meat. This way,  you’ll end up with beautifully moist meat.

Cooking a partridge like this will take about 45 minutes.

We like to rest our meat for at least 15 minutes before carving and wrap it in good-quality foil.