Roast Squab with Sherry and Wild Mushroom Sauce

Squab is a game bird that sees little use today in our contemporary menus, but it is still considered a classic in traditional provincial cooking. Having never worked with squab I decided to simply over roast the bird to gain a better understanding of the medium. Squab is a rich, gamey bird, tasting somewhere between duck and turkey. To compliment the richness of the squab and to accent its gamey qualities I devised a simple sherry sauce to go with it. Overall the dish was quite successful.

You will need (for two):

2 squab
1 ½ cup sliced mushrooms (I used portabella, oyster and some dried wood ear mushrooms for texture and a woodsy flavor)
2-3 cups sweet sherry
¼ cup chopped walnuts
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 shallots, minced
¼ sweet onion, coarsely chopped
Thyme
Savory
Black pepper
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon corn starch (for thickening)

Preparing the squab:

• Make sure the poultry is cleaned and thoroughly thawed if previously frozen.
• Place squab in a baking pan and pour 1 cup of sherry over it making sure to completely coat the birds inside and out.
• Rub the squab with black pepper, thyme, and savory.
• Spread butter on squab
• Sprinkle with ½ cup of mushrooms, garlic, and onions.
• Place in an over and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour or until the juices run clearly when the pierced with a fork.

Sherry and Mushroom Sauce

• Heat a medium saucepan and toast the walnuts.
• Add the balsamic vinegar, black pepper, and shallots.
• Add about two cups of sherry, mushrooms, and a tablespoon of butter.
• Bring the mixture to a simmer, stir occasionally until the mushrooms are tender.
• Dissolve the cornstarch in about a ¼ cup cold water and add to the mixture.
• Increase temperature until the mixture thickens.
• Pour over roasted squab when platting.

Enjoy!