Salt Crust–Roasted Partridge with Figs and Chocolate-Balsamic Syrup
Don your chain mail and broadsword. Ancient food, harbinger of tragedy and regret, roast partridges spur thoughts of delicious violence, provoking a savage appetite spurred by rich flavors and primal aromas. Daedalus, who built the labyrinth that held the Minotaur, flung his brilliant disciple Perdrix off a roof, only to have him transformed into a partridge by the goddess Athena, who has a thing for geniuses. One of the oldest partridge recipes comes from the French, who would encrust foods in salt to protect them from the scorching heat of the oven. The guards of the Aigues-Mortes salt fields, had they survived being massacred by invading Burgundians, would surely have appreciated this dish. The Burgundians were eventually massacred as well, and their bodies buried in a tower filled with salt. Athena would have approved of their ingenuity, and of salt crusting in general, though it is doubtful that she would have approved of this choice of bird for the roasting.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Step 2
Mix together the garlic, rosemary, juniper, and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the partridges inside and out with the mixture and stuff a fig into the cavity of each bird.
Step 3
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Put as many of the birds as will fit comfortably in the pan and brown as evenly as possible all over their surfaces, about 2 minutes per side. Repeat until all of the birds are browned. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.
Step 4
Have ready a large casserole dish just large enough to accommodate the four birds. Press the sel gris between your fingers. It should be moist enough to stick together. If it isn’t, stir in a few tablespoons of water until the salt is moist enough to cling together when firmly pressed.
Step 5
In the casserole dish, make four 1/2-inch-thick oval pads of the sel gris, each just large enough to hold a bird. Place a bird on each oval and pack the remaining salt around each bird until it is completely encased. Bake for 30 minutes.
Step 6
While the birds are roasting, boil the balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan or skillet until reduced by half. Remove from the heat and swirl in the chocolate until melted; keep warm.
Step 7
Remove the birds from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Break the salt crusts and brush off any salt clinging to the surface of the partridges. Remove the figs from the cavity and arrange on four plates, along with the birds. Drizzle with chocolate-balsamic syrup and serve.
