Tender, marinated grouse skewers grilled to perfection, and topped with a creamy, savory peanut sauce. The peanut sauce has the perfect balance of sweet, salty, and savory flavors that enhance the grouse's distinctive flavor. The unique combination of flavors makes this one of my favorite grouse breast recipes, and I'm sure it will be one of yours too!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Unique Flavor: The satay marinade, rich with coconut and curry paste, infuses the grouse with layers of complex, aromatic flavors. The creamy, savory peanut sauce complements the grouse perfectly, adding a rich, nutty dimension to the dish. Try these grouse skewers with romesco for another tasty grouse recipe. If you love the bold flavors of curry, you'll love this elk shank massaman curry!
Tender Texture: When marinated and grilled to perfection, grouse skewers become incredibly tender and juicy. Marinating with coconut milk is a great way to add flavor and moisture without overpowering the delicate meat.
Impressive Presentation: Skewers of marinated grouse topped with a vibrant peanut sauce, crunchy peanuts, spicy chili crisp, and fresh cilantro create a beautiful dish that's sure to impress!
Ingredients
- Grouse Breasts: Any grouse (dusky grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, ruffed grouse, sage grouse, etc.) or other upland game birds will work for this recipe. Breast meat is ideal for this recipe because it has little connective tissue. If you're looking for a whole bird recipe, grouse can also be used in this smoked pheasant recipe or grilled chukar recipe. If you find yourself with a bunch of upland bird bones/carcasses, try this crock pot stock recipe to add to soups instead of chicken broth.
- Marinade: The satay marinade is packed with aromatic flavors. It has a small amount of red curry paste in it, but isn't spicy. If you want to add some spice, you can add more curry paste or red pepper flakes.
- Peanut Sauce: This recipe has a homemade peanut sauce drizzled over the top of the skewers. It adds a delicious nuttiness to the dish. Peanut sauce is pretty quick to make, but you can also buy it instead. If you like the flavor of peanut sauce, you'll love my kohlrabi noodles and elk pad Thai recipes too!
- Toppings: Crunchy peanuts, fresh cilantro, and chili crisp are my favorite toppings for satay, but they're not essential. You can omit them or come up with your own toppings!
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Grouse Satay
The simple coconut milk marinade adds so much flavor to the grouse meat and helps lock in moisture. It's easy to make but so delicious!
- Step 1: Combine coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce, curry paste, honey, garlic, and ginger in a glass container or bowl.
- Step 2: Pat grouse breasts dry with paper towels.
- Step 3: Cut each grouse breast into approximately 1" wide strips, about ½" thick.
- Step 4: Place grouse meat into the marinade and stir to coat. Marinate for 2-24 hours before grilling.
- Step 5: Soak wooden skewers in water for 10 minutes before using.
- Step 6: Place meat strips on skewers. You can place the skewer in the middle of the strips of meat so that the meat lays flat on the grill. Or, you can skewer the meat accordion style.
- Step 7: Preheat grill to 350°F. Grease the grill grates with olive oil or another high smoke point oil. Place skewers on the hot grill.
- Step 8: Grill skewers for 3-4 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F and grill marks are achieved.
Pro Tip
Be sure to slice the grouse breasts at least ½" thick. Cutting them on the thicker side helps keep them from drying out on the grill.
How to Make Peanut Sauce
Peanut sauce is a super simple sauce to make but is packed with flavor. It's as simple as combining a few ingredients in a saucepan and letting it simmer for only 5 minutes!
- Step 1: Prepare the peanut sauce while the skewers are cooking. Combine all peanut sauce ingredients except lime juice in a small saucepan.
- Step 2: Combine all peanut sauce ingredients except lime juice in a small saucepan. Whisk to combine and bring the sauce to a simmer over medium-low heat. Simmer for 5 minutes and keep warm until ready to serve.
- Step 3: Whisk in lime juice just before serving. If your peanut sauce gets too thick, whisk in a small amount of water.
- Step 4: Drizzle peanut sauce over skewers and top with desired toppings.
Pro Tip
The meat marinade and peanut sauce use similar ingredients. You can measure the ingredients for the peanut sauce at the same time as the marinade so you don't have to get them out twice! Place the ingredients for the sauce in a small saucepan and place it in the fridge until you're ready to cook.
Variations
This recipe can be adjusted to your liking. See below for a few ideas!
- Spicy - Add red pepper flakes to the marinade and/or peanut sauce to up the spice level. Or layer on the chili crisp or your favorite spicy condiment at the end!
- Toppings - I top my satay with roasted peanuts, cilantro, and chili crisp. A few other topping ideas include: sliced Thai chiles, sliced green onions, toasted coconut, toasted sesame seeds, and more!
- Kid-friendly - Meat on a stick is always a win with my kids, but they like to be in control of the extras. I serve them the skewers on their own with the sauce and toppings on the side so they can customize their meal. Their absolute favorite is this grilled venison heart recipe!
Serving Suggestions
Arrange satay skewers on a serving plate. Drizzle peanut sauce and chili crisp over the satay. Top with chopped peanuts and cilantro and serve with lime wedges. Satay can be enjoyed as a wild game appetizer or as the main part of a delicious meal.
I like to serve them with some jasmine rice and a fresh salad or fresh cucumbers. The peanut sauce makes a great topping for rice and ties the meal together. A glass of white wine doesn't hurt either. Enjoy!
FAQ
Grouse make great table fare. Like any wild game animal, the flavor of the meat depends on a lot of factors. The food the birds were eating, how the meat was treated, the age of the bird, etc. all play a part in flavor. An older bird will likely have tougher meat than young birds.
Grouse can be soaked in any number of marinades to add flavor and moisture to the meat. A coconut milk-based marinade adds excellent flavor to satay skewers.
There are many great ways to enjoy grouse meat. One of the best ways to cook grouse is to slice the meat, marinate it, and grill it on skewers like in this satay recipe.
Satay is an Indonesian dish consisting of meat grilled on a skewer and served with a sauce, often peanut sauce. Satay can be made with a wide variety of meats, including wild game meat.
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Thank you!
Annie
📖 Recipe
Grouse Satay with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
Grouse Satay:
- 4 grouse breasts
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
Peanut Sauce:
- ⅔ cup coconut milk
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoon red curry paste
- 2 teaspoon honey
- 2 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Other Ingredients:
- ¼ cup roasted peanuts, finely chopped
- ¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon chili crisp (optional, for serving)
- lime wedges (optional, for serving)
Instructions
Grouse Satay:
- Combine coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce, curry paste, honey, garlic, and ginger in a glass container or bowl.
- Cut grouse breasts into approximately 1" strips.
- Place grouse meat into the marinade and stir to coat. Marinate for 2-24 hours before grilling.
- Soak wooden skewers in water for 10 minutes before using.
- Place meat strips on skewers. You can place the skewer in the middle of the strips of meat so that the meat lays flat on the grill. Or, you can skewer the meat accordion style.
- Preheat grill to 350°F. Grill skewers for 3-4 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F and grill marks are achieved.
Peanut Sauce:
- Prepare the peanut sauce while the skewers are cooking.
- Combine all peanut sauce ingredients except lime juice in a small saucepan. Whisk to combine and bring the sauce to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes and keep warm until ready to serve. Whisk in lime juice just before serving.
Assembly:
- Arrange satay (skewers) on a serving plate. Drizzle peanut sauce and chili crisp over the satay. Top with chopped peanuts and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges. Enjoy!
Notes
- Any grouse or other upland game birds will work for this recipe. Breast meat is ideal for this recipe because it has little connective tissue.
- Crunchy peanuts, fresh cilantro, and chili crisp are my favorite toppings for satay, but they're not essential. You can omit them or come up with your own toppings!
- This recipe has a homemade peanut sauce drizzled over the top of the skewers. It adds a delicious nuttiness to the dish. Peanut sauce is pretty quick to make, but you can also buy it instead.The satay marinade is packed with aromatic flavors. It has a small amount of red curry paste in it, but isn't spicy. If you want to add some spice, you can add more curry paste or red pepper flakes.
- The meat marinade and peanut sauce use similar ingredients. You can measure the ingredients for the peanut sauce at the same time as the marinade so you don't have to get them out twice! Place the ingredients for the sauce in a small saucepan and place it in the fridge until you're ready to cook.
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