Crane Legs for dinner? Why not?
Called the “ribeye in the sky”, Sandhill Crane taste more like a fine tenderloin steak than any bird. The red, flavor packed breasts are sought after by wild game enthusiasts across the nation. But few take the time to properly prepare and eat the thighs.
During my first crane hunt, I found it difficult to take only the breast meat and leave the rest of the bird. While cleaning our kill, I asked my buddy John, who is a long-time crane hunter, what he thought of the large thighs on the birds. He told me, “there is a lot of meat, but the tendons and gristle make it impossible to eat”. I couldn’t resist a challenge… So I gathered up all the thighs I could get my hands on and headed for the kitchen.
With what little information I found online, I determined trying to cook the thighs like any other drumstick would be a waste. The “tendons and gristle” John warned me about, were a well-documented issue with this cut of meat. In fact, I couldn’t find a single recipe online that gave any credence to them. Since I’m a glutton for punishment, I decided to mix a few cooking techniques together to combat the issue.
The path I took? A mix of “Duck Confit” and Pulled Pork tacos. I know it sounds a little farfetched but the end results more than justified my efforts. The crane tacos from the 4 birds we killed were delicious. And they were plentiful enough to feed 12 people with leftovers for the next morning!
The Recipe:
- Remove the thighs at he ball joint. But make sure to cut around the large meaty section at the joint. This way you don’t leave the best part on the bird! With the leg and thigh removed, cut off the rest of the leg at the knee joint by circling the join with a sharp knife and twisting.
- To remove leg skin and feathers, run a knife under the skin from the inside of the thigh to the knee joint. Peel the skin starting at the section on the back. Pull the skin toward the knee, sometimes you can peel the entire thing off in one satisfying pull.
- Remove any remaining feathers and wash them off under cold water. Pat dry with a paper towel.
Now time to cook! - Take a large cast iron skillet and heat up some fat or oil (I used olive oil, but would have preferred bacon fat). When the oil is hot, place the thighs in one at a time to sear. Sear each side to a golden brown.
- While the thighs sear, break out the Instapot! A standard pressure cooker works fine, I’m a big fan of the reduced cooking times and ease of an Instant Pot.
- In the cook pan, mix one small can of “Cream of chicken”, one 8oz box of chicken broth, ¼ cup vinegar, 4 diced garlic cloves, ¼ cup sugar, ¼ cup salt, 2 tbs black pepper and 2tbs dried thyme. Mix thoroughly.
- As the thighs sear, put them into the Instapot cook pan with the mix. Once they have all been placed in the pan, lock the Instapot lid and start cooking!
- You want to cook the legs on high pressure for approx. 2 hours. When done, release the pressure and remove the legs with tongs. While holding the leg bones with the tongs (or a paper towel) use a fork to pull the meat off the bone and tendons. Start at the leg and pull toward the meaty part of the thigh. This is the most important step, as the tendons pull away with the meat if you aren’t careful. They will be easy to spot, so keep an eye out and remove any that get swept away with the fork.
- Once separated, pull it thoroughly with two forks so it is all strung out for your tacos!
Then enjoy!
Pro-Tip | If there is any pulled crane remaining, try scrambling it with eggs for delicious breakfast tacos the next morning!
