Instructions: The grouse family is a rather broad one and includes many names, with the ruffed grouse probably being the most popular, certainly the best known. Among the subspecies, perhaps the "fool hen" is the most common local name; it is applied to at least three subspecies that I know of. The sage cock or hen is actually a sage grouse, and the name prairie chicken is applied to at least two subspecies. Since the ruffed grouse is sometimes also called pheasant or partridge, it shows how interchangeable, and perhaps useless, names can be.

The grouse family ranges from the smallest, the ptarmigan (a close relative of Scotlands red grouse) at 24 ounces, through the ruffed grouse, which will weigh 24 to 30 ounces, to the dusky which may grow to as much as 3 1/2 pounds. As always, the young are the better eating. Some species, whose diets affect their flavor, are better treated with a marinade for 4 to 8 hours, even though young. This is a matter of taste, however. As with all game, try the meat first in the simplest way, then you will know how to correct seasonings in the future.

One of the best ways to judge a grouses age is by the main wing feathers. The tips of the two outmost (leading) feathers on each wing are obviously more pointed than the rest in young birds.

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