Swan with Roasted Root Vegetables

Recipe Information

- Prep Time: 5 Hr
- Cook Time: Varies
- Servings: Varies

Description

On the seventh day of Christmas, Camp Chef made for me a bacon-wrapped swan. This swan is swimming with a boat of bacon on a sea of vegetables. You'll hear your own swan song when you take a bite of this exotic dish.

Ingredients
 
**for the root vegetables**
- 2-3 pounds fingerling potatoes
- 1-2 turnips, chopped
- 1-2 parsnips, chopped
- 1-2 sweet potatoes, chopped
- 1 white or red onion, chopped
- 4-5 carrots, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Compound butter

**For the Swan**
- 1 legally harvested swan
- Kosher salt
- Compound butter
- Black pepper
- 2 pounds bacon

**for the compound butter**
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 1/2 onion, finely diced
- 2 stocks of celery, finely diced
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, finely chopped
 
**All Ingredients**
- 1 legally harvested swan
- Kosher salt
- Compound butter
- Black pepper
- 2 pounds bacon
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 1/2 onion, finely diced
- 2 stocks of celery, finely diced
- 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon fresh sage, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 2-3 pounds fingerling potatoes
- 1-2 turnips, chopped
- 1-2 parsnips, chopped
- 1-2 sweet potatoes, chopped
- 1 white or red onion, chopped
- 4-5 carrots, chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Step 1: Preheat pellet grill to 350 °F.

Step 2: Liberally salt the swan with kosher salt (dry brine method works well with wild game - salt meat and put in refrigerator overnight, uncovered on a cooling rack over a sheet pan). Use only a high-quality kosher or sea salt.

Step 3: Cover the entire bird with compound butter. Set aside the remaining compound butter for the root vegetables. Pepper to taste.

Step 4: Make a weave with the bacon and place it over the top of the swan.

Step 5: Place root vegetables in a 14-inch cast-iron skillet, and spoon the remaining compound butter on top of the root vegetables.

Step 6: Place vegetables on the bottom rack of the pellet grill, cook until vegetables are fork tender, salt and pepper to taste.

Step 7: Place the swan on the top rack of the pellet grill and cook until medium rare.

Chef's note: Juvenile swan has the best flavor; they can be difficult to pluck. We wanted to utilize as much of the meat as possible, so we chose to skin the entire bird and created a faux skin. We used the bacon weave to create that skin. It worked fantastically! The bacon weave was crispy, held moisture, and added fat for flavor.

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