A Partridge in a ... Casserole Dish

The other day we went partridge hunting. We were only out for about 15 minutes and we got one! My husband showed me how to clean it off, its really simple. You split the bird and the breast comes off really easily. That's the only part that's really worth eating. When we got it home I washed it off really well. There were some feathers that were still attached and you've got to watch under the wings for feathers. I decided that Id like to try roasting it, so I braised it in bacon fat then roasted it at 325oF for about 35 min. I put the bacon fat in the casserole dish with the bird and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and basil. Every 10 minutes or so, Id take it out of the oven and baste it with the bacon fat. When it was done it smelled so good I could hardly wait for supper! At supper we chewed off every precious bit of meat from those little bones. It tasted a lot like chicken, but better! And did I mention that there isn't a drop of natural fat on partridge? So partridge hunting definitely isn't over for this year, we will go again!