Poultry
Willow Ptarmigan
A tier
Willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) is the circumpolar grouse of tundra and birch scrub, white in winter and mottled in summer. Meat is dark and mild-game compared with red grouse, with a clean northern flavour shaped by willow and tundra forage. Roast young birds; stew older ones with root vegetables. Scandinavian and Alaskan kitchens treat it as staple wild protein when available. Avoid overcooking the lean breast.
Also known as: Willow ptarmigan / dalripa, Willow ptarmigan
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Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
History
Willow ptarmigan fed Arctic and subarctic Indigenous peoples across the Holarctic.
Nordic hunters regularly took willow ptarmigan for winter meat.
Alaskan and Canadian harvests included willow ptarmigan in subsistence diets.
Regulated hunting supplied limited specialty game markets.