Polenta and Songbirds, Bergamo Style

La storia di questo piatto

Polenta e osei belongs to the peasant and hunting tradition of Bergamo and the Vicentino, where small birds met golden maize in the cold months. The savory version is old, though the sources give it no precise date.

Ingredienti

• 300 g Coarse-grind yellow cornmeal (bramata)
• 1500 ml Water for the polenta
• 15 g Coarse sea salt for the polenta water
• 12 piece Songbirds for spit-roasting (young quail or small farm-raised birds, already cleaned)
• 150 g Lardo or pancetta, thinly sliced
• 24 piece Fresh sage leaves
• 40 g Butter
• 4 piece Juniper berries
• 1 piece Bay leaf
• 4 g Fine salt for the birds
• 1 pinch Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Lemon juice

Preparazione

1. Bring the salted water to a rolling boil in a tall, heavy-bottomed pot that holds heat and prevents sticking. Once it boils vigorously, let the cornmeal fall in a very fine rain with one hand while whisking constantly with the other: this is how you avoid lumps. Then lower the heat and switch to a wooden spoon. The first salting goes into the water now: the polenta must be flavorful from the start, not rescued at the end.
2. Cook the polenta for about 55 minutes, stirring regularly and working well into the bottom and along the edges, where it tends to stick. The right heat produces only a few slow bubbles on the surface. It's ready when it pulls cleanly away from the pot walls, the aroma turns sweet, like toasted corn, and the spoon nearly stands upright. If it thickens too soon, add a ladle of boiling water and stir again.
3. While the polenta cooks, prepare the songbirds: pat them dry with paper towels, since dry skin browns while wet skin boils. Season them inside and out with fine salt and pepper. Crush the juniper berries, break up the bay leaf and rub this aroma onto the skin: it softens the wild smell of the meat without masking it. Cut the lardo into thin slices, as wide as a bird.
4. Thread four birds per wooden skewer (three skewers in total), alternating a bird, a sage leaf, a folded slice of lardo, another sage leaf, and so on to the end. Don't pack the pieces tightly: heat must circulate between them, otherwise the outside cooks while the inside stays raw.
5. Heat a very wide, heavy pan (at least 32 cm, or two pans) over medium-low heat with the 40 g of butter, or use embers over slow heat if you have a spit. If the pan can't hold all three skewers at once, cook them in two batches, dividing the butter in half (20 g per batch) and keeping the first skewers warm, covered with foil. Cook the skewers for about 25 minutes in total, turning them every 4-5 minutes. No water or broth: the meat cooks in its own fat and in the melting lardo, which perfumes everything with sage. You'll know it's ready when the skin is golden and glossy, the lardo is translucent and slightly crisp at the edges, and the sage is dark and sizzling. Check doneness at the core: prick the thickest part of a bird; the juices should run clear and the meat should show no pink (about 74°C at the center). If needed, extend by a few minutes over low heat. If the skin colors too quickly, lower the heat immediately: at high flame it burns, and bitterness can't be undone.
6. Turn off the heat and let the skewers rest for 3 minutes in their juices, so the meat relaxes and stays moist. Then, over the still-warm cooking juices (if you cooked in two batches, combine them in a single pan), pour in the lemon juice and stir with a spoon, scraping up all the bits stuck to the pan. That touch of acid cuts through the fat of the lardo and brightens the sauce, keeping it from feeling heavy.
7. Pour the boiling polenta onto a wooden board or a large platter in one steaming mound. Lay the skewers on top and spoon over the cooking sauce. Before serving, taste a bit of meat and some polenta: if needed, add a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper. Eat immediately, while the polenta is still piping hot and the lardo-and-sage sauce is still sizzling.