Bird-and-Bottle Barbecue

Used to be that the marriage of bird and bottle was consummated only during the darkling days of late fall and winter--when game was in season. But contemporary terracemen and patio hosts, making the most of fair weather, have found fowl to accompany their bottles that are often more tempting and exciting than game birds: split squabs marinated in mustard, quietly sizzling over white-hot coals, or plump capon roasted on an outdoor spit with port-wine gravy. Naturally, it takes more time to cook a duck on a charcoal rotisserie than to flip a hamburger a few times over a flame; but at least half the fun at an alfresco party is the spectacle of birds turning brown and crisp under the open sky while the watch on the Rhine wine continues, in the knowledge that the Niersteiner buried in ice will soon reach cool perfection.

When you're planning an outdoor party, remember that not all fowl are birds of a feather, even though they carry the U. S. Grade A coat of arms, a stamp of approval whose blessings are sometimes mixed. Birds vary in flavor, meatiness and tenderness from one poulterer to the next. Even frozen birds vary; the shorter their hibernation in the freezer, the better. If you must forage for a poultry shop or a counter with superior offerings, it will be well worth the effort.

The keynote to cooking on the grill and the turning spit is to consciously and carefully bide your time. The rule holds whether you're grilling skewered chicken livers that get done in a matter of minutes or large ducks that take several hours over the coals. If your fire breaks out in fierce flames, the flesh of any bird will turn tough and dry. The bed of charcoals should be well built, giving forth a steady but diffident glow. Coals should be added sparingly from time to time, and then only to keep the fire uniform. The birds should be placed on a rack at least six inches above the source of heat; larger birds on a turning spit should be racked even higher. Check the browning of the birds from time to time. No matter how much you love that crisp charred skin, if your capon does a fast burn, your dream of a capital feast will go up in smoke. In some cases, it's wise to build your fire and have the bird rotating on the spit before your guests arrive.

Don't forget that the code of the great outdoors encourages everyone in the crowd to have a hand in the general merriment. Any female will be flattered if you ask her to spoon out the caviar, pass the pilaf or offer the tray of warm garlic bread. There should be a salad made for Brobdingnagian appetites, glossy with olive oil but not so sharp with vinegar that it fights the wine. When planning dessert, bear in mind that meaty Elberta peaches, incredibly sweet plums and rich ripe blueberries--now in season and all compatible with wine--are prime candidates for the compote bowl and fresh tart that are so perfectly suited to outdoor feasting. If cheese is offered with the wine, it should be a soft creamy type, such as camembert, brie or gourmandise, rather than an aged hard cheese that can overpower a delicate bouquet.

There are so few restrictions these days on which wines go with which foods that the possible combinations at an outdoor party are limitless. Light, fruity beaujolais is offered with either red or white meat and only the most affected wine pedant would quibble about its appropriateness. The wide offerings of rosés are appreciated not just because they go with all foods but also because their easygoing nature fits in smoothly with all types of informal fetes. But at a bird-and-bottle party, wines from the vicinities of the Moselle and Rhine rivers are especially apropos. They're white wines from the northernmost vineyards of Europe and, as sheer thirst quenchers, even between meals, they have no equal. In France, they're from Alsace, in the lovely hills along the Rhine River. In Germany, they come from both the Moselle and the Rhine valleys. The riesling is the leading grape, although others grow there in abundance. But all of the wines that come in those tall bottles with tapering necks--however much they differ from one another--have certain flavor idioms in common. You can go into any good wineshop in this country, pick three Rhine wines at random and it's more than likely you won't find a dud--their average excellence is extremely high. When you hold them to the nose, their fragrance in the glass is often modest; but when they reach the palate, they come into their own. What makes them particularly pleasing with fowl is their full fruity flavor. Most have a trace of sweetness; if they lack this modicum of sugar, they seem unbalanced. The older, richly sweet wines of the last-picked grapes go best with dessert and after coffee.

Americans often look upon many German wine labels as something to be decoded rather than read. On some bottles, there's so much minutiae that the buyer may forget that the winegrower's intention is to be precise and not to befuddle. You needn't read any German to tell if a wine comes from one of the two great river areas in Germany. Those from the Rhine are in brown bottles; those from the Moselle, in green. As far as quality is concerned, the best Rhine wines tend to have strength, grandeur and vividness; the Moselles are distinguished by finesse and softness. In the Rhine valley, there are three large wine areas whose names appear on bottles--the Rheingau (the greatest), the Rheinhessen and the Rheinpfalz. Connoisseurs look first for the name of the town, the vineyard and the year, if it's a vintage wine. Usually, an "er" is added to the town's name. Thus, a wine from Brauneberg on the Moselle River becomes Brauneberger; and if it's from a vineyard such as the Juffer, that also appears. The Brauneberger Juffer, which Thomas Jefferson once warmly praised, is still sold at a modest price in this country. Hock, a word used loosely in both Britain and this country to describe any German wine or German wine type, is simply a shortening of Hochheim, a town in the Rheingau.

When you see Naturwein printed on a German label, it means the wine was made without added sugar, and this is often a guide to quality. Although there are some pleasant wines that are sugared for fermentation, the better ones aren't. These are the ones marked Originalabfüllung, meaning bottled at the vineyard in which the grapes were grown, equivalent to estate bottling elsewhere. Among other unsugared wines, Kellerabfüllung or Kellerabzug means the wine was bottled or drawn off in the wine maker's cellar. Schloss means castle and Schlossabzug means, as you might guess, bottled at the castle itself. The two best-known castles and their vineyards whose wines are sold here are Schloss Johannisberg and Schloss Vollrads.

Of prime importance are those German words ending with "lese," which means picking or harvest; these tell you when and how the grapes were gathered and they all apply to unsugared wines. Spätlese means a late picking, after the regular harvest. Auslese means a late picking of selected bunches. A still higher classification, Beerenauslese indicates wine made from grapes individually picked from the bunch. The top of the lese ladder is Trockenbeerenauslese, or grapes so ripe they were shriveled, resulting in a long-lived wine of immense bouhquet and concentration of flavor; actually, a wine liqueur.

As though they were rebelling against their own penchant for particularity, many German wine makers and shippers call their wine simply Liebfraumilch. It means milk of the Virgin Mary and was originally produced only by the vineyard of Liebfrauenkirche in Worms. Today, the term is used to describe similar Rhine wines from other parts of Germany. There are superb, good and fair Liebfraumilchs, and the only key to their quality is the shipper's name or trademark.

In contrast with German nomenclature, the labels on the light, fragrant Alsatian wines (put up in tall green bottles like the Moselle) could hardly be simpler. They tell you the name of the grape, the year and the shipper, sometimes the name of the village. Only rarely is the name of the Clos, or vineyard, indicated. The monarch of the best Alsatian vineyards is, again, the riesling grape, with the Gewürztraminer, a grape with spicy overtones, and the prolific, light-flavored sylvaner following in that order. Both German and Alsatian wines--except for the sweet dessert wines--should be drunk young. The German 1966s and 1967s are both very good; the Alsatian 1966s and 1967s are equally outstanding. From California, where vintages have none of the big ups and downs of those of Europe, the rieslings of the well-known vineyards are delightful as patio potables. Like their European cousins, they should be served cool but not overchilled for the hot birds that now follow. Each recipe serves six.

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[recipe_title]Honey-Basted Chicken Breasts[/recipe_title]

[recipe]3 whole chicken breasts[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 cup honey[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup fresh lime juice[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup salad oil[/recipe]

[recipe]1 medium-size onion, diced[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt, pepper[/recipe]

Have chicken breasts cut into 6 halves, boned, with skin on; shoulder bone may be left on. Mix honey, lime juice and oil until well blended. Add onion and pour over chicken. Marinate 1/2 hour. Remove chicken from marinade and place on a well-greased hinged broiler rack. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil over charcoal fire until medium brown, turning frequently to avoid scorching. Baste with honey mixture several times during broiling. Serve with avocado dip below. If chicken breasts are small, increase quantity to provide seconds.

[recipe_title]Curried Avocado Dip[/recipe_title]

[recipe]2 cups diced ripe avocado (1 large avocado)[/recipe]

[recipe]2 teaspoons fresh lime or lemon juice[/recipe]

[recipe]2 teaspoons sugar[/recipe]

[recipe]1/8 teaspoon salt[/recipe]

[recipe]1/8 teaspoon Tabasco sauce[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup heavy cream[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup pineapple juice[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 teaspoon curry powder[/recipe]

Force avocado through a large wire sieve. Add remaining ingredients and mix until well blended. Chill.

[recipe_title]Skewered Chicken Livers with Sesame[/recipe_title]

[recipe]1-1/2 lbs. chicken livers[/recipe]

[recipe]1/3 cup white sesame seeds[/recipe]

[recipe]Salad oil[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 cup soy sauce[/recipe]

[recipe]3 tablespoons sugar[/recipe]

[recipe]1/3 cup sake or very dry sherry[/recipe]

[recipe]2 teaspoons sesame oil[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 cup very finely minced onion[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]2 large peeled cloves garlic[/recipe]

[recipe]1 lb. button mushrooms[/recipe]

Place sesame seeds in a large, heavy ungreased skillet. Heat over a low to moderate flame, stirring constantly, until toasted to medium brown. Pour seeds into blender and blend at high speed until pulverized. Mix with 1/3 cup salad oil, soy sauce, sugar, sake, sesame oil, onion and black pepper. Force garlic through garlic press into mixture. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet and sauté mushrooms 5 minutes, until partially cooked. Cut livers, if necessary, to make pieces of uniform size. Fasten livers and mushrooms alternately on 6 long skewers. Fifteen minutes before cooking, brush livers generously with sesame mixture. Broil over charcoal until brown, turning once.

[recipe_title]Charcoal-Roasted Duck, Poivrade Sauce[/recipe_title]

[recipe]2 4-lb. ducks, thawed[/recipe]

[recipe]1 tablespoon butter[/recipe]

[recipe]1 tablespoon salad oil[/recipe]

[recipe]1 medium-size onion, diced[/recipe]

[recipe]1 carrot, diced[/recipe]

[recipe]1 piece celery, diced[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 small bay leaf[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 teaspoon tarragon[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons flour[/recipe]

[recipe]1-1/4 cups hot chicken broth[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup tomato juice[/recipe]

[recipe]1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar[/recipe]

[recipe]2 teaspoons Dijon mustard[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 teaspoon freshly crushed whole peppercorns[/recipe]

[recipe]1/2 teaspoon sugar[/recipe]

[recipe]Brown gravy color[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt[/recipe]

Indoors, heat butter and salad oil in saucepan until butter melts. Add onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf and tarragon. Sauté until onion is medium brown. Stir in flour and continue to heat until flour is light brown. Add chicken broth and tomato juice, stir well and simmer over low flame 1/2 hour. Strain. Add vinegar, mustard, peppercorns and sugar. Add brown gravy color and salt to taste. Prepare charcoal fire. Fasten ducks on spit, tying or skewering legs and wings close to body. Sprinkle ducks with salt. Put spit in place over charcoal fire. Place a shallow oblong pan (or two, if necessary) slightly in front of ducks, to catch drippings. Roast ducks approximately 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until very tender. A half hour before ducks are done, baste lightly with prepared sauce. Heat remainder of sauce and serve with ducks after carving.

[recipe_title]Grilled Squabs with Mustard[/recipe_title]

[recipe]6 squabs, about 1 lb. each, split for broiling[/recipe]

[recipe]1-1/4 cups salad oil[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup wine vinegar[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons Dijon mustard[/recipe]

[recipe]1 teaspoon dry mustard[/recipe]

[recipe]1 teaspoon dried summer savory[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons finely minced parsley[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt, pepper[/recipe]

Singe squabs, if necessary. Wash and dry with paper toweling. Put oil, vinegar, both kinds of mustard, summer savory and parsley in blender. Blend at high speed 1/2 minute. Pour over squabs in large shallow pan. Marinate 1 hour. Remove squabs from marinade and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fasten legs and wings with skewers, to keep birds in flat position. Broil over charcoal fire until brown--about 3/4 hour--turning frequently and basting occasionally with marinade.

[recipe_title]Tomato-Basted Rock Cornish Hens[/recipe_title]

[recipe]3 2-lb. or 6 1-lb. Rock Cornish hens, thawed[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup olive oil[/recipe]

[recipe]4 large peeled cloves garlic[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 teaspoon oregano[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 teaspoon rosemary[/recipe]

[recipe]8-oz. can tomato sauce[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons dry white wine[/recipe]

[recipe]2 teaspoons sugar[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt, pepper[/recipe]

Indoors, heat oil and garlic in saucepan over low flame until garlic turns brown. Remove garlic from pan and discard. Add oregano and rosemary; simmer 1 minute longer; remove from fire. In mixing bowl, combine oil, tomato sauce, wine and sugar, stirring well. Tie or skewer legs and wings of hens close to body. Fasten hens on spit and place in position above prepared charcoal fire. Use skewers, if necessary, to keep hens turning in unison. Sprinkle hens with salt and pepper. Place a shallow pan or pans in front of hens to catch drippings. Brush hens with tomato-sauce mixture every 15 minutes until done. Roast large hens about 1-1/2 hours or until tender; small hens, about 3/4 to 1 hour. Heat remainder of sauce and spoon over hens before serving.

[recipe_title]Charcoal-Roasted Capon with Port-Wine Gravy[/recipe_title]

[recipe]6-lb. capon[/recipe]

[recipe]Salad oil[/recipe]

[recipe]Salt, pepper[/recipe]

[recipe]1 cup chicken broth[/recipe]

[recipe]1/4 cup tawny port[/recipe]

[recipe]2 tablespoons heavy sweet cream[/recipe]

[recipe]1 teaspoon sugar[/recipe]

Have butcher tie capon for roasting, fastening legs and wings close to body. If frozen, it should be completely thawed and then tied; or wings and legs may be fastened close to body with skewers. Fasten capon on spit above charcoal fire. Brush with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place shallow pan on grill somewhat in front of capon to catch drippings. Pour chicken broth into pan. Care should be taken that drippings do not burn out during roasting. If necessary, place asbestos pad or several layers of aluminum foil beneath drip pan to further protect drippings. Roast capon 2-1/2 to 3 hours or until very tender. When done, remove from fire and let set a few minutes before carving. Skim fat from drippings and pour drippings into saucepan. Add port, cream and sugar and heat slightly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve gravy with capon after carving.

Fresh air and fine fare form a well-nigh unbeatable combination when it comes to making the most of an inviting evening; and, we aver, a bird-and-bottle barbecue will ensure your status as a superhost.