FOOD RESOURCE COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SCIENCES, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
SAGE HEN
The Wide Encyclopedia of Cookery. An Encyclopedic Handbook for the Homemaker covering Foods and Beverages-their Purchase, Preparation, and Service. 1951. Wm. H. Wise & Co., Inc., New York.
is the largest of the grouse family in the United States, lives on the b arren plains where the Artemisia, or sage brush, grows in abundance. This aromatic plant furnishes both safe cover and food. In fact, because the sage hen's diet includes such a large portion of sage leaves, the flesh becomes strongly tainted to the point that it is not palatable.
However, the flesh of young birds is much more delicate and not so overpowering in the flavor of sage. Accordingly, young sage hens are considered excellent eating and are in demand when and wshere available. Because they are rather tame and large in size, they are easily shot and will soon become rare unless preservation measures are effected.