If you are making the Sauce Espagnol, do that first. Heat the duck fat or butter in a small pot and add the flour. Stir well and let this cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until it turns the color of peanut butter. Add the wine (the mixture will sputter), and stir it in until combined. Turn the heat to medium-high and mix in the tomato paste, thyme and enough stock to make a thin gravy. Add salt and black pepper to taste and let this cook very gently over the lowest heat on the weakest burner you have.

Preheat the oven to 500°F. Coat the snipe with oil and salt well. Put them in a cast iron frying pan or small roasting pan. Roast for 8 minutes. Remove the birds from the oven and slice off the breasts and the legs. Set them aside for now.

Smash the rest of the carcasses in a mortar and pestle or in a pot using a potato masher. Put them in a medium pot and cover with 1 ¼ cups rose or red wine, the minced shallots and a pinch of salt. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 5 minutes.

Add ½ cup Sauce Espagnol and ½ cup duck, beef or chicken stock - or 1 cup stock if you are not making the espagnol - and boil this down by half. Set a fine strainer over a small pot and pour the contents of the first pot into it. Boil the strained sauce down by ⅓, then reduce the heat to low. Swirl in 2 tablespoons of butter, one tablespoon at a time. Keep warm.

While the carcasses are boiling, do the mushrooms. Set the mushrooms in a large frying or saute pan and turn the heat to high. Shake the mushrooms as they start to sizzle, and soon they will begin to give up their water; dry mushrooms won't, but they'll start to sear. When most of the water has boiled away or the mushrooms are searing, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and toss to combine. Add the salt and thyme and some black pepper and cook over medium-high heat until the mushrooms start to brown, about 8 minutes.

To finish the dish, get a small pan very hot and add a little vegetable oil to it. When the oil just barely starts to smoke, set the snipe breasts and legs in the pan skin side down. Sear until crispy, about 2 minutes. Or, you can use a torch like a Searzall to crisp the skin.

Toss the sauce with the mushrooms and give everyone some. Set the snipe pieces on top and garnish with parsley. I like to serve this with mashed potatoes or thick pieces of toast fried in butter or duck fat.