Win a signed copy of ‘The Game Cookbook’
I’d like to thank Clarissa Dickson Wright and Kyle-Cathie the publishers, for giving me a signed
copy of her book, The Game Cookbook to give away as the first prize for our competition. To have a chance of winning, all you have to do is send us your favourite recipe for a delicious meal made using game. We are looking for originality as well as taste. To enter, simply email it to us by 20th December.
The Christmas competition winner will be selected on 22nd December and the winning recipe will be posted on the website, and published in the next issue of our newsletter. Our favourite runners up will also be published on the website, and we’ll notify you when they are to be published.
Here are some examples of recipes our customers have sent us:
Venison Sausage and Pheasant Casserole
Sent to us by Richard Wright of Chesham and winner of our Christmas recipe competition run with the Bucks Examiner
Breasts and thighs of 1 pheasant
4 Venison sausages
350g Smoked pork shoulder, cut into 1cm slices
2 Celery stalks chopped
1 Small leek, sliced
1 Small squash peeled and chopped into 2 cm cubes
2 Potatoes peeled and chopped into 2 cm cubes
1 can of butter beans, drained
2 cloves of garlic peeled and sliced
1 small dried red chilli crushed
1 tblsp Olive oil
100g Butter
3 tblsp Plain white flour
1 tblsp Black treacle
100ml Cider vinegar
1 ltr Game or chicken stock
1tsp Ground black pepper
1. Coat the pheasant pieces in 2 tablespoons flour, (reserving one for later)
2. Melt the butter in a large oven proof casserole pan with the oil
3. Using tongs, place the pheasant pieces in the pan and brown on both sides. Reserve on a pre-warmed plate in the oven
4. Add the pork slices and venison sausages to the left-over juices in the frying pan. Once browned, add to the warm plate in the oven
5. Add the celery, leek, dry chilli and garlic cloves to the juices in the frying pan. Fry until soft, then add remaining flour and brown. Pour in the cider vinegar and scrape the bottom of the pan to release the stuck on flour and meaty bits. Put all the meat and any juices left on the plate into the pan together with all the remaining ingredients and 1 litre or enough stock to float the vegetables
6. Turn the oven up to around 130C/260F. Bring the casserole to a hard simmer, put the lid on and cook in the oven for 2 hours or until the meat on the pheasant thighs is falling off the bone.
Faisan a la Normande (POT-ROAST PHEASANT)
Sent to us by Roger Askew of Stoke Poges and runner up in our Christmas competition run with the Bucks Examiner
This recipe keeps the pheasant wonderfully moist and succulent, and the calvados and crème fraiche give an authentic Normandy flavour.
1 pheasant
1 leek, finely sliced
1 carrot, sliced
100g button mushrooms
100g smoked bacon/lardons
6 juniper berries
100 ml hot game or chicken stock
bay leaf, parsley, sprig of thyme
2 tbsps calvados (or brandy)
2 tbsps crème fraiche
50g cold unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1. In a flame-proof casserole heat the oil, and brown the pheasant over a moderate to high heat
2. Remove the pheasant and keep warm. Lower the heat to moderate, and add the bacon until the fat runs and bacon colours a little
3. Add the leeks, cooking until soft
4. Add the carrots and mushrooms
5. Cook all these until soft – about 5-8 minutes
6. Return pheasant to casserole, and raise the heat
7. Heat the calvados (or brandy) in a ladle over the heat, ignite it and carefully pour it over pheasant. Allow flames to die down, shaking casserole as necessary
8. Add the stock and bring to a simmer
9. Add the herbs and juniper berries
10. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes, checking occasionally to ensure pheasant does not burn
11. The pheasant is cooked when the juices run clear when a skewer is inserted between breast and legs
12. Remove the pheasant and vegetables with slotted spoon. Keep warm
13. Now make the sauce. Add the crème fraiche to the remaining liquid and bring to simmering point
14. Add the butter in small cubes, whisking it over low to moderate heat until sauce thickens
Serve the pheasant on bed of the vegetables, garnished with watercress. Serve the sauce in a jug.
Roast Partridge with Truffles and Chestnuts
Sent in by Tim Geraghty of Chesham and runner up in our Christmas competition run with the Bucks Examiner
As a recent convert to partridge, here’s a recipe I devised a few weeks ago. You’ll need half a bird per person for a starter, or more as a main.
1 Partridge
1/4 lemon
8 chopped, pre-cooked chestnuts
Truffle (amount to your choice)
3oz butter
2 rashers smoked bacon
Sour dough toast or black pudding to serve
Optional accompaniments-fried slide apple, sliced parsnips roasted to chips
1. Stuff the bird with 1/4 lemon, 2 chopped pre-cooked chestnuts, salt and pepper
2. Rub butter all over the bird, then grate a little (or a lot!) of the truffle over it. Season and then cover the breast and leg with 2 rashers of smoked bacon
3. Roast in a hot oven (200/220) for 35 minutes, then add a large glass of red wine and the remaining chestnuts. Put back in the oven for a further 10 minutes
4. Remove the partridge and chestnuts and rest for 5-10 minutes lightly covered in foil
5. The juice from the pan can be reduced if needed. It should have an intense earthy flavour
6. Half the birds lengthways (i.e. a breast & leg on each portion) and then serve it to your preference, either on a slice of sour dough toast, or for extra extravagance, on a slice of fried black pudding
7. Put the crispy bacon from the roasting back on top of the meat, place the chestnuts around it and pour over the reduction
8. Serve with some fried sliced apple with the black pudding and/or very thinly sliced parsnips roasted to make crisps.
