Game Season at Ludlow Farmshop
Braemar Pheasant
Ingredients
4oz thickly sliced bacon, cut into strips
2 leeks, coarsely shredded
2 tbsps sunflower oil
6 pheasant breasts (skin removed)
1oz plain flour
1/2 pint apple juice
1/2 pint chicken stock
1 tbsp cranberry or redcurrant jelly
Few sprigs of fresh parsley
Large sprig of fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to season
Method
1. Heat a non-stick frying pan and add the bacon. Cook gently, stirring occasionally for a few minutes.
2. Add the leeks and cook until leeks are starting to brown and the bacon is crisp. Remove both to a plate.
3. Heat oil in the same pan and fry pheasant breasts quickly in a high heat until browned all over. Lift out and add to bacon and leeks.
4. Add flour to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Gradually blend in the apple juice, stock and cranberry or redcurrant jelly. Bring to the boil, stirring until thickened.
5. Return the pheasant, bacon and leeks to the pan and add parsley, thyme, bay leaf and seasoning. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer until pheasant is tender. (Or put in a moderate oven for 1-1.5 hours)
6. Remove bay leaf, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with mashed potato.
Our Head Butcher, John Brereton, has put together his favourite tips & tricks during the game season!
Venison
Venison Haunch boneless
This boneless joint cut from the top of the back leg is dark meat, extremely lean and tender. The venison haunch joint comes boned, rolled and tied. It is best roasted and served pink to maintain the moisture of this low in fat roasting joint.
Venison Saddle boneless and bone in
A cut with a reputation that says party time: In fact, it’s several cuts in one. Properly cooked and correctly carved, it’s a sight for sore eyes on the dinner table. Think of a saddle of venison as a spectacular joint with the bone still in. It’s important that the venison fillet, which is part of the saddle, isn’t cooked at a low temperature. Perfect with a red wine sauce!
Venison Steak
Venison steak is not only incredibly delicious, it’s also a very lean meat that is rich and flavoursome and lower in fat than beef. Cook in the same way as you would a beef steak and perfect paired with a rich port, mushroom or redcurrant sauce.
Diced Venison
Cubes of lean boneless venison meat, from the leg or shoulder. Perfect for a hearty casserole or stew, slow cooked with lashings of red wine.
Venison & Redcurrant Burger
Made with seasoned venison mince, Venison has 50% less fat than beef, making it a healthier red meat alternative.
Venison with Red Wine and Garlic Sausages
Try a different kind of sausage, our venison sausages are so flavoursome, very lean and great for a posh alternative to your usual bangers and mash. Why not serve them with creamy mash potato and braised red cabbage.
Feathered Game
Partridge
It’s a small bird, so a whole one feeds one person. Don’t treat partridge as you would a chicken – these birds need far less time in the oven and are best served pink and juicy. However older birds, as a rule of thumb, benefit from slower braising and stewing (try classic combinations such as bacon, with a side of Savoy cabbage) to make the most of their intense, rich and robust flavour.
Grouse
The meat of a grouse is dark and has a clearly gamey flavour. One bird can serve to 2 to 4 people depending on its weight. Grouse is best roasted.
Guinea Fowl
Guinea fowl tastes rather like a cross between a pheasant and a corn fed chicken – the flavour is gamier than a chicken but milder than pheasant so is a good introduction to gamier flavours for the uninitiated.
Mallard
Wild duck, the meat is dark and full of flavour, and one whole mallard will usually serve two people.
Pheasant
Pheasant meat is relatively easy to handle for beginners at cooking game. The light meat has a mild flavour that works well slow cooked. Pheasant breasts are boneless and skinless and have many uses. You can generally use them as a substitute for chicken in most dishes.
Pigeon Fillets
The meat is relatively dark, with a quite mild flavour. Like all wild game, the taste varies depending on the season and what the bird has been eating.
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