On the first properly cold autumn night of the year I drove west along the M4 to investigate the Oxford Blue Pub, just outside Old Windsor. My companion kept telling me that he was starving because all he’d had time to eat that day was a banana. “Good” I said,…
Food
Why gut rabbits straight away but not hares?
On the shoot where I beat the keeper always guts rabbits as soon as they are shot.
Why all fieldsports fans should vote in the Eat Game Awards 2019
At the Game Fair this year I sat down with Annette Woolcock, who is head of BASC’s Taste of Game campaign and a co-founder of the Eat Game Awards (EGA), which were launched last year. Annette set up the EGA with James Horne (Chairman of Purdey and Founder of Guns…
How it took a day’s hunting for me to understand ethical meat
I am languishing on my patio, riding out the horror of a three-day, post-music-festival hangover, when the phone rings. It’s Patrick Galbraith, an old friend and the Editor of Shooting Times. “Hi pal, I’ve been thinking about cooking up some squirrels and a deer and I was wondering if you…
How to prepare and dress a woodpigeon
Woodpigeon shooting provides fantastic, healthy meat and is a sustainable food source. The pigeon is an agricultural pest but it is only ethical that the shot birds are put to good use. Many people are put off by the thought of dressing birds, but instead of just giving the game…
How to sell your game without going through a game dealer
Last year the game market was one of the best to date for game dealers selling into home and international markets. Across the south of England the three main dealers were reporting that they were short of pheasants. The economics of the game market are complex but game dealers, despite…
Roasted shoulder of venison recipe for Easter
Recipe for roast shoulder of venison Ingredients 1.2 kg shoulder venison 1 bottle good red wine 275 ml game stock 4 tbsp olive oil Mixed peppercorns Juniper berries 6 large baking potatoes 100 grams butter 1 small cauliflower 1 small cabbage 2 large carrots fresh parsley 150 ml whipping cream Method Bone, roll and tie a shoulder of venison and…
Pheasant tagine with lemon couscous
Cooking pheasant It is essential to remember that pheasant needs a different approach to chicken if used as a substitute. Pheasant, on or off the bone, dries out swiftly even when cooked in liquid — in a casserole, for example. Cook it very gently and it will retain its juices…
An easy recipe for pheasant katsu curry
This recipe for tandoori pheasant with lemongrass and ginger rice is a fresh way of cooking pheasant that will help you work your way through a freezer full of game
Easy game chilli recipe
There is great pleasure to be taken from filling the fridge and the freezer with food you have provided. Whether that be shot game, foraged fruit or fungi, vegetables from the garden or herbs from the wayside, it is extremely satisfying. Like many Shooting Times readers I jealously guard my…
What food is best for my gundog puppy?
I'm 15 years old and about to buy a ten week old cocker spaniel bitch. At the moment it is being fed on Beta puppy food as I'm planning to work her when she’s older.
A simple recipe for venison sausages
Venison sausages by Barry Stoffell. Making sausages at home requires little specialist knowledge or equipment. As a minimum, you will need a way of mincing the ingredients and a means of getting the result into an edible tube. Simple hand-cranked mincers — the sort that your grandmother had — can…
Partridge risotto
Game recipe: Partridge risotto: This month Mark, a keen shot, shows us what can be done with some late season partridge.
Pheasant ballotine – a recipe you can prepare ahead
This recipe for pheasant ballotine with sussex truffles and quick-pickled trumpet chanterells is a star mushroom course
An easy recipe for venison carpaccio
Venison carpaccio – serves four This is my favourite way to eat venison raw, though you might say I’ve stretched the definition a bit by sealing the meat; in my opinion, this definitely still counts as raw and the seasoned, seared outer surface adds an extra layer of flavour. Many…
Dumped pheasant video provokes strong reaction from shooting organisations
The video was allegedly taken in November 2018 at Cotesbach Game farm in Leicestershire. Although it was found that the birds had been breasted, shooting organisations have united to condemn the activity shown. Liam Bell, Chairman of the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation said, “The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation is deeply dismayed by…
Venison ragu pappardelle
Mac & Wild at Falls of Shin, Scotland opened last summer under the watchful eyes of founders, Andy Waugh and Calum Mackinnon who already run London’s popular Mac & Wild restaurant. Both show off the best of Scottish produce. Here’s the Mac & Wild recipe for a delicious venison-based…
Woodpigeon breasts with caramelised parsnip puree, morel and sherry jus
Today’s recipe comes from Chef Rob Avery of the Jack Russell Inn, in Faccombe, Hampshire. The food served is grown locally on the surrounding Faccombe Estate and if you fancy staying overnight, there are 11 bedrooms – all named after dog breeds in keeping with the Jack Russell theme! This…
Five top tips for cooking game on a barbecue
Although he now lives and works in London, Joe Carhart has proper country credentials and grew up on a family farm in the West Country where shooting was a part of life. He’s always been a keen game cook and early on started running game barbecues for his friends. Everything…