Game on!

Well folks, the heating is on, the woolly jumpers have come out from under the bed and it’s time to cook some serious comfort food!

Apart from hearty stews and cockle warming soups now is the time to cook game birds of every description. From the celebrated grouse (found incidentally only in the North of England and in Scotland) to the humble pheasant, partridge and snipe it’s time to turn our collective backs on the heated chicken debate and embrace all things wild and feathered.

Game birds are by definition, free range, organic and nutritionally better than any of their plastic wrapped competitors. Low in fat and cholesterol game birds are something that we should all consider as a viable alternative to the usual roast.

The problem that faces most game dealers, however, is that the common misconception is that it’s…well, a bit gamey. Strong tasting and in many ways a bit too rich for most people the poor old game bird has become a bit hard to sell to your average consumer. But, fear not, game virgins, things have changed and it is now more likely that you find a roast pheasant to be simply a flavoursome alternative to chicken rather than something to be feared and avoided. A visit to your local Waitrose will yield a veritable bounty of ready to cook game birds if you don’t have a local butcher with good gamey connections (That said,I do think you should try lobbying your butcher first)

Game is a natural and altogether cosy bedfellow with autumnal vegetables such as parsnips, squash, wild fungi so I always look forward to finding the best chantrelles, girolles, ceps and of course the king of all fungi - the white winter truffle.

Keep in touch for some traditional and some not so traditional game recipes that I have been testing out recently!