Prior to retiring my passion, apart from food and working what seemed to be every minute God sent, was shooting and fishing. Since retiring I have fished but not anywhere near as much as I would have wanted, and I really – really want to catch a salmon. In all my attempts I have caught and lost one in Ireland and one in Scotland – caught and lost, never landed!
One is always reminded that it is called fishing, not catching – for a reason!
As for shooting, I’ve not managed to pick up a gun for years now, and I miss it so much. There was a time when, if I was walking my dog, then I had a gun over my arm too, never without one – dog or gun.
I therefore always looked forward to January; business was quiet, so I had more time, and I used to love to shoot, especially in the snow. As I sit here writing this, there are around 2 inches (that’s 5 cm to you youngsters) lying on the ground at the moment, and the sun is shining brightly. It is cold, crisp and dry, a perfect day, although the birds never flew just as well in sunny conditions as in duller ones, but it is much nicer to be out there when it’s bright rather than dull. It was days like this that I’d dream about for a shoot day. Sadly, those days are behind me now, and I am saddened to see how the government seems to be trying to ban all they can where the countryside is concerned. Anyway, let’s not turn this into a political campaign!
The game season is just too short, and the end of January sees the end of it till the glorious
12th (August) is a long way off! Of course, grouse starts the season off, but its season also finishes first, on the 10th of December, and these dates are for all species: red, black and ptarmigan. The pheasant and partridge season is open till the 1st of February, with pheasant opening on the 1st of October along with that of woodcock, and partridge a month earlier on the 1st of September. The duck season, which is more complicated but essentially runs to the same dates as partridge, and all species seasons differ depending upon which of the home countries you are in and, in some cases, which counties you’re in too.
Wood Pigeon Terrine, Air-Dried Wild Duck with Pickled Vegetables
So why am I writing about it? Simply that it will soon be over again very soon, and it is always worth reminding as many people as possible about the benefits of eating game; there is far too little of it available, and while I understand some of the reasons for its scarcity, I have never really seen or accepted them as valid.
I know plucking and gutting a bird is not everyone’s cup of tea, and therefore it puts people off, the same as preparing fish, but then again neither is skinning, eviscerating and butchering a cow or a sheep, but we have butchers to do that for us, and all we need to buy is the ready-to-cook product, so why does that not happen with game? Butchers and supermarkets seem reluctant to stock and sell game. Why is that? I bet they will say that not enough people ask for it, and I’m sure that’s true as far as it goes, but think about that for a minute: if you have no experience of it, why would you ask for it? What if every supermarket and butcher stocked various game species throughout the seasons? You’d get used to seeing it, wouldn’t you? I bet eventually you’d buy some, if only once, as a change perhaps, or just to give it a go.
A friend of mine has a young daughter who loves venison, but he can’t find it anywhere. Before customers will start asking for a product, they have to start wanting it; they will only do that if those wanting to sell can make it attractive and create the demand, so why has this not happened, or why is no one seemingly trying?
Whenever and wherever I have put game on a menu, and I’m sure the majority of chefs would back me up on this, it has always been the most popular item on the menu. Be it a pheasant terrine, a pithivier of wild duck livers, breast of partridge, a loin of venison or roast woodcock, the game dishes always outweigh any other. If you don’t give people the chance to buy, they won’t. Present them attractively, offer them as a hassle-free product, e.g., oven ready, and teach them how to cook/use it (properly) with some point-of-sale material perhaps or good explicit instructions on the box, or even an in store demonstration. Everyone loves a cookery demo! Then surely there is a far greater chance of a sale.
Apart from my 2nd book on Poultry & Game being a great success, I also, a few years ago now, did some game preparation and cookery demonstrations, but sadly these were short-lived; funding was not there for them. Today there are some that are still out there trying to do their bit, but all too few and too low-key. We need to be shouting from the rooftops about this fabulous, versatile and healthy source of protein.
Roast Grouse with Oranges and Blackberries Sautéed Roe Deer Loin with Burnt Onions
I recently saw on social media a post where a shooting estate was running game preparation classes. I thought this was a great idea and initiative, and about bloody time too. What was immediately evident, though, was they were not doing a very good job of it, and that was seriously annoying. All they were doing (so it seemed) was teaching folks how to skin a bird and remove the flesh – mainly the breasts – with little or no thought as to what can/could be done with the legs. This is just a lack of knowledge and ability on their behalf and was so sad to see. Why not teach how to pluck and dress a bird properly and how to skin and joint a rabbit – and that is not just with a cleaver!
The legs of any of the game birds are as useable as the breasts, so why discard them? Why skin every bird when the main fat store is just under the skin? What happens to the carcasses? The stock from them can be used in the same way as that of any poultry. There was even a comment on the best way to skin a bird: that was in some way to hold it down by the head with your foot and rip the skin off! (Please also read my piece from last year in my posts entitled “These birds had to die for someone to treat them like this”.)
Many think shooting is barbaric; who can blame them if we treat what is shot this way? Any animal should be treated with respect. Whether it has been killed in an abattoir or shot in the field, we should be looking to treat them all with the respect they deserve, and if we are killing to eat them, then we should eat all they offer, not just select bits. Yes, even the legs, liver and hearts, as they too are worthy. So come on BASC, Countryside Alliance, Game & Wildlife Conservancy Trust, GFA, National Gamekeepers Organisation, Shooting Times, Sporting Gun, and all of you, wake up and get your act together, ready for the 2026/7 season well in advance too in order to get game promoted widely and recognised as the healthy, low-fat, sustainable food alternative that it is and that, during the season, is in abundance. Shooting is in grave danger of being banned, along with the other countryside activities they are looking to make extinct. If we do not get off our arses soon, then it will be gone – once gone, it will never return. Use it, or in this case – eat it – or lose it!