munty king 0 Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 I went on a game preparation/cookery day at River Cottage HQ got it as a Christmas Present, it started at 10am on a Saturday Morning, they started with a Fallow Deer which they skinned and butchered, there was about 25 of us there so you get a good view and its all up close and you can ask questions. If you watch River Cottage or read any of the cookery books Hugh Fernley Whittingstal's main butcher is a guy called Ray, he is the one who teaches the day. As they butchered the Venison they cook the liver in a little oil which was lovely! The venison is shot locally on a nearby estate where they have farmed and wild deer. The stalker was actually there on the day cos he is a mate of ray's. He was on hand to answer any questions and generally he said he shoots over 350 deer a year, mainly Fallow, Roe and Sika. After the venison is butchered the loins were sent to the kitchen to be prepaired for our lunch and the trimmings were put in a seperate box for the game sausages to be made later. He showed us how to joint every cut, after this we had a coffee break while there changed the room around. After Coffee we moved onto Pheasant and Partridge, he showed us how to skin and de breast a pheasant and then pluck a partridge, then we all did our own birds, I have to say skinning and de breasting is much easier than plucking it! We then took alll the guts out etc and then once checked they were dressed in some streaky bacon and wrapped up for us to take home at the end of the day. Another coffee break while they prepaired the room for lunch, we had pheasant and leek pie to start then Venison with celeriac mash with roast parsnip and carrots. The Venison was perfect! Dessert was a lemon sponge and custard. Both Ray and the Stalker Richard sat down for lunch and were chatting and answering questions. They sold local brewed beers and cider which went down well. After lunch we moved onto Rabbit which was pretty straight forward and then made Game sausages. There was a nice little surprise at the end of the day which was a nice touch, you will find out if ever you go on a day. We were all given a little folder with all the recipes from the day plus a few extra, overall it was very informative and entertaining, I met some great people and my confidence was boosted when it comes to handling, preparing and cooking game. I left with my Pheasant, Partridge and game sausages which were lovely! The cost of the day £220.00 which initially does seem a lot but the overall experience of the day makes it worthwhile and worth the money. I would definately reccommend it, I am looking to do another one later this year. Today I have just picked up 4 brace of pheasant and 3 wood pigeon from my local shoot, all for £8! I have some Hare and Muntjac in the freezer, 2 rabbits in the fridge (caught yesterday) and I have some venison (Roe) on its way from Scotland (for free) so I am going to make a Game terrine, Game Pie and Game stew. About 16-20 portions of food all for less than £15! Beat the credit crunch and eat GAME! cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fieldsporthunter 1,864 Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 good wright up, sounds a good day out Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trader 0 Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 25 people x £220 =£5500 one days takings nice to see someone pursuing the self sufficiency dream Quote Link to post Share on other sites
craftycarper 0 Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 plus people re-booking for other days and word of mouth/internet forums and any little nic nacs they might have on sale, not a bad days work for them and advertising. Amazing how the series,following etc has grown over the years Quote Link to post Share on other sites
harrycatcat 31 Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 So Munty, can we look forward to you posting some of the recipies. The pheasant and leak pie sounds nice, bit late for this season but be ok to print off and save for next season. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Grant 4 Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Plenty of Pheasants and Leeks about this time of year. Pheasants will keep for a couple of weeks in this weather. Not cold enough to freeze the ground so you should be able to lift a couple of leeks. Whats the sauce for the pie? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest foxyjo. Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Nice write up and sounds like you had a good day!! Trader - I did the sums as well!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SNAP SHOT 194 Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 very good write up mate looking forward too seeing some of the dishes come to fruition, It is a lot of money really, but as you say you learned loads, and you can carry that with you for the rest of your days and share what you learned so if you look at it that way its cheap in the long run.. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
munty king 0 Posted February 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 I have a few of the recipes, I will post them up tomorrow when I have more time, you can also buy a dvd of the day which was bought for me as well, once i have seen it I will let you know if its worth having, that only costs £19.99 so its a £200.00 saving on the day. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
harrycatcat 31 Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Plenty of Pheasants and Leeks about this time of year. Pheasants will keep for a couple of weeks in this weather. Not cold enough to freeze the ground so you should be able to lift a couple of leeks. Whats the sauce for the pie? Just saying that the season ended Saturday for pheasants and I have eaten all I had so it loks like being a leek and leek pie for me. Not buying frozen ones from the farm shop as they cost an arm and a leg. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TOMO 28,286 Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 intresting wright up, im glad you enjoyed it, now put up all the things you learned , and all the recepies, and save us lot paying £220 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
munty king 0 Posted February 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Yesterday I skinned and debreasted 8 pheasants, all i use is the breast and the thigh, plus I had 3 pigeons, only took me about 20 mins to do the lot and it only cost me £8.00, £1 a bird and the pigeons for free. I have just cooked 3 pigeon breasts for lunch, they are very dark coloured meat, just put a bit of olive oil in a pan and gently fry them with salt and pepper, they taste lovely! Not very gamey at just a pleasant flavour, I also have 2 pheasant breasts wrapped in Bacon in the oven as I write this, I will post back shortly and let you know what there like! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
munty king 0 Posted February 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Just finished cooking the pheasant breast and they are not as tasty as the pigeon but they are still nice, the bacon definately helps, its not as good as chicken but when you think a free range chicken breast cost from £1.20 - £2.50 its not bad for 50p a breast!!!! cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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