Promoting the eating of Game

[Rhythm Thief]

I'm not keen on rabbit - I made a rabbit stew in our slow cooker the other week and there are too many small bones in it for my liking - but our local butcher sells stewing venison. In the slow cooker all day with some streaky bacon and an onion and a glass of red wine it's absolutely delicious. Not too pricey either, about three quid a pound.

 

[Cycling Naturalist]

One of the most memorable meals I ever ate was a venison fillet. Very dark, very rare, very tender, and absolutely unforgettable.

Anyone got any good recipes for rabbit? I have three favourites and some cheats such as packet kebab mixes. We can often get "all bunnied out" as Cubester and I have shot up to a ton at a time, and really struggle to give so many away.

Casserole the rabbit whole or quartered depending on size of pot. Allow to cool. Strip meat off carcase and cut into bite size chunks. Cook up in white wine, garlic, fresh tarragon and shallots.

This tenderises even the toughest Welsh mountain rabbit and gets rid of the bones problem.

 

[Cubist]

I'm not keen on rabbit - I made a rabbit stew in our slow cooker the other week and there are too many small bones in it for my liking - but our local butcher sells stewing venison. In the slow cooker all day with some streaky bacon and an onion and a glass of red wine it's absolutely delicious. Not too pricey either, about three quid a pound.

Or you could bone it out, and make fricassee? I used to sell the saddles to a posh restaurant near here which left me with a whole load of leftover legs. I used to bone them out, mince them and turn them into burgers and seekh kebabs.
Bloody law has changed which means I can't sell now without a whole bureaucratic layer of nonsense, so I'm back to finding good homes for dozens at a time!

 

[Telemark]

Anyone got any good recipes for rabbit?

Poacher's risotto
(the poaching refers to the mushrooms in case you are wondering, not the rabbit, but that's another story ...)

Brown rabbit portions and then pour water on, add stock cube, bay leaf (or rosemary if you prefer), and simmer slowly until the rabbit meat almost falls off the bone. Remove meat from stock, leave to cool for a bit & take off the bone.

Best done the day/evening before you make the risotto, it looks after itself so no hassle, but does take time. We have also frozen both the cooked meat and the stock when we had lots.

Make risotto: fry chopped onion & garlic, add risotto rice, stir until it goes glassy, add a few splashes of white wine, stir until absorbed, add sliced leek, the meat & a few wild mushrooms (or ordinary ones if not available), then add the hot rabbit stock one ladle at a time and stir gently until absorbed. Serve with grated pecorino (or parmesan if you prefer).

This is also nice with a few handfuls of frozen peas (instead of the leeks), added with 5 min of cooking left, not at the early stage as for the leeks.

I've got another favourite rabbit recipe, but will need to find it ...

T

 

[Cubist]

OOH, sounds good! That'll be my next bunny meal.

 

[graham56]

Rabbit is fantastic, if you`ve never tried it give it a go. I also like pheasant, plenty of road kill round these parts. Oh and cushat, small but tasty.

 

[Cubist]

Rabbit is fantastic, if you`ve never tried it give it a go. I also like pheasant, plenty of road kill round these parts. Oh and cushat, small but tasty.

Columba palumbus, absolutely agree. Breasted and fried pink on a salad with crispy bacon and balsamic vinegar. You'd pay a fortune for that in a trendy restaurant.

 

[upsidedown]

I cook loads of game. Love it. Hare is one of my favourite things, was given one a fortnight ago, hung it, skinned it, gutted it, bled it, and jugged it. Wonderful dish.

.

I understand the "cook" verb in that sentence, the rest is something i have a feeling i am better off not knowing.

 

[Panter]

Gonna give this a go this Year.
We had a Pheasant over Xmas and a Giunea fowl from Sainsburys a couple of days ago. Very tasty and they seem to be a good alternative to intensively farmed meats.

Quick question though, is it all generally "welfare concern" free or is there anything I should be aware of or checking for on labels?

 

[Cubist]

Gonna give this a go this Year.
We had a Pheasant over Xmas and a Giunea fowl from Sainsburys a couple of days ago. Very tasty and they seem to be a good alternative to intensively farmed meats.

Quick question though, is it all generally "welfare concern" free or is there anything I should be aware of or checking for on labels?

Panter

I think I once read somewhere that people were farming pheasant for the table, but the majority you buy will be locally shot. You therefore need to be aware that this bird has been reared from chick to be released into a shooting estate, where it will be looked after like royalty.

A lot of gamebirds used to be medicated against all sorts of little nasties, but the current ethics of rearing them is to be as drug-free as possible.

Birds are fed well in pens and released near to the beginning of the season (September for Partridge, October for Pheasant) and make their own way into the landscape. On shoot days beaters and dogs flush the birds from cover and if they fly high and strong they are shot, retrieved and despatched as quickly and humanely as possible and then treated as a food product until they reach the table.

Ethically they are better off than majority of farmed poultry. The shooting itself has a huge benefit to the local economy and ecology, with locals employed to run and assist the shoot. Local fauna benefits massively from the incentives farmers have to plant cover crops and maintain ecologically sound hedgerows. Various species of songbird thrive on shoots which were under threat from intensively farmed unshot land.

The British landscape is actually shaped to a large extent by shooting management. Ask yourself why you will see a round wood in the middle of a huge expanse of pasture land....it's to keep game in cover.

Some estates do not rear gamebirds for release. Sandringham has a huge population of wild gamebirds.

Enjoy game, it's cheap, tasty, lean and virtually drug free. Unless you are a class warrior, celebrate the way it has been reared, looked after and shot as part of a great countryside tradition.

 

[661-Pete]

...where it will be looked after like royalty.

The only specimen of royalty I can think of, that was "looked after" in the same way, was this.

On shoot days beaters and dogs flush the birds from cover and if they fly high and strong they are shot, retrieved and despatched as quickly and humanely as possible

I have witnessed a shoot at close quarters - by accident, and unintentionally, whilst on a walk on the moors. I will only say that I felt physically sick. Even if all the birds I saw shot, were shot for food, which I hope.

Various species of songbird thrive on shoots which were under threat from intensively farmed unshot land.

But not raptors, huh? Gamekeepers still routinely remove eggs of, and poison birds of prey which dare to 'interfere' with their employers' pastime. This practice is highly illegal, of course, but still goes on.

I won't win the argument against cubist direct and blood sports fanatics of his type. But I must urge others reading this to consider, there is another perspective. I am not a class warrior: in fact I very much love the countryside and would wish to see it preserved and properly managed much in its present form (for instance I have participated in coppicing and hedge-laying). Just that: there is another way.

 

[Cubist]

The only specimen of royalty I can think of, that was "looked after" in the same way, was this.

I have witnessed a shoot at close quarters - by accident, and unintentionally, whilst on a walk on the moors. I will only say that I felt physically sick. Even if all the birds I saw shot, were shot for food, which I hope.

But not raptors, huh? Gamekeepers still routinely remove eggs of, and poison birds of prey which dare to 'interfere' with their employers' pastime. This practice is highly illegal, of course, but still goes on.

I won't win the argument against cubist direct and blood sports fanatics of his type. But I must urge others reading this to consider, there is another perspective. I am not a class warrior: in fact I very much love the countryside and would wish to see it preserved and properly managed much in its present form (for instance I have participated in coppicing and hedge-laying). Just that: there is another way.

I know that I will never convince anyone as firm in their views or opinions as you to change those views, any more than you will change mine. I do not enter into this sort of debate online. I respect your views, and do not wish to change them.

Panter asked for ethical considerations and got my perspective. You have added yours, but there won't be any argument by Cubist Direct or any other fanatics!

 

[661-Pete]

Fair enough response.

 

[Panter]

Thanks for the replies

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Rabbit is fantastic, if you`ve never tried it give it a go. I also like pheasant, plenty of road kill round these parts. Oh and cushat, small but tasty.

Yeah - good old rabbit - I do like them. Last one I had delivered pellets to my fillings. Fortunately I didn't crunch. But swallowed lead pellets? Hmmmph