Henry dV

Being married to a Cornish lass, and for living there, for 12 years-ish, I feel compelled to agree Davydd, as regards shaping. The crust around the side was ther to assist the Cornish miners in staying alive after eating, the problem with mining ore is heavy metals and if you eat deep below ground all manner of politeness is left above ground. The pastry crimp was never eaten and was left below ground and was used as a handle to eat the potato/swede/carrot/onion and beef filling. Now here`s a twist...... ......it also contained the dessert course !! One end was savoury and the other contained the dessert course, usually jam(jelly) and cream, or in season apple and cream. Hope this is of some use.

Ab-so-lutely on the money......... a most under-rated cut IMHO. Braise, casserole, daube, pot au feu........generally anything slow and anything that can be re-heated and therefore gelatinously heaven.

As this is generally aimed at, I believe the American viewers, please feel free to send me packing. In the UK the turkey is the Christmas bird, although only recently, and what we do in our household with any and all roasted white bird meat leftovers is to remove from the carcase all lean meat, then weigh it and make a vegetable mirepoix of equal cooked weight and leave to cool. Next step is to make a roux and when mirepoix and roux are cool mix together with the finely chopped turkey and some fresh herbs to a nice cohesive paste the size of a squash ball and then dredge with plain(general purpose) flour, then beaten egg and finally breadcrumbs, this is then deep fried and served with lemon wedges and tartare sauce. I do however agree with Fat Guy, that the kind of recipes touted by the magazines etc. can be as we say a bit hackneyed, but that is the nature of the beast perhaps ?

chefteddy - try asking on the upland journal site, they have a BB called upland talk and as buying squirrels is concerned we know the score, however trade not involving monetary movement may be allowed and I`m sure they will help. As for how to "unzip" them, try a craft(Stanley Knife in the UK) knife and it is easier, in the field we do it whilst warm if possible. I like to braise them in cider, that`s fermented apple juice in the UK, I can`t remember what the correct US term is, possibly applejack (?) However most are devoured "au Naturale" by my ferrets

Round of applause for Peter please, TOP POST ! The duck is the flying version of the pig IMHO.

Try this Simon.....Coq Pheasant au Vin Apologies for the simplistic method but I posted this elsewhere and just pasted here ! First get a nice old cock(snigger, snigger.....get it over with) pheasant as they have the taste but are tough and better suited to this treatment. Choose a pheasant with big spurs as that will be an old one, skin it and joint it into 4 pieces. Then assemble the rest of the ingredients as below.... 250gm belly pork 4-5 small pickling onions or the same amount of shallots quartered 2 sticks celery cut at an angle 6 small mushrooms 1 whole HEAD of garlic(stick with me you`ll thank me later) butter plain flour 1/2-3/4 bottle of red wine(cheap is fine) 1 pint of chicken/vegetable stock Thyme and bay salt and pepper. Pre-heat oven to gas 1/2 or 120" C Melt some butter in a large frying pan and fry the cubes of belly pork,I had a spare single sausage in the fridge so that went in too. Whilst they are browning, place some of the wine in a flame proof casserole dish and warm it through and then put a couple of tablespoons of flour in a plastic bag and add a pinch of salt and a few twists of pepper. Put a joint of pheasant at a time into the bag and shake so it gets coated lightly with flour. Remove the pork from the pan when golden and add to the casserole dish then if necessary add more butter and fry the onions and celery until lightly golden and add to the casserole dish, then do the same with the jointed pheasant. Always try not to over crowd the pan. De gaze the pan with some of the stock and using a wooden spatula get all the crispy(tasty) bits off the bottom. Pour the juices into the casserole The casserole dish will look overcrowded at this point but thats OK for this part of the recipe, add the rest of the hot stock and herbs. Then cut the head of garlic in half around the equator(see further down) and squeeze this in too. If it isn`t all covered top up with wine. If it is drink the wine Cook for at least 1-1/2 hrs in the oven, then strain the liquid off through a fine sieve(not plastic) into a pan and boil to reduce it by about 1/3 to half it`s volume. Remove the meat from the bones and return to the veg and keep warm. Now get the garlic and squeeze the halved cloves out of their skins and mash to a paste with a fork and add this to the cooking liquid. This will add the sweetness to the sauce and is VERY wortwhile. When the sauce is reduced add the meat and veg and allow to heat through, then fry the mushrooms in butter and add. Serve with what ever you fancy, I like plenty of mashed tattie and some carrots and savoy cabbage. **edited to add the mushrooms......Sorry !**

My Jugged Hare has chocolate in it and makes a real difference. http://www.rivercottage.net/SeasonalRecipe...rtid=71&cid=150 HFW`s recipe

Peter - The bird in the avatar was eaten a few years ago and was as always delish The quail will be quicker than the 40lb-ers Tim - Yes it is a cider and apple braise but the birds will be seared first and are skinless(pheasant skin tears so easy whilst plucking) PTdeC - I like that idea ! Smithy - Photos of the pheasant or the Firefighters ?? Cheers one and all !

I am making lunch for all the guys at work on Sunday, we`re Firefighters, and the basic ingredients are as above, so it is to all intents and purposes Normandy Phessy. What herbs would you put into the sauce and at what stage......thyme early on.....tarragon to finish....or a combination ??? The birds will be mildly gamey as they will have hung for 5 days and are all, or as sure as I can be, birds of the year. Many thanks from us all and if there are enough ladies or other interested parties reply we may post pictures of the guys and their meal

How would you like it sent, 1st or 2nd class ?? The problem with field shot Deer and, for that matter, Hare (as this IMHO would make superb black pud) is the possibility of contamination of stomach contents from either a carless gralloch or a shot off target or one that is deflected by bone. I have given this some thought, believe me, and given the right animal and shot I will be able to do it and this forum will be the first to know, I have skins on standby

I just did a little searching and found a J-C Novelli recipe for pigs trotters stuffed with chicken mousse and black pudding and that is really tickling the taste buds, but obviously with the venison chops rather than the trotters in this instance. Once again my thanks are due.

Cheers Insomniac, that sounds good especially as I have these I have the tarragon in the garden so all I need is to sort the chicken for the mousse. You`ve gotta love this site for the broad base of knowledge and the different ideas that turn up. Many thanks

Cheers Abra, I tried the terrine and it was very nice, however I was a little over zealous with the caul fat on the top of the terrine, I initially thought it would help keep it moist, which it did but it was too much and needed trimming pre serving. Before cooking......... ....and after. Again many thanks, I have tried it on meatballs and it was good, but again it needs to be well trimmed as the thicker fat detracts from the soft meat inside. I shall be better prepared next time !

Not an expert, by any stretch of the imagination, but I do eat a lot of rabbit and I would go with something containing apples and/or calvados and/or tarragon and/or capers possibly layering with boudin noir all of which goes well with rabbit.

I never thought of that and I do have a LOT of liver at my disposal too, I think a few juniper berries and sage will go well with that. Many thanks !

Yeah, yeah, tell that to foxes, domestic cats, polecats..........

As it says above, I`ve never tried using caul fat, but the buck I shot last night was well endowed with both caul and bodily fat and I`d like to give it a whirl but would prefer to use it for something other than faggots. All replies greatfully received

Goats cheese and tarragon. Sundried tomatoes(preserved in EVOO) and thyme. Mixture of butter, crushed garlic, lemon skin and thyme wrapped in parma ham. It`s 9-25am and I`m now hungry !!

Oh, Sir Henry!!! I knew we could count on you! Did you box the pastry with your own cool hands? ← Certainly did, you can`t beat a cold water crust

So where are the picnic pies & chutneys........... ............pigeon and pork, a fave around these parts.

...............or your Kofta kebab sausages......... 1/4 kilo each of Woodpigeon and Belly pork(50% visible fat) Small handfull of fresh breadcrumbs Tbsp corriander seed(toasted and ground) 1/2 Tbsp cumin seed(toasted and ground) 2 Tbsp corriander(cilantro) chopped 1 Tbsp mint chopped salt, pepper and chilli powder to taste. ...............come on you know you want to !!

C`mon people, it`s sausages lets get thinking of what tastes good/different. Don`t get bogged down in the mundane, try something different, smoked duck, fish, pork trotters, HAGGIS even.............. Come on, it doesn`t even need to be in a skin, try skewering it as a kofta(curry) kebab........... I`m a sausage virgin, no jokes please, as I`ve only been mincing, stop it!, for 2 years and I have had good and indifferent results. Pork and rabbit 1/4 kilo of each meat, pork was 50% visible fat(belly) 100gm oatmeal soaked in game stock 50gm sauteed shallots 50gm sundried tomatoes salt & pepper to taste. Hog casings. The pale sausages were without the toms and heavy on shallots, garlic, thyme and sage. Come on people where are your poached sausages............

I disagree sir, and refer the honourable gentleman to the following image....... .........first day of the season here, and unfortunately I`m duckless

FWIW - I think you might find it`s actually illegal to buy/sell wild geese in the UK, also of the geese and duck I shot last year only the September shot birds were not worth the effort of skinning and rendering, but the later birds were as fat as butter. SP 1187 - QUOTE**how and for how long can I store it?** In glass jars when hot and then closed tight, I have some from october last and it`s still OK, however I use any that are opened within 3 months so they last at least that long. 2 more things, firstly, remember to cut around the preen gland and discard this as it has a very strange bitter taste, lastly, I too have an 11-87 and it`s a great gun, I hope to upgrade to the SP10 soon

Since finding this forum I shall always have duck confit and onion confit in the fridge and as a stock ingredient it has to be Worcestershire sauce. If I had a big enough freezer I`d never eat chicken again, just Pheasant, IMHO the best white fowl meat.