Good Game, Good Game

Game On

Nic Reuben discovers a healthy and sustainable alternative source of meat on our doorstep.

We’re starting to ask more from our meat. Not just as food lovers, but as consumers and community members making conscious efforts to buy not only high quality, but local, cruelty free, and sustainable. Game is the perfect match to meet these demands. The sustainability of game production means that the countryside is protected, preserved, and maintained. It’s produced in high welfare environments, and a boon to the local economy. Once it’s made its way to your plate, you’ll find more protein and less cholesterol than the usual fare. It’s also delicious, of course, but we wouldn’t be writing about it if it wasn’t!

Welsh Game is nothing new

Scottish grouse moors and English deer parks aren’t the only places in the UK with a rich history of game. Early medieval Welsh texts, The Mabinogion and The Law of Hywel Dda, both refer extensively to the hunting of deer and wild birds. World renowned Ynyshir Restaurant was once Queen Victoria’s hunting lodge and Wentwood Forest, near Chepstow, was once a hunting preserve and is now the largest area of ancient woodland in Wales. So Wales is an abundant source of a sustainable and healthy supply of game, if you know where to look. Will Oakley from Willo Game, whose company is one of the UK’s major processors of game, is a huge advocate of Welsh game in particular. “There’s been a tendency to overlook Welsh game but it’s probably the best there is. Welsh venison is increasingly well known for its amazing quality, and it’s so healthy, it’s unbelievable. And the Welsh countryside and game estates are perfect environments for pheasant”. He continues “Everybody’s becoming more conscious of sustainability, food miles and sourcing local produce and game fits that profile exactly. Combined with its nutritional values of high protein and low fat, and, being easy to source and prepare, it’s a no-brainer. Other people around the world really appreciate and enjoy Welsh game and we should be doing the same as it’s on our doorstep and we’d be supporting our rural communities and economy.”

Range of Game

The term ‘game’ not only includes venison but also covers wild boar, pigeons, and rabbits. However Wales’ most common and widely available game are gamebirds, including pheasant, partridge, grouse, woodcock and duck. So there is a real bounty of Welsh game on offer.

Game On Game On

Starting with venison, for those new to cooking with wild game, venison mince from Welsh deer offers a perfect introduction. This delicious, complex meat is leaner and richer in protein than beef mince, but can be added to any recipe that would traditionally call for beef - everything from hearty cottage pies to spicy tacos and creamy lasagne.

Venison’s flavour, sustainability, and health benefits are just a few of this versatile meat’s fabulous traits. But alongside the five types of deer that Wales is home to - that’s red, roe, fallow, muntjac, and the odd sika - there’s a treasure trove of other game meat that shares these characteristics.

Seasonality and taste go hand in hand with gamebirds. When the pheasant season begins in October, the meat is milder, but as the season goes on and the birds have more time to forage on wild berries and seeds - and to stay active in the wonderful Welsh wilds - the meat will grow richer, denser, and leaner. It’s for these reasons that early season pheasant is best roasted, while late season works perfectly for slow, hearty, and warming dishes.

Grouse - which have the darkest and most complex meat of the gamebirds - are a similar story. The season begins on the famous ‘Glorious’ twelfth of August. As the months progress, the older Grouse becomes leaner and tougher, but richly flavourful - perfect for recipes with a lot of spice, like Indian curries or tagines. For those taking their first foray into cooking with game, partridge - offering a delicious but less traditionally ‘gamey’ flavour, especially younger birds - make a simple (but far more exciting!) substitute for chicken.

If you’ve spotted deer while hiking, there’s a good chance you’ve bumped into either roe or red - both are common and native to Wales. The male and female of the larger red deer are known as stags and hinds respectively, the smaller roe are bucks and does. Your supplier probably won’t correct you, but it’s useful to sound like you know what you’re talking about! And generally speaking, smaller deer such as roe have a more delicate flavour. Red deer stags are seasonal from early August to the end of April, while Roebuck season runs from April to the end of October. Both red hinds and roe doe are seasonal from November to the end of March. For steak lovers, the best cuts of venison make beautiful medium-rare dishes, and pair perfectly with cranberries, mushrooms, celeriac, and a French red - either for cooking or sipping!

You’ll also find a delicious selection of Welsh venison sausages in season, but banger fans might also want to swap out their regular porc for something a bit wilder. Camarthen’s Red Valley Farm won Hybu Cig Cymru’s ‘Put Your Best Sausage Forward’ award last year for their wild boar and apple bangers. It’s not just sausages, either. Welsh wild boar makes a nutty, sweet, and flavourful alternative in any traditional porc dish.

Where can you find it?

You’ve no doubt got your game menu all planned out by now. So, where to buy? If you happen to be in the north, why not pay Pennant Valley Game - and

Izzy’s Butchers - a visit? “Game shooting,” says the Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant based traditional butcher, “has huge benefits in rural areas not only for the conservation efforts of estates but also boosting the local economy.” And numerous studies agree, citing a boon to the UK’s economy upward of £2billion a year. The benefits of game aren’t just financial, but environmental. Game is a decidedly low carbon choice. Game animals thrive in the Welsh countryside, foraging for food, and causing minimal impact on the environment. Best of all, the game industry supports the conservation efforts and trade of local Welsh producers and businesses - something you can take part in just by making your home menu healthier, exciting, and more delicious. Pennant Valley’s own range includes wild Welsh fallow venison, oven ready partridge, and pheasants, locally sourced from North Powys’ Llechweddygarth Estate. You can even order online at wildwelshmeat.co.uk

Located in picturesque Corwen, the renowned, 12,500 acre Rhug estate offers award winning produce from their organic farm and eatery. The estate boasts a Net Zero award for its use of solar, wind, and hydro power to ensure sustainability and a minimal carbon footprint, and a farm free of artificial sprays and fertilisers. Shortlisted for this years’ Game Butcher of the Year Award in the Eat Game Awards, they offer a range of game, as well as Ballancourt’s range of duck, venison, and pheasant pâtés.

For those closer to the capital, P&R Hopkins High Class Butchers & Deli offers an extensive and quality range of specialist meats, including wild welsh venison, partridge, pheasant, and duck. Pontypool’s Trealy Farm Charcuterie, who use Wales’ award winning Halen Môn Anglesey Sea Salt in all their Salamis, have won multiple awards themselves, including British Cured Meat Awards for their smoked duck breast and wild boar and red wine salami. They also offer venison and pork salami, wild boar pancetta, and juniper cured wild venison carpaccio. Further west, Haverfordwest’s Prendergast Butchers offer locally reared Pembrokeshire rabbits, as well as a selection of other seasonal game, and even feature mouth-watering recipes at their website, specially picked to complement their Farm Assured Welsh livestock. This is just to name but a handful of Wales’ top suppliers, but if you’re after more, the 2022/23 Welsh Game Guide is freely available online. And if you’d rather try some new dishes before diving right into cooking your own, the guide has a list of fifty restaurants that specialise in delicious game dishes, from pubs to fine dining, from venison steaks to creamy gamebird curries.

But isn’t game difficult to prepare?

Don’t let myths about game being tricky to cook scare you off from getting it on the table yourself. While it might be true of hunting a wily grouse, the actual cooking couldn’t be simpler. Game is not only sustainable, delicious, healthy, versatile, and directly supportive of Welsh businesses - it’s just as easy to prepare as any other meat. This is especially true if you follow a few simple preparation steps, depending on the season.

As we’ve mentioned, venison mince or a ready to roast partridge make ideal starting points, as does pheasant breast - there’s a reason pheasant is the most popular gamebird, after all! As a general rule of thumb, there are two approaches to cooking delicious game. Young or early season game shines when it’s cooked fast on a high heat, such as a medium-rare venison loin steak. You’ll get the best results out of older or late season game cooked slow and low, like a hearty venison mince pie, or a warming pheasant cawl.

In terms of cuts, venison backstrap - or loin - makes for terrific medallion steaks, sliced thin for grilling or pan-searing. Once you’re feeling a bit more confident, diced and aged loin also works for a delicious tartare. The lean shoulder suits slow cooking well, and the rear leg and rump offer perfect cuts for roasting. Try pairing with a fruit like cranberry sauce or blackberry to complement the rich, dark meat.

With pheasant, there’s no better place to start than the breast. It’s an incredibly versatile cut that can be marinated with your favourite seasonings in just an hour, or even overnight. Garlic, thyme, rosemary, pepper, and lemon can all work wonders with this remarkable bird, without interfering with the naturally mild flavour of the pheasant itself. As a lean meat, adding a fat like butter, or even wrapping in bacon, can help ensure a tender end result.

A ready to roast partridge is a simple and exciting addition to any Sunday dinner, with redcurrant gravy, red cabbage, and seasonal root vegetables. As with pheasant, some butter, lard, or bacon is perfect for keeping the meat tender. Wild boar is seasonal all year round, and boar bacon, burgers, and sausages make simple swaps for their porc and beef counterparts. For a longer cook, try seasoning wild boar with honey, parsley, time, garlic, and pepper, and braising long and slow for a hearty winter warmer. And with the days already getting shorter, what better time to take those first tentative steps into the wild, wonderful world of Welsh game?

Figgy Pheasant Traybake With red onion, thyme and black olives

Serves 4 Prep time: 20 minutes + 2 hrs marinade Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 pheasant breasts • 1 whole garlic bulb • 3 tbsp sherry vinegar • 8 sprigs of thyme • 2 red onions • 6 fresh figs • 12 black olives, halved and stoned • 3 tbsp Blodyn Aur rapeseed oil

Method

Marinade

1. Marinate the pheasant by crushing two cloves of garlic and mixing with a tablespoon of vinegar and the leaves from a few sprigs of thyme. Season the breasts with salt and pepper and leave in the marinade for a few hours or overnight.

To cook

2. Heat the oven to 200°C/400°F Gas 6 (180°C fan) and put the remaining garlic clove, whole in their skin, in a large, deep oven tray. Peel and cut the onions into 8 wedges and add the garlic then cut the figs in half and add to the tin with the remaining thyme. 3. Pour over the oil and toss the vegetables and figs with your hands then season with salt and pepper and drizzle over the remaining vinegar and any marinade then roast for 20 minutes.

4. Heat a frying pan over a high heat and quickly brown the marinated pheasant breast on both sides and transfer to the over tray after the onions have roasted for 20 minutes and scatter over the olives.

Roast for a further 15-20 minutes until the breasts have cooked.

To Serve

5. Remove from the onion and serve straight from the tray with some crispy potatoes and a green salad.