With friends and family gathering over Christmas, it’s worth considering wild game for a special meal. We have a huge selection at this time of year, and game is healthy, sustainable and delicious. It’s also surprisingly easy to cook: Venison can be eaten like beef, and if you can roast a chicken, then partridge and pheasant are straightforward – but you don’t want to over-cook them.
The choice of cuts means that you can prepare almost any meal using game as the main ingredient, from Spaghetti Bolognese with venison mince and wild mushrooms to pheasant korma (which I cooked for the kids this week…. just tell them it’s pheasant after they’ve finished!).
We have all the cuts available in the butchery, as well as venison burgers and sausages, while in the deli we have venison sausage rolls. On the specials board in the kitchen we have roast partridge with pickled beetroot salad & chips, and Gavin will cook a whole roast haunch of venison on the Big Green Egg for four or more if you pre-book. For Christmas we are preparing Venison Wellington which you can just pop in the oven for the most delicious ready meal on the planet.
Please place your Christmas order for game by the 10th December – as the weather turns wilder, it can become scarce (venison in particular) so we need a clear idea of how many orders we have.
There is an excellent recipe in the latest Emsworth Magazine ‘Coastline‘ from local chef Gary Pearce (36 On the Quay) which you can up for free from the Farm Shop and other local retailers. Pan Roasted Stansted Venison Loin on a bed of sauerkraut with pumpkin and orange compote and wild mushroom sauce.