Once the nights draw in, and the weather turns colder, game becomes a popular choice in our shops. By family tradition, we waited until the first frosts before we tucked into pheasant or venison.

You can do great things with venison, as long as you remember that it is a very lean meat and has the potential to be dry. In this class, you will learn the traditional way of larding the haunch, using fat, streaky bacon which is passed through the muscle to dissolve during cooking. We will also offer a rather lovely Victorian marinade in which the piece can be coated in, prior to pot roasting.

Roasting a pheasant whole can be a little disappointing as the legs take a lot longer than the breast, here you will learn how to remove the legs, stuff them with a little pork and a handful of muscatel grapes, ready for a slow-cook. You will then be shown how to take the breast off the bone, ready to be pan-fried with mushrooms and cream for an unctuously rich sauce.

One partridge per person should be the rule, but it needs to be well-prepared prior to cooking. We will show you how to prime the bird ready for a quick blast in a hot oven, so the breast doesn’t dry.

MEAT TO BE TAKEN HOME:

3kg rolled Venison Haunch

600g-700g Pheasant

350g-400g Partridge

300g Pork and muscatel grapes stuffing

DINNER:

MAIN: Venison Bourguignon Stew, Dauphinoise Potatoes, Green Salad

DESSERT: Bread & Butter Pudding

WINE: White-Hauts Pemions Muscadet or Red- Espigouette Cdr Bel Air