On Christmas Day, you're likely to be tucking into the usual suspects, which means turkey, goose or perhaps arib of beef. In the run-up, though, you may want to try something different, particularly if you're having people round. And that is where game comes to the fore. Packed withflavour and easy to prepare, it's just the thing for tedium-busting seasonal dinners at the fringes of thefestive feast. Today, I'm rustling up a few ideas for party game – great wild meat dishes to feed a crowd.
For smaller crowds, roasting a few pheasants or partridges is relatively speedy, and when served with the traditional trimmings of bread sauce, game chips and a good gravy made from the roasting juice pans (to which it's rarely a bad idea to add half a glass of red wine and a teaspoon of redcurrant jelly), there are few meals to better it through the winter season. Once you've devoured the birds, save the carcasses and freeze until you have enough to make a richly flavoured game stock, which can form the base for many winter stews or soups.
But there's no need to be hide-bound by tradition, however delicious that might be. Pheasants take spices very well and make atop-notch curry – which is even more welcome, perhaps, as we enter the season of old favourites.
Venison makes for an impressive roast joint, with the advantage that it has quite a short cooking time for such a large piece of meat – cooking long and slow, as you might with mutton or pork, results in a disappointing dish because venison is such a lean meat that it will dry out. A relatively short blast of heat will let the flavours shine and free you for the important things like, oh, decking the halls with strategically placed mistletoe or perfecting your Christmas co*cktail technique.
Murgh makhani with pheasant
This may seem a long list of ingredients, but they're all quite readily available. This deliciously warming dish is well worth the small amount of trouble needed to make it. The pheasants' legs are roasted for longer than the breasts to ensure that the breasts don't overcook and dry out. The tikka marinade also works very well with chicken or lamb. Serves eight, though this recipe doubles or triples up wonderfully.
4 pheasants, jointed
For the tikka marinade
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp thick yoghurt
Juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp garam masala
2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground mixed spice
2 tsp ground fenugreek
1 golf ball-sized piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1-2 tbsp sunflower or groundnut oil
2-4 green chillies (depending on size and heat), finely chopped
For the tomato sauce
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
1 small nugget fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1-3 small green chillies, depending on heat, finely chopped
5 cloves
1 tsp salt
175ml water
To finish
125g butter
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp tomato purée
4 tsp honey
170ml double cream
1 tbsp fenugreek
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Coriander leaves, to garnish (optional)
In a large bowl, mix together the marinade ingredients, add the pheasant joints, turn over with your hands to ensure they're well coated, and leave to marinate overnight in the fridge.
Put all the ingredients for the sauce in a large pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes, stirring regularly, until nicely thickened. Rub through a sieve and set to one side.
Heat the oven to 230C/450F/gas mark 8. Transfer the pheasant legs to a roasting tin, along with some ofthe marinade, cover with a piece of buttered foil and roast for 15 minutes. Add the breasts to the tin, give everything a good stir, lower the heat to 200C/400F/gas mark 6 and cook for 20 minutes.
To complete the sauce, melt the butter in a large pan, add the groundcumin and sizzle gently for aminute. Add the tomato sauce, bring back to a simmer and cook for five minutes. Add the tomato purée,honey, cream, fenugreek, lime juice and black pepper, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for five minutes, until the sauce is thick, rich and creamy. Finally, addthe pheasant, mix well and warm through, simmering gently forfive minutes. Serve with basmati rice and scatter with coriander leaves, if using.
Stuffed saddle of venison
If you can get hold of some caul fat to wrap the rolled saddle in, it will help to keep the venison moist (it's not essential, though). Serves eight.
About 2.5kg saddle of venison, boned, plus the fillet
Caul fat (optional)
For the stuffing
1 tbsp olive or groundnut oil
6 rashers thick-cut, streaky unsmoked bacon, cut into 1cm strips
2 onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
15 juniper berries, crushed
100ml chicken or game stock
125g fresh white breadcrumbs
50g kale, blanched and roughly chopped
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Warm the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and cook the bacon until just crisp. Lower the temperature, add the onions and sweat until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and juniper, and fry for a minute. Deglaze the pan with the stock, scraping up any brown bits, remove from the heat and stir in thebreadcrumbs, kale and orange zest. Season generously.
Open out the saddle. Spread on the stuffing and lay the fillet down the middle. Fold the edges round the fillet and tie with kitchen string – tie it securely, but not too tightly, to allow for the stuffing to expand slightly during cooking. (Alternatively, if you're using caul fat, wrap it securely around the meat.)
Place the stuffed shoulder in a roasting tin and roast for 15 minutes. Turn down the oven temperature to 160C/325F/gas mark 3, cover the venison with foil and cook for 40 minutes more. Rest for 15 minutes, loosely covered in foil, before carving into thick slices and serving.
Game soup
After you've enjoyed your roast pheasant or partridge, don't just throw out the carcasses; instead, usethem as the base for this tasty soup. It makes a great starter and isjust the thing to pour into a Thermos to sustain you through awinter walk. Serves six, though it doubles or triples up very well.
Carcasses of 2-4 game birds
1 bouquet garni (made up of 3 parsley stalks, 2 small thyme sprigs, 1 rosemary sprig, 1 bay leaf)
6 juniper berries, crushed
8 black peppercorns
200g celeriac, cut into 1cm dice (save the peelings for use in the stock base)
2 large carrots, cut into 1cm dice
3 parsnips, cut into 1cm dice
Leftover scraps of meat pulled from the carcasses (optional)
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the carcasses in a large pan, pour in enough water to cover by about 4cm, bring to a bare simmer and skim off any scum that rises to the surface. After 15 minutes, add the bouquet garni, juniper berries, peppercorns and a small handful ofwell-scrubbed celeriac peelings. Cook at a very gentle simmer for three hours, topping up with water if it gets a little low. Strain the stock through a fine-meshed sieve into aclean pan. Bring the stock to a vigorous boil and reduce until it has a good depth of flavour. Add the vegetables, any leftover meat, if using, and the thyme, and simmer for 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with good bread.
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