Meat and Game Recipes

Marinated wood pigeon pan fried...

...With smoked bacon on a croute, finished with a tossed spring saladette, fresh asparagus and finished with a zesty dressing

by Ralph Skripek

Serves two

Ingredients
4 x pigeon breasts
Sprig of fresh rosemary
4 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
2 slices of thick cut seeded wholemeal bread
Assorted salad leaves (rocket, ruby reds & lambs ears)
8 x fresh asparagus
2 small cooked beetroots (cut into strips)
Little olive oil
Salt & pepper mill
Womersley Lemon, Basil, Bay & Juniper Vinegar

For a fuller flavour, marinate the pigeon breasts with a drizzling of the Womersley vinegar, the day prior (preferably) and proceed with recipe as per below

1. For a quicker dish, season the pigeon breast with salt & pepper mill & place on one side
2. Prepare asparagus by trimming the end and peeling the outer bark layer from half way up the asparagus 
3. Place in a pan of boiling water, cook until tender, remove and refresh under running cold water
4. Add a little olive oil to a frying pan with the Womersley vinegar & a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
5. Remove the fillet from under the pigeon breast, add to the pan (once hot), top side of breast down
6. Pan fry for 3 minutes on each side and remove ‘to rest’
7. Add a little more olive oil & dressing to the same pan
8. Cut two croutes from the seeded bread using a medium sized pastry cutter
9. Chop the smoked bacon into small diced pieces, add to the frying pan with the croutes
10. Cook until croutes are nicely browned on each side and the bacon is crispy
11. Remove bread & bacon from the pan and place the bacon on top of the croute
12. In the middle of a plate, place the croute with the bacon & layer the asparagus on top
13. Add a handful of leaves to a bowl with some strips of beetroot, drizzle over some Womersley dressing & a little olive oil with a few twists of the pepper mill
14. Mix the leaves to coat & place on top of the asparagus
15. Slice the pigeon breast around the leaves

Warm Salad of Smoked Corn Fed local Chicken with Asparagus and Quails Eggs on a Field Mushroom

by Tim Bilton

Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 field mushrooms
Rapeseed oil
A sprig of fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
60g butter
8 spears of local Asparagus
A handful of mixed baby leaf salad
4 tbsp Womersley Blackcurrant & Rosemary Vinegar
300g prepared smoked chicken, cut into small pieces
8 softly boiled quails eggs, peeled and halved
4 rashers of pancetta – cooked until crispy

Method:
Place the mushrooms on a baking tray, drizzle with a little oil, sprinkle with a few thyme leaves, salt and pepper and place a knob of butter in the centre of each mushroom. Bake at 180C/Gas mark 4 for approximately 10 minutes
Prepare and trim the asparagus. Place in a roasting tin, sprinkle with salt and pepper and a drizzle of rapeseed oil. Roast at 180C/Gas mark 4 for approximately 10 minutes, or until the stems are tender. Cooking time depends on the thickness of the asparagus
Dress the salad leaves in a bowl with a little of the Womersley vinegar and divide between 4 serving plates
Sit the baked mushrooms on top of the salad, add the pieces of smoked chicken and roasted asparagus.
Scatter the halved soft boiled quails’ eggs in and around the dish to garnish
Finish with a jauntily placed piece of crispy pancetta

Roast loin of Muntjac  glazed with a Blackberry vinegar syrup and served with a Blackberry infused jus

by Jose Souto of Westminster Kingsway College

Serves 2

Ingredients
1 Muntjac loin
250g Blackberries
500ml Venison stock
150g game trimmings (cut small dice venison is the best to use but other game or a mix of Game will do ) cut into small dice.
1  Carrots
½  small Onion          
½  stick Celery
½  Garlic clove
1 tea spoon Tomato puree
1 glass bottle Red Wine
Sprig of fresh Thyme
Salt and Pepper
Oil
A good dash of Womersley Blackberry vinegar
1 teaspoon of sugar (optional if you find the vinegar too sharp)

Method
Fry off Game trimmings will a little oil to give a good colour do a bit at a time. Remove from pan and keep to one side.
Fry off veg that has been diced small in same pan with a little more oil again to give good colour.
Once veg has fried add Trimmings to veg and add tomato puree. Fry off for 2 to 3 min.
Add wine, thyme and allow to reduce by half.
Add stock, season and reduce by a third.
Strain through a fine strainer and if you would like a thicker consistency reduce some more.
Keep 2 or 3 blackberries back for garnish. Put the rest in a pan with a dash of water and a lid.
Once the blackberries have stewed for a min or 2 remove the pan from the heat and using a hand blender liquidise them.
Strain the blackberry puree and fold into the jus if need be reduce the jus until it is like double cream.
Season and fry the Muntjac loin in oil sealing it on all sides then remove from pan.
To the pan add the Womersley Blackberry vinegar allow to reduce to a thick syrup.
Place the loins back into pan and roll them in the syrup so they have a good covering of the glaze.
Place Muntjac into oven at 180°C for 5 min then remove and allow to stand for 10 min uncovered in a warm area of the kitchen.
Deglaze the pan with the jus just to take off the flavours of the syrup.
Cut the venison serve with the Blackberry jus and whole fresh Blackberries .

Autumn Sausage, Apple and Blackberry Bake with Blackberry Vinegar

by Peter Sidwell of Simply Good Food TV

Serves 4

Ingredients

8 Cumberland sausages
1 tsp of oil
1 tbsp of butter
2 small red onions, peeled and sliced
4 medium sized British apples, peeled, cored and diced
70ml of Womersley Blackberry Vinegar
70ml water
30g golden caster sugar
1 handful of blackberries fresh or frozen
1 tsp of chopped fresh thyme

Method

Pre-heat a large frying pan
Add the sausages and oil into the pan and cook until golden (4-5 mins)
Melt the butter in the pan
Add the peeled and sliced red onions
Stir the onions around to help soften them
Add the peel, cored and diced apples to the pan
Continue to cook all the ingredients and reduce the liquid by half
Add the Blackberry Vinegar, water and sugar
Turn the pan onto a medium heat and allow to cook and reduce the liquid until it appears more like a glaze than a liquid
Season according to your taste and serve with freshly chopped thyme.