Venison

Venison is virtually fat-free and has a wonderful flavour that lends itself to a variety of cooking methods. It can be treated in much the same way as beef – with the haunch or saddle best for roasting, and steaks and chops fried or barbecued.

Rabbit

Rabbit is widely available throughout the year and has no close season. The meat is very low in fat and can be used in a wide variety of recipes and is especially good when casseroled. Younger rabbits, aged between three and four months, make the best eating.

Hare

Hare in season August 1st – 28th February
Hare is similar to rabbit, however the taste is stronger and so you might like to hang it for a little bit longer to make it more tender. However each to their own. It is larger than the rabbit and so can feed more people, one hare for about 6 people.

Pheasant

Pheasant in season October 1st – February 1st

The pheasant is the most plentiful of Britain’s game species and the best known. Oven-ready pheasants can be bought from game dealers, butchers or supermarkets and are available fresh from October to February, or frozen when out of season.

Pheasant breasts are available

Partridge

Partridge in season September 1st – February 1st
Partridge have a subtle flavour and, in the case of young birds, are best served simply roasted, pan-fried of grilled. There are two species in Britain – the native grey, often called the English, and the French or red-legged.

Partridge breasts are available

Grouse

Grouse in season August 12th – December 10th
All year round, and much sought after by top chefs and gourmets around the world, the red grouse is a completely wild bird unique to Britain. Living exclusively on the heather moorlands of the UK, each bird can usually be traced back to the very Estate where it fledged and matured. Very fast on the wing, reaching speeds of up to 80 mph, it is also agile creating very lean dark brown meat bursting with flavour.

Woodcock

Woodcock in season October 1st – January 31st
The woodcock is a wader, enjoying wet and marshy land, in particular in Wales. They are migrating birds flying from the UK all the way to Siberia in Russia, following the Winter.

Snipe

The snipe is a wading bird, similar in ecology and habitat to the woodcock, although it is smaller in size. Their flight pattern is erratic to say the least giving them a sporting chance of evading even the sharpest of shooters. It is a truly wild bird and you will discover that in the taste of them.