Game Cookery

The fundamental justification of killing game is to eat it; the pleasure in either a good shot or a well played fish is greatly enhanced by the thought of tucking into a healthy feast of wild food.  The taste of roe deer liver eaten for breakfast following a successful mornings stalk or grouse straight from the hill with blueberries harvested from the butt side whilst waiting for grouse to appear over the horizon or a freshly caught sea trout smoked on the river bank and eaten in fingers with a chilled white wine – these are the real pleasures of la chasse!

We have invited our clients to let us have their favourite game recipes and hope that you will be tempted to try some of them for yourself.  If you want the complete experience and wish to eat what you shoot or catch do please contact us and we will try and find the ideal venue for you.

I first had Roderic’s delicious Gravad Lax at his 50th birthday party; the salmon in question had been caught on the river Eden in Cumbria and I have been trying to get the recipe from him ever since!  I will be trying it for myself this Christmas on a Tay fish.

GRAVAD LAX

History: In Scandinavia, during the middle ages and probably before, fishermen salted salmon and buried them in the permafrost of the arctic. Gravad Lax means “buried salmon”.  Thus, when food was scarce in winter, the fish could be dug up and eaten.  The introduction of herbs, etc came at a much later date.

Process:  Take the tail of a salmon, remove all bones and slice into two pieces down the centre of the back.  Do not remove the skin.

For 1 ½ lbs of salmon you will need:
 1 heaped table spoon of Maldon sea salt
 1 teaspoon of coarse pepper
 1 level table spoon of dried dill weed
 1 rounded tablespoon of Demerara sugar.

Lay out a double sheet of foil and place on it, half of the tail, skin down. Mix up the ingredients and sprinkle them on the salmon flesh.  Place the other half of the tail flesh down and parcel up the foil ensuring that the juices are retained.  Place in a dish and put a weight on top of the parcel (a brick will do) then put it in the refrigerator.

Twice a day (for two to three days) open the parcel, turn the fish over, basting the flesh with the juices that will have collected.

Finally, take the fish out of the parcel, scrape off all of the gubbins, sprinkle on some dried dill and then carve as you would smoked salmon but with thicker slices and serve with a Swedish mustard sauce.

Swedish Mustard Sauce: 

You will need:
 2 rounded tablespoons of Swedish mustard
 1 rounded tablespoon of granulated sugar
 1 large egg yolk
 7 tablespoons of olive oil
 2 tablespoons of wine vinegar (but not if using German mustard)
 1 rounded teaspoon of fresh dill or 1 level teaspoon of dried dill
 Salt and white pepper.

Put the egg yolk, mustard and sugar in a food processor and mix until blended.  Add the vinegar and turn the processor on again.  Leave the machine going and drop by drop add the oil.  When the mixture is thick and creamy you can then add the oil in a thin trickle until it turns pale in colour.  Season to taste and finally mix in the dill.