Event report: Wild Meat in a Day

Sunday saw Food Safari's inaugural game day play to a packed house at The Anchor, Walberswick on the Suffolk coast, using the specially converted learning space as our base. After coffee and some gamey canapes we started the day by learning the nitty gritty of venison butchery from Ray Kent, a professional butcher with a lifetime's experience of getting the most out of a prime carcass. At least one of the group thought Ray was the "star of the show" as he deftly demonstrated how to tackle this amazing meat.


Ray showed of a stunning fillet which would have sold for £65-70 but there are more inexpensive cuts (venison burgers are are fantastic alternative to beef). The venison was supplied by our good friends at The Wild Meat Company who specialise in fine, humanely killed game, prepared to the highest standards. Robert Gooch, MD of the Wild Meat Company was on hand to provide his expert insights into the world of game.

The group was quickly up to speed and preparing joints of their own like pros. With a little basic tuition and some very sharp knives (German are best apparently but get them professionally sharpened from time to time to keep them in prime condition) it is perfectly possible to learn the craft of butchery at home.

Following the butchery demonstration, Mike Keen, head chef, demonstrated some delicious game recipes including my favourite - a spiced partridge dish with fenugreek and coconut milk providing a nod to the Eastern origins of this bird as well as a stunningly rich jugged hare. The Anchor's outdoor grill was put to unseasonally early good use and the wafts of grilling game drew quite a lot of attention from Walberswick passers-by. The group got stuck in to stuffing and chopping and by this time we were all getting pretty hungry.

The day concluded with a communal game feast around a huge table. Mark Dorber the charismatic proprietor of the Anchor and globe-trotting beer expert matched each dish with either a beer or a wine. There was a lot of smacking of lips when Mike served pheasant simply roasted with a stuffing of local Wonmill cheese and redcurrant jelly under the skin to keep the breast moist while allowing the skin to crisp to a succulent juiciness. By combining with the classic Belgian ale Duvel the dish was lifted even further. The fenugreek partridge met its match with unusual and very intense barrel fermented release from San Francisco's award-winning Anchor Brewing Company. The barrels had previously contained spirit (we couldn't agree whether gin or rum) that lent the beer increased gravity (strength) and flavour. This beer is pretty secret stuff - Mark had been sent a bottle to review for potential release to the UK market and it was the kind of one-off foodie moment that I love!

Thanks from the Food Safari team to all concerned for making this such a fantastic event. The game season returns in the autumn when we'll be exploring game birds as. Meanwhile we're back at The Anchor and nearby at Blythburgh Pork on 16 May with our very special take on Pork -Pig in a Day. See the Food Safari website for booking details.

Wild Meat in a Day - 29 March save the date

Happy New Year to all our readers! We're gradually emerging from a deeply restful two week holiday and raring to go with events for 2009.

Our first event on 29 March is going to be a cracker. Wild Meat in a Day will give you the whole story of game: from insights into how game is shot, through a hands on game butchery experience to cooking and finally eating the results.

Robert Gooch and Ray Kent of The Wild Meat Company (one of Rick Stein’s Food Heroes) will give you the confidence to prepare game at home as well as sharing with you a wealth of experience about local game. Check out Tim's post from September when he learned the basics of game butchery with these guys.

What's more we're delighted to be joining forces with our friends at The Anchor on the Suffolk coast at Walberswick. The Anchor has undergone a transformation in recent years under the expert hands of Mark and Sophie Dorber, well known from their days at The White Horse, Parsons Green in West London. Sophie’s insistence on the best, seasonal, local produce combined with Mark’s passionate expertise for beer and wine, ensure that The Anchor is fast becoming both a welcoming local – and a gastronomic destination.

The morning will start with locally-shot game. You’ll have the chance to pluck and draw your own bird before enjoying a cookery demonstration from The Anchor’s head chef, Mike who will share with you his favourite game dishes as well as passing on tips, ideas and advice.

Over a relaxing lunch in The Anchor’s dining room you will be treated to an inspiring tasting menu of game dishes including some of those demonstrated earlier in the day. After lunch we’ll have a look at rabbit and Ray will demonstrate how to skin and butcher a rabbit and you’ll each get to have a go too.

You’ll leave the day with the confidence and inspiration to prepare your own game at home, a handful of creative recipes to impress your friends and even some of the game you have prepared yourself!

Cost: £150 per person, £250 per couple to include refreshments, lunch and your own game to take home. To book email polly@foodsafari.co.uk or call 01728 621380.









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A tale of three game birds

Tim has just got back from a game bird butchery event that Robert and Paul at the Wild Meat Company in Blaxhall have hosted as part of the Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival. Apart from the splendid looking boned, prepared Mallard duck he's just put in the fridge which 'had feathers on it at 5'o clock' he's also brimming with enthusiasm for the evening:

"Having never tackled a game bird in my life I was slightly daunted by the idea of preparing one from scratch but under Paul's expert tuition the group quickly got stuck in. The process of preparing a wood pigeon, partridge or mallard duck (yes, we tackled all three) is pretty labour intensive compared with say a farmed chicken. I can understand now why prepared, butchered game isn't particularly cheap to buy although shot game is often a bargain.

The first stage was to remove the feathers from the birds, all of which had been shot locally. Unlike the straightforward plucking routine home cooks might be famiilar with, a professional operation like the Wild Meat Company needs to speed up the process as much as possible without compromising on quality.

First we removed most of the feathers with the help of a machine that gently pulls them away from the bird. Then after a dip in a bath of hot wax and a short cooling period we removed the rest of the feathers and fluff as easily as removing the shell from a hard-boiled egg - a strangely satisfying experience. The next stage was supposedly the gory bit - eviscerating the birds - but in practice with wild animals that have recently freshly killed there's nothing nasty - I found the experience perfectly pleasant. Paul demonstrated classic butchery techniques to remove the insides with the minimum fuss- slightly different for each type of game bird. The real insight for me was realising that the different birds have very different bone structures and anatomies which affects the way you approach them as a butcher.

Although none of us struggled with any aspect of the course, the trickiest part of the evening was definitely boning the birds, especially the duck which was slightly fiddly. However, it's essentially about confidence once you've been shown the ropes by an expert. Less than two hours from starting the course we were all able to stuff a boned duck (with some pretty sensational orange, thyme and sausage-meat stuffing) that wouldn't disgrace even the swankiest table.



And here's the proof. Not bad huh?"