7 Delicious game recipes

Game meat is generally good value, low in fat and richly flavoured, and as free range as it gets! British Game weeks runs from the November 23-30 this year so it is a good excuse to try some game. 

Many different types of game are to be found in supermarkets and independent butchers, so pop some venison or a bird into your basket and use one of these ideas for a delicious supper. Many game butchers also sell online. 

Meatballs are a great starting point, being easy to make from more easily available venison mince. If you want a less gamey flavour, you can substitute some of the venison for beef mince. The author’s top meatball tips are to dice the onions very finely, and, secondly, to add breadcrumbs. 

A slow cooked creamy risotto makes a great accompaniment to some flash fried partridge breasts. I’m intrigued by the flavour combination of the partridge and sweet, fried apple wedges. They’ve layered the flavours by adding some cider into the risotto too. 

This author has come to this recipe from unloved childhood memories of rabbit and sour cream stew, to inspiration from a rabbit and pheasant mixture at her local butcher. These assorted game mixtures are great value and a really easy way to cook game: there’s no plucking or anything like that—and you could stop after making the stew and forego the pie. But I’m not sure that foregoing a pie is ever a good idea. 

If you like lamb shanks, served on a bed of buttery mash, slow cooked until they’re falling off the bone and ready to be eaten with a spoon, then here’s an idea for a difference: venison shanks. The photos show what looks like the most amazing gravy, dark, lustrous and looking absolutely delicious. 

Another slow cooked dish, but this time made using a counter-top slow cooker. I’m a big fan of mine, loving the way I can set something to cook all day, so we come back to a bowl of delicious stew, with all those lovely aromas filling the kitchen. Nothing gets the taste buds going faster! 

Another pie, because hot game pies are a thing for a very good reason. I haven’t included a recipe for a cold raised pie made with hot water pastry—like a pork pie— in this collection, because while delicious, they are a real labour of love. 
The venison pie is made with cherries for extra sweetness. I don’t know if this is a traditional Eastern European or Russian combination, but I want to believe that it is. The recipe makes pastry from scratch, but as it’s a plain shortcrust, if you want to save time and effort, a roll of ready-made would serve.

Finally, a ragu made with wild boar and fennel. Wild boar can be cooked like pork, unsurprisingly, but has a sweet, nutty flavour, here married with the aniseed flavours of fennel. There are plenty of online suppliers of wild boar, both farmed and wild. 

Helen Best-Shaw, is a freelance food & travel writer, recipe developer & photographer. She has been blogging at Fuss Free Flavours for over ten years. 

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