Game birds such as mallard, teal, partridge and pheasant are readily available in most good quality butchers over the coming months, and I always take advantage of this bounty, as they aren’t around for long.
Where I grew up in the country, it was normal to hunt, shoot and fish for the food that surrounded us. When the game season came along, there was enormous excitement, and I shot my first pheasant when I was only ten years old. I was out with my Uncle James, who was absolute in his respect for the birds we were hunting: if you couldn’t kill it with a clean shot, then you shouldn’t shoot it.
Pheasant is in season from September to February. It is best to cook a young hen (under a year old),which has a more delicate flavour and a fine texture.
Cocks are a little larger and coarser. This bird is best when shot in December and January, when it has put on a little fat. It’s easy to tell the difference between the male and female as the male has a green neck, a dark red face with beautiful colours and a long tail, whereas the female is a less flamboyant, but nonetheless beautiful, with a brown colour.
It is possible to tell a pheasant’s age by holding it by the bottom of its beak. If it bends, it is about a year old, and if it holds its own weight, it is an older bird. Grouse is another popular game bird, but it has a brief season and is in short supply in Ireland. The meat of the grouse is the strongest of all of the game birds, so it may not be to everyone’s taste.
For a quick, delicious supper, remove the grouse flesh from the bone (you can ask your butcher to do this), place the skin side on a hot frying pan, add a spoon of honey and crushed pepper. Cook for a minute or so on either side. Sautee some cep mushrooms, and serve with roast potatoes.
On the opposite end of the taste spectrum is partridge. It is one of the best birds to introduce people to game, as it is mild in flavour and the flesh is a lighter colour. There are two types of partridge: the red-legged and the grey. The best one is the grey partridge, as it is smaller, with plumper breasts and a better flavour.
I never use partridge before December, and this is a fitting recipe for the first day of Christmas:
Roast partridge with conference pears, serves four
Partridge
4 grey partridges
4 slices of bacon fat
10ml of olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly milled white pepper
Bunch of thyme
4 shallots
4 garlic cloves
4 conference pears
Pear sauce
3/4 litre of chicken stock
4 conference pears
2 shallots
1/4 litre of pear juice
50ml of Poire William liqueur
2 crushed black peppercorns
25g of unsalted butter
Method
Partridge
1. Remove the wishbone from the partridge and season the bird, inside and out. Peel the shallot and garlic, and place them with the thyme inside the bird. Tie the bacon around the partridge.
2. Heat a pan and add the oil. Sear the bird on all sides.
3. Heat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius.
4. Wash and slice the pears and arrange in a baking dish, then place the partridge on top. Cook for 8-10 minutes, turning the bird every couple of minutes.
5. Remove the bird from the oven, remove the legs and breast from the bird and leave to rest.
6. Remove the excess fat from the pan and chop the carcass into small pieces. Add to the roasting pan. Deglaze the pan with chicken stock.
Pear sauce
1. Wash, peel and dice the pears and shallots, sautee in a warm pot, add the Poire William, flambe and reduce the amount by two-thirds.
2. Add the crushed peppercorns and pear juice, and reduce the amount by three-quarters.
3. Add the stock, bring to the boil, simmer and skim the top. Reduce the amount by three-quarters, correct the seasoning, then pass the sauce through a fine strainer.
4. Return to the heat, taste and fold in the unsalted butter gradually to thicken the sauce and make it glossy.
To serve, place the partridge on a Warm pan and put in the preheated oven for about four minutes. Place the partridge on the plate, and serve with the sauce.
Kevin Thornton is a Michelin-starred Chef and owner of Thornton’s Restaurant on St Stephen’s Green in Dublin. www.thorntonsrestaurant.com