Wild Game from The Dales

Red grouse; visible in direct, purposeful flight with explosive wingbeats keeping all but the most energetic predators at bay. In-between these two landscapes, at the brackish edges of moorland, farmland and scrub, live the fast-flying mallard and diminutive teal dwell. Here, too, coveys of partridge melt into the landscape, becoming one with the dry-stone walls and low-lying vegetation. These birds all have their unique tastes, and it is indeed unique; a reflection of the landscape in which they have lived and the diet this landscape has provided. Anyone who has savoured the deep, heather notes of a roasted grouse will know the character of the bird can only have been shaped by heather moorland.

Wild meats of exquisite and rarefied taste, British game meat is a true, seasonal treat, synonymous with the flavours of autumn. Whether a succulent roast partridge with squash and sage takes your fancy, tender slices of mallard with sour cherries, a venison green chilli cheeseburger or buttery roasted grouse with velvety bread sauce and watercress, perhaps, the flavours of game deliver a myriad of mouth-watering possibilities and deliciousness. Pigeon on toast with the very black currants it’s been stealing, a roasted mallard with split peas and bacon for dinner, the comfort of warm rabbit pie or venison tacos with a deep ancho sauce, yes, these are treats to be eaten slowly, not rushed in grazing haste.