Brace of Partridge, Whole

Wild partridge are shot from 1 September to 1 February.

French, or red-legged partridge, is a great introduction to feathered game. Its tender white breast meat and darker, flavoursome leg meat offer one of the mildest game flavours, yet still full of character. Traditionally oven-roasted and served with bread sauce, it makes for a truly magnificent Sunday lunch - one bird per portion. We also love to spatchcock, marinate, and barbecue wild partridge - the skin crisps up beautifully, and the meat takes on a wonderful smokey flavour.

The landscape on our doorstep is abundant with wild game, and we work with smaller shoots across the Yorkshire Dales who manage the land with care, maintaining high levels of biodiversity - something we’re deeply passionate about.

Chef Valentine Warner informs and inspires:
"I no longer lift my gun to the ‘Grey’ or English partridge. Since the widespread hedge uprooting after the war, combined with the constant disturbance of mechanised farming, their numbers have declined dramatically. As hunters, it is our responsibility to be aware of these changes. With the Grey partridge, a truly indigenous bird in decline, I choose to leave them be, offering only kind words of goodwill and encouragement whenever I see them huddled in their covey or taking flight in surprise and escape.

However, from the gentler, crop-covered gradients of the South and the Midlands (their preferred habitat) to the steep northern heather, the introduced French partridge can be found in abundance. Obviously French, they are red-beaked and red-footed fashionistas, sporting racy striped waistcoats and dark shades decorating their eyes.

As a child, I would watch them playing king of the castle on rotting haystacks or scurrying down the verges of country lanes in a long line. Mum used to cook them fairly regularly in autumn and winter, with Dad calling it ‘roast justice’ - they were the scourge of our kitchen garden, and their raspy screech was often heard from within. Now, in trying to get my own children to eat more adventurously, I’ve taken to calling them ‘hedge chickens’. But for first-timers, no such trickery should be needed; plump and delicious, French partridge are incredibly versatile and easy to cook, responding beautifully to roasting, braising, and even deep-frying (DFP: deep-fried partridge)."