London: Mr R reviews the Game Seminar – Westminster Kingsbury College

I was recently invited to attend a game seminar at Westminster Kingsbury College in London, not far from Victoria Station.  As I know how much Mr R likes game I suggested he come with me and asked him to write up his experience.  Read it below:

As I like game food, Heidi suggested I attend a One Day Game Seminar being run by Jose Souto a chef lecturer at Westminster Kingsway College and a leading Game Specialist. Sounded interesting so I went along.

The seminar was aimed at a complete variety of people, ranging from chefs, pub owners, game keepers and novices like myself who are just interested in game and wanting to broaden my knowledge on this subject.

The morning was spent focusing on Feathered and Small Furred Game, namely Pheasant, Grey Partridge, Red-Legged Partridge, Red Grouse, Black Grouse, Capercaillie, Ptarmigan, Snipe, Woodcock, Quail, Duck, Woodpigeon, Rabbit and Hare.

In each case the appropriate season for killing the game, best time to eat them and what approximate weight to expect were fully detailed. This was followed by demonstrations on how to skin and gut and finally prepare a Hare for eating, wishbone removal, leg and breast removal and how to truss plucked birds. I personally found this the most informative part of the day.

Lunch followed this, consisting of, yes you guessed it – game. Pan fried duck. Very nice.

The afternoon focused on Large Furred animals, namely Red Deer, Roe Deer, Fallow Deer, Sika Deer, Muntjac and Chinese Water Deer. Again the appropriate season for killing the game, best time to eat them, how long to rest or hang them and the best way to keep the meat. A full demonstration on skinning a Fallow Deer and then producing the cuts of meat from the carcass took place.

At the end of the demonstration Jose then explained  the money to be made from buying an un-skinned carcass and how much the cuts of meat could be sold for assuming London restaurant prices. So the deer he skinned was approximately 60 KGS at £3.50 a kilo = £210.00.

The cuts of meat ranging from the 1st Class cuts such as Steaks, cutlets, fillets, ribs and roasting joints, to the 2nd class cuts used for mince, sausages, stews and slow cooked venison would produce a return of approximately £3,000. Wow.

Venison can be used to refer to any part of the animal, so long as it can be consumed, including the internal organs.

During the day I picked up various pieces of information that I’ve classified as Did You Know!

• Deer is one of the lowest cholesterol meats available in the UK.
• Game cannot be cleaned by the water cleaning process used for poultry. Game is dry cleaned via plucking, skinning or using the wax plucking process.
• Guinea Fowl is the African equivalent to the Pheasant.
• Red Grouse is the only true wild game bird because it does not breed in farmed conditions.
• Game in its most natural state is not farmed.
• Game birds are not killed on Sundays or Christmas Day.
• Most shoots offering the best game options are in October.
• Poultry, e.g. chicken, should always be fully cooked, while game can be cooked at lesser temperatures and best served slightly undercooked and even rare. (That’s why my pheasant kept turning out too dry.) Also its best to truss a pheasant when oven cooking.
• Game is not an organic product. Only when the environment and feeding is controlled can it be considered within the organic range. So if you see a market stall selling wild organic game, this is simply not true.
• It’s illegal to sell wild geese in the UK. (Except Orkney Isles), but its ok to shoot a goose and eat it for your own consumption. (Geese in supermarkets are not Wild Geese).
• If the game is on your land, then its yours!

A key part of the day was also to explain why the killing of wild game is a necessary process for sustaining the environment and the animals, otherwise over population and subsequent lack of food available for the animals creates  issues on their survival. Some game are considered pests such as woodpigeon and there are strict allowances on how many deer are killed in relation the the size of the herd and the size of the environment they use.

Personally I could never shoot any live animal, I’ll stick to clay pigeon shooting if I ever had the chance, but once skinned and cut into the appropriate cuts of meat I have no issue eating this meat. That may sound fickle, but that’s the way I roll. Still an enjoyable and informative day was had.

Jose Souto has written two books and between them they you can gather everything you need to know about game with stunning photos and delicious recipes.  You can order one or both of these books by contacting Jose by email at Jose.souto@wkc.ac.uk and he will also sign and personalise your books for you.

We were guests of Westminster Kingsbury College Game Seminar but were not required to write a positive post.  All opinions and photographs are our own.  No photographs may be reproduced without my written permission.