Purchasing game for the first time can be intimidating. There’s a lot of conflicting advice out there about the best time to eat it, how to cook it and how long it should be hung for. But by following a few simple rules and seeking the advice of a trusted game dealer, you will gain in confidence. Marco’s favourite game suppliers, Allens of Mayfair, share their advice on buying game.
- There are no hard and fast rules with game. What one person loves, another hates.
- Some won’t touch grouse during the first month of the season because it’s not aged enough. Others like it young and fresh, when it’s not so rich
- Some like their birds to be hung (stored uneviscerated i.e. with the innards still inside, in a game larder) for three to four weeks. This gives the bird a very pronounced ‘high’ flavour. Modern consumers prefer them hung for just two weeks.
- Look for birds with clear eyes. That’s a sign they haven’t been frozen. Feathers should be bright and ‘in bloom’ while the flesh will have a light, powdery colour.
- When game is wrapped in cling-film, it will ‘sweat’. The waft when you open it isn’t too nice so people sometimes think it’s rotten. It isn’t. You should remove it from the plastic, put it on a plate and cover it lightly
- Try to buy from a good game dealer or butcher. They have the knowledge, the experience and the turnover of stock to ensure you are buying wonderful quality game. Your game dealer will do all the hard work – the skinning, plucking and gutting – for you. Most sell oven-ready birds and joints.
- Traditionally game birds come with the offal – their liver and heart – still inside. You can use this to make gravy or serve it alongside on toast, the old-fashioned way.
- Treat it like any other meat and consume it within a couple of days of purchase.
- At the start of the season, prices are very high. They soon come down, so it’s worth waiting a few weeks.
Allens of Mayfair, 117 Mount Street, London, W1K 3LA, 020 7499 5831.
Donald Russell, Inverurie, Scotland, 01467 629666, are very helpful.
