Autumn, iron, sweetness
The Game Season Dinner
From October to January: grouse, partridge, venison, hare. Dark meat, a sauce with real depth, something sweet and sharp against it and a fire in the room.
Preparation
What happens when
- Three days aheadOrder game with hanging time specified; start the stock from bones and trimmings.
- The day beforeSauce reduced and held, confit legs cooked, red cabbage braised, which improves overnight.
- The dayBirds trussed, everything at room temperature an hour before, ovens hot.
Service
How to serve it
Carve in the room. Game cools quickly, so plates must be genuinely hot and the sauce boiling when it leaves the kitchen. Serve smaller portions than you think and offer a second.
At home
Roast partridge for six with a proper sauce
The sauce takes four hours and is the reason to cook this. Start it in the morning and the dinner is easy.
- Sauce: brown 1 kg game bones and trimmings hard in a heavy pan, add 2 shallots, 1 carrot, thyme and 200 ml red wine, reduce to nothing, cover with 1.5 l brown chicken stock, simmer four hours, strain and reduce until it coats a spoon. Finish with butter and a spoonful of blackberry.
- Braise 1 red cabbage with an apple, 50 ml vinegar and 40 g sugar for ninety minutes. Better made the day before.
- Roast six partridges at 220 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes on their sides, rest breast down for ten minutes.
- Serve with the cabbage, a celeriac purée and the sauce poured at the table.
Editor’s tip: Rest game as long as you roast it. The difference between a good bird and a great one is ten minutes of patience.
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Where this menu belongs
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