Christmas is coming - Are you Game this Christmas

Are you game this Christmas?

More and more often people are breaking away from tradition and are looking for a slight variation from the theme. So I thought I would try and give a few varying ideas for the Christmas dinner.

We are truly into game season and with plentiful supply. Often game is inexpensive compared to free range & organic produce. Being that game runs freely and is not farmed it is, more often than not, as free range and organic as you can get.

Venison saddle

This is the venison version of fillet beef a lot cheaper than beef. Venison saddle is tender and has little fat and should be treated in the same way as fillet beef with little cooking.

Venison with redcurrant and juniper sauce

Allow 200g of meat per person. Marinate the meat over night in red wine with thyme, bay leaf, crushed juniper berries, orange zest (juice can cook the meat due to the acidity) and a crushed garlic clove (Make sure it is covered).

Take out of marinade and pat dry then sear all around in a hot frying pan (don't cook it, just colour it). Place in oven at 200c for approximately 20mins. Again, treat like fillet so you want this medium rare. Over cooking it will make it dry. Wrap in foil and allow to stand for ten minutes. Cut in 1cm slices and serve.

Redcurrant and juniper sauce

Reduce one litre of quality chicken stock to half, top up with some of the marinade and a few crushed juniper berries and a two table spoons of redcurrant jelly. Continue reducing to approximately 250ml.

Serve this with braised red cabbage with raisins & orange, creamy mash with pureed chestnuts, maybe gratin leek.

Mixed game bird

Instead of one bird at the table try serving a number of small game birds, such as woodpigeon, pheasant, grouse or partridge. They take less time to cook than one big bird plus this adds more interest to the table. Some like their birds served rare, but you can decide on what you prefer. Like any game meat, there is little fat so over cooking makes it dry. When serving game birds, if they are a little pink, that will be ideal.

Pre heat oven to 230c make sure birds are seasoned inside and out and rubbed with a little soft butter on the skins. Cook for 15 to 20mins, allowing a little extra for the larger birds. Take out of the oven and as with any meat, cover the tray in foil and allow to stand for ten minutes before serving. Transfer birds to a warmed serving platter and place in the middle of the table for all to enjoy.

Quick pan gravy

Keep the juices from the birds in the tray and place over a moderate heat on the stove, Add two glasses of red wine and with a wooden spoon scrape all the sediment and caramelised juice from the bottom of the pan. Add a little extra chicken stock and reduce down for five minutes. To thicken either use an equal amount of flour and butter (Beurre manié) and whisk in or use a cornflour solution. Make sure that the sauce is cooked as you do not want the raw taste of flour. If too thick add some water from vegetables you may be cooking or more wine.

Serve with bread sauce, cranberry sauce, Goose fat roasted potatoes, sprouts with bacon and chestnut, and honey roasted carrots & parsnip.

A few tips

Pre make some chicken stock. This can be frozen in an ice tray and the frozen cubes tipped into a freezer bag. Just add the cubes into any pan sauce, gravy until the desired quantity/flavour is achieved.

Make a few roast dinners leading up to Christmas. Never underestimate the work that goes into making such a feast and a few pre sessions of cooking can bring you up to speed. Plus you get a few roast dinners – great

Enhance your shop brought cranberry sauce by gently heating and adding some orange zest and a splash of port. When cold this will thicken again.

When cooking veg such as sprouts, carrots etc, these can be done in advance. Have a large bowl of cold water ready preferably with a lot of ice in. Cook your carrots etc in salted boiling water until aldente (still firm). Strain out of the water and place veg immediately into the chilled water to stop the cooking process. When cooled, drain the veg and place in some Tupperware in the fridge (put some kitchen roll at the bottom to soak up any water). When ready to cook dinner, have a pan of boiling salted water to the ready then carefully place the veg in the water. They should be ready in two minutes!