Game and such

[cape chef]

I just finished trussing my pheasents for dinner service tonight.
I'm roasting it with lots of aromatics and herbs,the cavity is filled with lemon,shallots and garlic. I'm going to serve it simply with some sauteed hedge hogs seasoned with sage. A nice salmi made from the aromatics and the liver,some turned asian pears in brown butter. I try to run game 3 times a week this time of year. I usually do millbrook farms venison,quials and pheasents.
Also Guinni Hens and others.

Do you use game? How do you like to prepare it?
any thoughts
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[shroomgirl]

Quail grilled with pomagranite molasses
Venision loin cooked rare if young (my brother hunts) served with a demi and dried cherries....
Or if older then braised until edible
Phesant with apples, cream and calvados....(I ate it I didn't make it)
Wild shrooms always a hit with game. Someone once told me that you should combine whatever the critter ate in life with the dish you make....makes sense

[cape chef]

Shroom..

BTW, Your Confit is in the mail
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[chrose]

Again I am a sucker for classics. Faisan Souvaroff, Pigeon in cream. Quail with just about anything. Goose with saurkraut. Venison with peppered walnuts and lentils. Venison with red cabbage and schnupfudlen.

I am not as experimental as I used to be with items. I don't know why exactly, but I prefer the old standards that comfort me. Hmmm........ but if you make it, I'll eat it!!!

[Rachel]

I once made a soup with mixed wild mushrooms and pheasant. It was quite a while ago and i don't have the recipe anymore (it's in a box in a land far far away. . .) but I remeber brasing the bird which had been quartered. The mushrooms I sauted with garlic and parsley before adding them to the pot with the bird. I used stock (veg. I think) to then make a soup. As i said it was quite a while ago . . .

[Mezzaluna]

Cape Chef, did you really say "hedge hog"? The ones that resemble porcupines?? With which Alice played croquet in Wonderland?

The rest sounds divine!

[cape chef]

Dear mezz..Indeed i did say "hedge hog"

They are a tasty little shroom with similar color to chanterells

perhaps shroomgirl can comment more.

Oh...I have never eaten mushrooms while playing crocket with porcupines
sorry..couldn't resist
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[shroomgirl]

ohhh the Alice in Wonderland shroom deal....well I'm sure that exists amoung some hunters....alot of teenagers die trying to get high, it is a HORRIBLE way to go.

There are alot of wild edibles, some are becoming more common in restaurants; Hen of the woods is being written about in chef mags, of course morels, chanterelles, black trumpets, porcini, oyster, shiitake...there are alot that are wild and have a delicate flavor or in my taste palate NONE>>>puff balls<<<there are candy caps that taste like maple syrup (no kidding), umbrellas that taste like asparagus, honey caps.

I've posted on this before but will say it again, if you are hunting wild mushrooms KNOW what you stick in your mouth...cook it well.
The adage goes, "There are bold mushroom hunters and old mushroom hunters but no old bold mushroom hunters."
I adore being around hunters....explorers that respect the environment....I'll post more info on the dinners in my shroom epicuriean group, the next is in Jan (Mexican).

[Peachcreek]

Elk tenderloin, pounded thin, lightly floured, quickly sauteed in clarified butter, then pick up the dripping with a little water, capers, lemon juice, whole butter and parsley. Add a few drops of cream if your sauce breaks. Fresh ground pepper and/or grated nutmeg after I put it on the plate.

[Kimmie]

Juniper Game Brine

1 cup gin
1 1/4 tablespoons cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons ground juniper berries
1 1/4 tablespoons sea salt
1 1/4 cups maple syrup

Combine the ingredients and whisk. Refrigerate until needed.

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In the wild, game and juniper have a natural affinity for one another: deer, grouse and turkey eat juniper berries all fall. Gin is made with juniper berries, so it is a nice medium to carry the flavour. The floral and spiced aromatic notes of the juniper will pull flavor from the flesh of the game. The pepper will, likewise, push all the taste elements. Maple syrup sweetens and thereby softens the sharp edges of this combination. There is also a slight bitter edge to the pepper and caramelized sugar that cuts saltiness. Its sweetness works with the peppery heat to push flavors forward. Use it with all kinds of game. For more layers of flavor, coat the game with Game Spice Mix (recipe follows).

Game Spice Mix

½ tablespoons allspice berries
2 tablesppons coriander seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon juniper berries
1 tablespoon black peppercorns

Combine all the ingredients in a small dry skillet and toast over medium heat until fragrant. Transfer to a spice grinder or a mortar and grind medium fine.