Christmas is our opportunity as deer stalkers, to be loud and proud about what it is that we do.
In many parts of Europe, the traditional dish served at Christmas is game, especially Venison & Boar and the market for game meat in Europe throughout December dwarfs that of the UK where, the traditional Christmas dinner is not wild, or sustainable, but intensively farmed.
As the popular narrative moves toward sustainability, as hunters we have the opportunity, in fact we have a duty to the environment, to encourage our friends and family to eat more free-range, sustainable game.
Personally, I have the pleasure of the entire family visiting us for Christmas this year and the centre piece for Christmas dinner will be a Boneless Rolled Saddle of Fallow deer, stuffed with spinach & Mushroom.
I chose Fallow deer because it provides the size that I needed; however, December is in fact a great time to harvest the smaller species, including Roe, Muntjac and Chinese Water Deer, all of which make for incredible eating and are much easier to extract and butcher at home than the larger carcasses of Fallow, Red and Sika.
What’s more, the smaller species are much more visible and therefore easier to hunt in winter than other months, added to which, it is in fact the rut for CWD, so December represents a great time to be out in search of the UK’s most ancient deer species.
Whatever, you are hunting, when you do get it home, you’ll need to know how to butcher and cook it. Here the ‘Hunting Academy’ is able to help, with a fabulous Masterclass on Skinning & Butchery delivered by Ben Heath of the ‘Deer Box’ which you can access here: skinning-and-butchery-master-class Along with an unrivalled Masterclass in Venison Cookery, delivered by top Michelin Star Chef Asimakis Chaniotis.
During this fabulous Masterclass, Chef Chaniotis shows you how to prepare and cook the Boneless Rolled Saddle to which I refer, along with five other dishes that will ‘wow’ friends and family.
To encourage you to give it a go, if you are a subscriber to the Almanac, we are delighted to afford you an early Christmas present, in the form of a 50% discount on Chef Chaniotis’s Venison Cookery Masterclass. The code will be sent out direct via the Almanac. If you are a member of the Capreolus Club we'll go one better You'll soon receive a code to access this course completely free during December in next month Newsletter. To access this fabulous masterclass in time for Christmas just click here and enter your code: michelin-star-venison-cooking-masterclass
Finally, on to this month’s film which comes from our recent Capreolus Club trip to the iconic Glencoe region of Scotland:youtube.com/watch
IN Season in England & Wales: Roe Doe, Fallow Doe & Fallow Buck, Sika Stag & Sika Hind, Red Stag & Red Hind, CWD Buck & CWD Doe, Muntjac Buck & Muntjac Doe.
OFF Season in England & Wales: Roebuck.
In Season in Scotland: Fallow Buck, Fallow Doe, Roe Doe, Sika Hind, Red Hind.
Off Season in Scotland: Red Stag, Sika Stag & Roebuck
(Peter Jones - Editor)
