The most important ingredient for any home-made soup is a good well-flavoured stock. As stock is made from vegetables and raw or cooked bones, every time you prepare a game recipe you will have the basis of a good soup.
Soup may be served as a first course or, with extra vegetables, lentils, rice or pasta, it will make a main meal. Take soup in a Thermos flask as part of a fishing or shooting lunch or serve as a light meal or late-night snack. Soup may be served clear, or thickened with vegetables puréed in a sieve, blender or food processor, with cream and egg yolks. The thickness of soup is a matter of choice and as soup is so versatile it is easy to adjust it to your own taste.
Home-made soup and stock may be stored in a refrigerator for two to three days but it should be brought to the boil each day. Soup freezes well for two to three months but do not add cream, egg yolk or starchy thickening until reheating.
All soups look even more appetising if they are garnished attractively. You may use anything that adds colour and texture, such as chopped chives or parsley, fried or toasted croûtons, grated cheese, or a swirl of cream or yoghurt.
Any assortment of game is suitable for making stock. Add seasonings and extra vegetables, rice or pulses to the prepared stock to make a variety of game soups.
2 pheasant or duck carcasses or 4 partridge carcasses
1 large onion, peeled and quartered
2 sticks of celery, chopped
2.25 litres (4pt) water
6 peppercorns
Bunch of parsley stalks
Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring slowly to the boil and simmer very gently for 3 hours.
Skim and strain the stock. Remove any scraps of meat from the carcasses and return these to the stock. Discard the bones.
The vegetables may be puréed and used to thicken the stock. For a clear game soup, season with salt and pepper and add a dash of sherry or port and a slice of lemon.
A smooth creamy soup thickened with puréed vegetables and enriched with cream. Serve with fried croûtons of bread to give a crunchy contrast in texture to the smoothness of the soup.
2 game carcasses
2 carrots, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
1.2 litres (2pt) water
2 bay leaves
Mixed herbs
Pinch of ground mace
Salt and pepper
2tbsp single cream
Chopped parsley to garnish
8 slices stale bread
Oil and butter
Break up the carcasses and place in a large saucepan. Add the water, chopped vegetables, bay leaves and herbs. Bring to the boil and simmer very gently for 2 hours.
Strain the soup and return the stock to the pan. Remove any pieces of meat from the carcasses and purée with the vegetables in a blender or vegetable mill. Discard the bones and bay leaves.
Stir the purée into the stock, add salt, pepper and ground mace to taste and slowly bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and stir in the cream.
Serve sprinkled with parsley and hand the croûtons separately.
Cut the bread into small cubes or triangles and fry in equal quantities of oil and butter until crisp and golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper.
A well-flavoured soup to serve as a first course or on its own for a filling snack.
225g (8oz) smoked trout fillet
600ml (1pt) water
350g (12oz) potatoes, peeled and sliced
3 medium-sized leeks, washed and sliced
215g (71⁄2oz) tinned tomatoes
600ml (1pt) milk
25g (1oz) cornflour
4tbsp single cream
1tbsp lemon juice
Salt and black pepper
Pinch ground mace
Chopped parsley or dill to garnish
Place the fish in a saucepan and pour over 600ml (1pt) boiling water. Leave to stand for 15 minutes. Drain and flake the fish, reserving the water.
Add the potatoes and leeks to the saucepan with the reserved water and can of tomatoes. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
Purée the vegetables using a sieve or blender, then return to the saucepan.
Blend the cornflour with the milk, add to the saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring all the time. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes.
Stir in the flaked fish and season with salt, black pepper and ground mace. Stir in the cream and lemon juice.
Pour into a warm soup tureen, garnish with chopped parsley or dill, and serve with croûtons or crusty bread.
Use the left-over carcasses and gravy from a pot-roast to make a rich soup to serve as a first course or as a warming addition to a picnic lunch.
2 grouse carcasses
1 litre (13⁄4pt) gravy and water
1 carrot, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 small parsnip, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
Bay leaf
4 peppercorns
1 glass of port
1tbsp cranberry jelly
Salt and pepper
2tbsp single cream
Simmer the carcasses, chopped vegetables, bay leaf and peppercorns in the gravy and water for 2 hours.
Remove the bay leaf and the carcasses. Return any strips of meat from the bones to the saucepan. Blend the vegetables or pass through a sieve and return to the saucepan.
Add the port, cranberry jelly and seasoning if necessary and heat through gently.
Pour into a warm tureen and streak with cream.
This soup makes good use of the carcasses left over from roast birds. Served with wholemeal bread, it provides a substantial meal.
2 pheasant carcasses
Left-over pheasant meat, diced
1.2 litres (2pt) water
2 carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
Bouquet garni
50g (2oz) pearl barley
Salt and black pepper
Chopped chives to garnish
Place the carcasses in a large saucepan. Add the water and all the ingredients except the diced meat. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 2 hours.
Remove the carcasses and strip off any remaining meat and put back in the pan together with the diced meat. Discard the bouquet garni. Adjust the seasoning if necessary and heat through for 5 minutes.
Decorate with chopped chives and serve with wholemeal bread.
A traditional raised game pie is made with a hot-water crust pastry which is used to line a special game pie mould or cake tin, or moulded by hand into a pie shape. The pastry is filled with a mixture of raw or partially cooked game layered with various combinations of bacon, veal, minced pork, sausagemeat, livers or hard-boiled eggs. After the pie is cooked, a jellied stock is added to fill up the spaces and keep the pie moist.
Pies are a useful way to use up oddments of game; a badly shot bird, a tough grouse or partridge, a bag of rabbit rib-cages or pigeon legs. As well as a raised pie, the filling may be placed in a pie dish and covered with shortcrust, flaky or puff pastry and served hot or cold.
Pies with a potato or breadcrumb topping may also be served hot and make a change from pastry. Cold game pies and flans are ideal for picnics or a cold buffet meal and make an alternative to post-Christmas turkey meals. Serve with a variety of salads, chutney or pickles. Red cabbage or Brussels sprouts make a colourful accompaniment to hot pies.
Pies made with shortcrust, flaky or puff pastry may be frozen cooked or uncooked for up to two months. A hot-water crust pie does not freeze well as the pastry tends to crack and crumble after thawing. It will keep, however, for several days in the refrigerator.
A pie made with a hot-water crust travels well and is ideal for a game fair lunch or a family picnic. Pack plenty of salads and some mustard or home-made chutney.
450g (1lb) cooked game meat, finely shredded
350g (12oz) pork sausagemeat
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1tbsp mixed herbs
Salt and pepper
300ml (1⁄2pt) game stock (made from game carcasses)
3tsp powdered gelatine
350g (12oz) plain flour, sifted and warmed
1 level tsp salt
75g (3oz) lard
150ml (1⁄4pt) milk and water mixed
Beaten egg
Game Fair Pie. From top left: Pouring the hot liquid into the flour; lining a cake tin with pastry; covering the pie; pouring the jellied stock into the cooked, cold pie
To make the pastry, put the lard, milk and water into a saucepan and heat slowly until the lard melts, then bring to a brisk boil.
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre. Pour the hot liquid into the well, stirring all the time, and mix with a wooden spoon until the ingredients are well blended. Knead until smooth and crack-free.
Cut off a quarter of the pastry and leave covered in the bowl. Roll out the remainder of the pastry into a circle and use to line an 18cm (7in) cake tin with a removable base or shape to line a 900g (21b) loaf tin or special game pie mould.
Mix the sausagemeat, chopped eggs, herbs, onion and seasoning, and use half to line the base of the pie case.
Season the shredded game meat and add half to the pie. Then add the rest of the sausagemeat mixture and finish with the shredded game. Fill to within 2cm (3⁄4in) of the top.
Roll out the rest of the pastry to make the lid. Seal well, then trim the edges. Decorate the top with the pastry trimmings and brush with beaten egg, reserving a little. Make a hole in the centre of the pie.
Bake in a fairly hot oven, 200°C (400°F), gas mark 6, for 30 minutes. Glaze again with beaten egg and reduce the temperature to moderate, 180°C (350°F), gas mark 4, for 1 hour. Allow the pie to cool.
Warm the stock and add the gelatine, stirring until dissolved. When cold and beginning to thicken, pour the jellied stock into the pie through a small funnel in the centre hole. It may be necessary to make a few small holes around the edge of the pie to add more stock.
Leave in a cool place overnight before removing from the tin.
This game pie is made without a pastry top which makes it very much easier to fill the space between the meat and the pastry with a rich jellied stock. The top is decorated with black grapes and slices of orange making it a colourful centrepiece for a cold buffet table.
1 pheasant
2 pigeons, breast and legs only
225g (8oz) minced pork
225g (8oz) bacon pieces, derinded and chopped
2tsp mixed herbs
1⁄2tsp ground mace
300ml (1⁄2pt) game stock
Bay leaf
Peppercorns
3tsp powdered gelatine
Salt and pepper
350g (12oz) plain flour, sifted and warmed
1 level tsp salt
75g (3oz) lard
150ml (1⁄4pt) milk and water mixed
12 large black grapes
1 orange cut into 4 rings
Open Game Pie
Cut off the breast meat from the pheasant and pigeons and cut into small pieces. Mix thoroughly with the chopped bacon and season lightly.
Remove the rest of the meat from the pheasant and the pigeon legs and either mince it or chop finely in a food processor. Combine with the minced pork, mixed herbs, mace, salt and pepper.
Place the bones in a saucepan together with a bay leaf and a few peppercorns, cover with water and boil for 1 hour to make a good stock. Strain the stock and reserve 300ml (1⁄2pt).
Lightly grease a 20cm (8in) cake tin with a removable base.
To make the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre.
Put the lard, water and milk into a saucepan. Heat slowly until the lard melts, then bring to a brisk boil. Pour into the well, stirring all the time and mix with a wooden spoon until well blended. Knead until smooth and crack-free. Roll out the pastry into a circle large enough to line the cake tin.
Place half of the minced-meat mixture into the pastry shell. Then add the breast meat and bacon mixture, followed by the rest of the minced meat. Crimp the rim of the pastry to make a decorative edge. Cover the pie with a double layer of foil. Bake in a fairly hot oven, 200°C (400°F), gas mark 6, for 30 minutes, then reduce the temperature to moderate, 180°C (350°F), gas mark 4, for 11⁄2 hours. Remove the foil for the final minutes to allow the pastry edge to brown.
Leave the pie in the tin to cool.
Dissolve the gelatine in the warmed stock and allow to cool.
Cut the grapes in half and remove the pips. Slice the orange into rings and cut off the rind and pith. Decorate the top of the pie with the fruit.
Pour the jellied stock over the pie so that it seeps into the pie, filling the space between the meat and the pastry and embedding the fruit in a shiny layer.
Allow the pie to cool, and chill overnight before removing from the tin.
Serve with salads and chutney.
A game pie using shortcrust pastry, which you are likely to be making anyway for mince pies, and has the advantage of being equally good hot or cold. Any combination of game may be used so search the freezer for half a hare or forgotten pigeon. Serve hot on Christmas Eve or give the cold turkey a rest on Boxing Day and serve cold with ‘bubble and squeak’, coleslaw and pickles.
900g (21b) mixed game, jointed
350g (12oz) pork sausagemeat
1 glass red wine
300ml (1⁄2pt) stock
Salt and pepper
225g (8oz) shortcrust pastry
1 beaten egg
3tsp powdered gelatine
Put the jointed game in a saucepan with the wine, stock and seasoning and simmer for 2 hours. When cold, remove the meat from the bones and break into small pieces. Reserve the stock.
Use half the sausagemeat to line the base and sides of a 1.2 litre (2pt) pie dish. Add the cooked game, season lightly and top with the rest of the sausagemeat.
Cover the pie dish with the pastry, make a hole in the centre and decorate with the pastry trimmings. Brush the pastry with beaten egg and cook in a fairly hot oven, 200°C (400°F), gas mark 6, for 45 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
Dissolve the gelatine in 300ml (1⁄2pt) stock and gradually pour into the pie through a funnel in the centre hole.
Serve immediately hot, or leave until quite cold before slicing.
An economical way to use up a small amount of left-over roast game, savoury flans make a satisfying lunch, supper or picnic meal and may be served hot or cold. The filling may be varied to suit whatever you have in the larder: hard-boiled eggs, sweetcorn or peppers may be used instead of or as well as the mushrooms; just add these ingredients to the basic white sauce together with the cooked game.
175g (6oz) cooked game meat, finely shredded
100g (4oz) mushrooms
1 small onion, finely chopped
25g (1oz) butter
Salt and pepper
20cm (8in) round cooked pastry case
Parsley to garnish
25g (1oz) butter or margarine
25g (1oz) flour
300ml (1⁄2pt) milk
To make the white sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Remove from the heat and slowly stir in the milk. Return to the heat, bring to the boil and cook for a few minutes, stirring continuously.
Slice the mushrooms and fry in butter with the chopped onion. Stir into the white sauce together with the shredded game. Season with salt and pepper and reheat for 2-3 minutes. Pour into the cooked pastry case and decorate with chopped parsley.
Serve hot with a mug of soup for a substantial snack. Serve cold with salads for a packed lunch or picnic.
225g (8oz) boneless game meat such as the breast of 1 pheasant or 1⁄2 rabbit
50g (2oz) streaky bacon
1 onion, grated
100g (4oz) potato, grated
225g (8oz) mushrooms, chopped
1tsp mixed herbs
Salt and pepper
350g (12oz) shortcrust pastry
Beaten egg
Make the pastry using 350g (12oz) flour and 175g (6oz) fat.
Chop the game meat and bacon into very small pieces. Mix thoroughly with the vegetables, herbs and seasoning.
Divide the pastry into four and roll out into 20cm (8in) rounds using a plate as a guide.
Divide the filling between the four pastry rounds. Dampen the edges with cold water and draw up the edges to meet on top of the filling. Press firmly together and crimp to make a fluted edge. Place on a greased baking tray and brush with beaten egg. Bake in the centre of a hot oven, 220°C (425°F), gas mark 7, for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180°C (350°F), gas mark 4, for 1 hour.
Game, potatoes and tomatoes are layered and topped with grated cheese. Serve with a green salad for a midweek family meal.
2 rabbit joints and 2 pigeon breasts
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, sliced
1 parsnip, sliced
450ml (3⁄4pt) stock or water
Salt and pepper
3tbsp tomato ketchup
450g (1lb) potatoes
225g (8oz) tomatoes, sliced
50g (2oz) grated cheese
Chopped chives to garnish
Place the game meat in a saucepan, add the chopped vegetables, seasoning, stock or water and simmer for 11⁄2 hours. When cool, take the meat from the bones and slice into small pieces.
Liquidise the vegetables with some of the stock, return to the saucepan and blend with the remaining stock. Stir in the tomato ketchup.
Add the chopped game meat, mix together well and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Peel and boil the potatoes for 10 minutes or until they are tender, but not soft, then slice thinly. Place a layer of potatoes in the bottom of a 1.2 litre (2pt) casserole. Add the meat mixture, then the sliced tomatoes and finish with a layer of potatoes. Cover and bake in a moderately hot oven, 190°C (375°F), gas mark 5, for 30 minutes. Uncover the pie and cook for a further 30 minutes or until the potatoes are brown and cooked through.
Sprinkle the grated cheese over the potatoes and return to the oven for 5 minutes.
Sprinkle with chopped chives and serve immediately with a green vegetable.
Another easy way to use up left-over portions of game and vegetables from a roast or casserole which are insufficient for a meal on their own, but with the addition of bacon and mushrooms will make an economical family meal. To keep the filling moist you need a good 300ml (1⁄2pt) of stock or gravy, preferably thickened with puréed vegetables for extra flavour.
225g (8oz) cooked game
100g (4oz) bacon
100g (4oz) mushrooms
175g (6oz) fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
300ml (1⁄2pt) gravy or thickened stock
Black pepper
50g (2oz) butter or margarine
Remove the rind from the bacon, fry lightly and cut into small pieces.
Break the game into shreds and add to the bacon. Place in a 1.2 litre (2pt) casserole or pie dish.
Slice the mushrooms and add to the dish. Season with black pepper. Pour over the stock.
Melt the butter or margarine and mix with the breadcrumbs. Sprinkle on top of the meat and mushrooms and bake in a moderate oven, 180°C (350°F), gas mark 4, for 1 hour.
Serve with plenty of fresh seasonal vegetables.
Convenient packet and canned ingredients are combined with left-over cooked game to make an instant meal for busy school holidays or to feed unexpected guests.
350g (12oz) cooked mixed game meat cut into small pieces
1 large packet instant potato
275g (10oz) can condensed mushroom or chicken soup
50g (2oz) grated cheese
Sliced tomatoes to garnish
Mix together the condensed soup and game meat and place in a 1.2 litre (2pt) pie dish.
Make up the instant potato, spread over the game mixture and mark with a fork.
Sprinkle the grated cheese on top and decorate with slices of tomato.
Place on a baking tray and cook for 30 minutes in a hot oven, 220°C (425°F), gas mark 7, or until the pie is golden brown. Serve piping hot with a can of peas and sweetcorn.
Small vol-au-vent cases filled with a savoury game and mushroom mixture may be served as a first course or as part of the menu for a buffet party. Cases may be made at home using puff pastry or bought uncooked, frozen or ready to use. The filling is quick to prepare and may be served hot or cold.
12 cooked vol-au-vent cases
275g (10oz) can condensed mushroom soup
225g (8oz) cooked diced pheasant breast meat or rabbit
Place the soup in a saucepan; do not add any water. Add the diced game meat and heat gently.
Fill the pastry cases and put into a preheated moderate oven 180°C (350°F), gas mark 4, to warm through and crisp.
To serve cold, allow the mixture to cool completely before filling the vol-au-vent.