Game week: Week 44 of BigBarn’s food and drink weeks

Delicious game is the most understated meat. Often easy to find in your local pub during the winter months but very expensive in the supermarket and some butchers. Game is often cheap to buy and surprisingly delicious to cook, which makes us wonder why this winter tradition is avoided by the average shopper. I suppose this is typical of the way supermarkets have separated us from where our food comes from.

As a matter of fact game rearing and shooting has many benefits to British wildlife. The cover crops used to home the birds creates homes for other animals such as the hedgehog.

Pheasant, partridge, venison and pigeon are incredibly versatile and low fat meats, that can bring a new dimension to the dinner table so from September through until the end of January, we’d be daft not to give them a go.

With top chefs across the UK using the short game season as a way to liven up their menus, it’s about time game became more commonplace at home. Best of all this meat is easy to prepare and quick to cook, making it the perfect choice for time-strapped cooks.

The Game to Eat Campaign, run by the Countryside Alliance, has been working hard to push the versatility and health benefits of game and encourage more people to eat it since it was founded in 2000.

Working with chefs and those in the industry it supports retailers and restaurateurs with ideas and advice on making the most of the game season and its website is the perfect place to find recipe ideas and inspiration on how to cook delicious game dinners at home.

From pies to salads and hot pots to soups, game can easily

Roast Pheasant gametoeat.co.uk

substitute red or white meat and bring a whole new dimension to your cooking. Plus, with availability good in farm shops, butchers and some supermarkets, there’s no excuse not to try it.

BigBarn boasts a whole host of fantastic game suppliers, butchers and farm shops. Visit MarketPlace to buy online, or search for a producer or supplier on the local food map.

If you have a favourite game recipe that you’d like to share for the chance to win a prize, please video your recipe and add it to KIS (Keep it Simple) Cookery. Please have a look at existing videos here and try and keep your video less than 2 minutes long.