Partridge with Braised Cabbage and Pancetta

Grey partridge is our native feral bird and immeasurably better than the commercially reared and released French, or red-legged, variety. I find the French are generally not at their best with game dishes, often cooking the animal when it is too fresh. We have some of the best game in the world, but it is often spoiled by over-hanging and undercooking. If the French are often guilty of under-hanging, the British aristocracy’s continuing love affair with rotten game beggars belief and sho