Venison, rabbit and hare

If you’re using young venison or farmed meat, which doesn’t have such a strong gamey flavour, marinating it overnight (no longer) in a light marinade of wine, oil, juniper and thyme will improve the flavour. Older animals may benefit from lengthier marinating.

Apart from roasting, game can be used in a variety of interesting ways, including soups, salads, pâtés, pan-fried on toast, etc. The tender inner muscle from a large haunch of venison, roasted rare, makes a great Sunday joint, or you can just cut it into escalopes and flash fry them to eat with seasonal vegetables, or add to a seasonal salad. The rest of the haunch is better slow-cooked in a casserole or for a pie.