Countryside Recipes

Please note these recipes are used at your own risk, make sure that the fruits or fungi you use are the correct ones. The author & senders will accept no responsibility for any accident or mishap related to the use of these recipes. Please feel free to e.mail the author (see home page) with any recipes you may have but please do not forward ones directly copied from books as this probably contravenes copyright laws. Thanks to all.

Please note !!!! The articles in the links immediately below are showing how to prepare certain quarry for the oven and are not for the squeamish. These articles may contain graphic images of the blood and the organs of dead animals or birds.

Ingredients : 3 or more prepared squirrels, 1lb of chopped tomatoes, 3 cloves of garlic, half a tube of tomato puree, olive oil and 3 fingers of coriander

Method: Using a medium size pan, coat the base in a generous covering of olive oil, add 1lb of chopped tomatoes, 3 crushed garlic bulbs, half a tube of tomato puree and 3 fingers of coriander. Bring to the boil, stirring regularly, add water to approx 1/3 of the pans depth and continue to stir and bring to the boil again.

Add the squirrels, simmer for 2-3 hours on a very low heat, till the meat almost falls off the bone. Prepare a seperate pan of mashed tatties. Get the plates out, dish out, put the squirrel on top of the tatties with sauce and hey presto. Yum yum wash down with a pint of Theakstones old peculiar (sent in by Gavin -airgun universe forum)

APPLE AND PIGEON BURGERS

Equipment : Hand Meat Mincer – I use a cheap ( £15 ) one that my good lady bought me for Christmas from a local store - the `old' fashioned type that clamps to the worktop and has a little 4 blade `knife' with 2 sizes of mincing disc ( I use the coarser one - approx 5mm holes ) Sharp Vegetable Knife, Baking Tray, Kitchen Foil, Medium Size glass mixing bowl.

Ingredients : 8 Pigeon Breasts, 1 Large Cox’s Apple, 1 Medium Red Onion, 2 Slices of Wholemeal Bread, 2 Teaspoons of dried mixed herbs or Italian mixed Herbs. (makes 8 burgers)

Method : Mince Pigeon Breasts , I find leaving them overnight in the fridge makes them easier to mince ( not sure why ! ). Place minced pigeon in the mixing bowl, chop the apple finely – I use one of them plastic vegetable choppers, or grating would do just as well. Crumble up the 2 slices of wholemeal bread – this is easier if the bread’s been dried a bit – a minute or two under a medium grill will help, mix in the bowl by hand with the apple and a finely chopped red onion , also adding in the 2 teaspoons of mixed herbs. When well mixed, form into balls in the hand a bit bigger than a golf ball , line a baking tray with kitchen foil and form the balls of mix into a burger shape. I now use one of the cheap plastic burger shapers which has a flat bit that you use to press the meat into the mold ( dipping it in cold water before putting the mix into it helps to stop it sticking. Once I’ve used all the mix – usually about 8 quarter pound burgers, I place another piece of foil over the top of the baking tray and press gently down around the burgers to help reduce moisture loss , then place in the freezer. Once frozen overnight, I transfer them to a freezer bag, sealed tight to prevent water loss and freezer `burn’, label & date them. I find they freeze and keep quite well, I shallow fry them from frozen over a medium heat with a little olive or sunflower oil . Very nice in a crusty roll with cheese and tomato relish. Sent in by Mr.Fixit-Norm (AirgunBBS forum)

4lbs of Blackberries (Brambles), 12 oz of cane sugar and a bottle of Whisky (I use the cheapest I can find that's 40% or more) make in same way as Sloe gin, wait until the Whisky has gone dark red and bottle until Christmas! strain the whole lot before you bottle! John

BRANCHER PIE (Young Rooks in May)

Ingredients : 6 young rooks, pepper and salt, 3 hard boiled eggs, ½ lb of rough puff pastry , 1 pint warm water, 1 oz butter, 1 lb steak, 1/2pt beef stock, 1 oz flour, gelatine.

Method : Wash rooks well, taking care to remove the livers and backbones. Cut into neat joints and the steak into pieces, toss in flour, pepper and salt. Fry the rooks in hot butter and put onto plate, brown the steak, add warm water and simmer 1 hour. Put the rooks into the mixture and simmer for 1 hour longer. Boil eggs, remove shells and cut into quarters. Put the rooks, meat and eggs into a pie dish, pour gravy over gelatine and stir till dissolved. Pour over rooks and when cold, cover with pastry, decorate, brush with a beaten egg and bake ½ an hour. Pour in the gravy and serve cold. cook on gas mark 6. Sent in by Deadeye Dick (AirgunBBS forum) passed down to him by an old Scottish farmer friend.

Field mushrooms aren't too common in this neck of the woods, but their shortage is more than compensated for here by the seasonal abundance of what the Germans call Pfifferling and the French call Chanterelle, growing in the birch woods hereabouts. They are served as a traditional side dish with venison in Germany but fried in butter with an equal amount of diced bacon and onion, with just a dash of cayenne, then served on slices of hot buttered toast, are really delicious as a stand alone meal. Kim

Thought I'd pop this in here too.. I wrote it up for my son's school's healthy eating cookbook. Add chillies for grown-ups !This ultimate free-range meat is a healthy alternative to chicken or lamb as it is virtually fat-free. Boiling it on the bone before use enables the meat to be taken from the bones easily and ensures a tender final result. Most of the ingredients are available in local supermarkets, but first catch your rabbit.

Ingredients : 1 wild rabbit, 200g mushrooms, 6 cloves garlic, 1” ginger stem, 400g tin chopped tomatoes, 400g tin spinach (optional), 1 sachet creamed coconut (optional), 8 green cardamom pods, 3 medium sized onions, Spices - 1tsp each of cumin, coriander, turmeric, fennel seeds and cinnamon, Olive oil (as little as possible)

Method : Immerse jointed rabbit in boiling water & simmer for 30-45 minutes. Remove from water & take meat from bones with knife & fork. Heat about a tablespoonful of olive oil in a stockpot or heavy bottomed pan. Mix up the Spices (a shaker is good for this) crush the cardamom with flat of knife blade, and fry ’em all up for 10 minutes on a low heat stirring occasionally. Peel 3 onions, quarter two of them and slice the third into rings. Stir-fry the onions in the spicy oil without burning them. Quarter the mushrooms and when the onions have had 10 minutes or so, add the meat and mushrooms, with the sachet of creamed coconut. Allow this all to fry for 15-20 minutes on a low heat without burning. Add the tomatoes, stir, cover & simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. Add tinned spinach if desired & simmer for a further 20 minutes or so. Remove lid and increase heat slightly for final 10 minutes of cooking if there is too much liquid. Try to pick out the cardamom as you dish it up. Serve on bed of rice, with naan, mango chutney etc. (serves 2 adults and 2 children) Sent in by James "Arjimlad" (AirgunBBS forum)

25 Flower heads, 2 oz Citric acid, 3lb sugar. 2 1/2 pints cold BOILED water. 2 dessert spoons lemon juice. A wine demijohn is fine or 3 litre plastic cider bottle. Put water in container, add sugar, acid and lemon juice shake to dissolve. Take a pair of scissors and cut out and discard the main stems of Elder flowers leaving the small stems and flowers, add them to bottle. Shake a couple times a day for two days. Strain off the flowers using a plastic sieve. Can be drunk right away. Store cordial in fridge (Will safely keep for 2/3 months). Peter H

I have just made this year's supply of Elderflower Cordial. In a large bowl mix : About 20 Elderflower heads, 2lb each of Brown & Caster sugar, 3oz of Citric acid, zest & juice of 3 unwaxed lemons and 3 pints of water. Cover and leave in a cool place for 4 or 5 days. Strain through a fine sieve and bottle. Ready to use after a month or so. I keep mine in sparkling mineral water bottles because it 'sparkles' a bit itself. Result of natural yeasts I suppose. David W

Ginger root (as much as you can handle or 1/2oz per gal.) Tartaric acid, 1/4 oz per Gal. Lemon (1 per Gal.) Sugar (2lbs per Gal.)Yeast (1/4 oz per Gal. or 1/2 oz if you like to take yeast) and that's it! total cost per Gal. is approximately, 75p. Now for the work !! Crush the Ginger whole and put it in your container (I use a bucket), add the acid and the juice of the Lemon and then the zest of the lemon and sugar. Boil up the kettle with as much water as is needed (Min of a Gal.) and add to the ingredients. Start the wine yeast going by placing the yeast in a cup and pouring over a bit of warm but NOT hot water, make sure all water has been boiled, just enough to cover the yeast will do. Then when your 'bucket' of ginger beer is cool, about room temp, add the yeast! That's it, leave over night and then remove the scum and sieve into bottles. BEWARE!!!! use screw top bottles or you'll have some mini-bombs going off over night ;0) Leave for three days and drink. There is nothing like Ginger beer, when your sitting in a Hide all day or Ferreting from 7 'till dusk. John.

Liver, Butter, Salt & Pepper, Orange&Lemon zest, Nutmeg&Mace. Weigh the liver and fry it (lightly) in half it's weight in butter till cooked. Mince the liver with the zest and some more butter as well as adding the spices. Press the whole lot through a sieve, add a drop or two of brandy and port. Press the mix in to a Pate jar and cover with freshly melted butter. I guess it would be easier to look it up in some game recipe book but I don't think I have ever seen a recipe for goose liver pate. The above is my recipe for Rabbit livers, minus the zest and port, so I guess it would work well for Goose livers. John

RABBIT BURGERS

Ingredients : 4lb boned rabbit, 2lb pork fat, 2tsp salt, 2tsp pepper, Handful of herbs to taste, chilli and garlic optional.
Method : Chuck the whole lot in the mincer and then press into 4oz burgers Quick, easy and exquisite. Sent in by Voldemort (Matt and wife Airgun BBS forum)

Ingredients : 1 or 2 jointed Pheasants, whole shallots, smoked bacon bits, butter, garlic cloves, madeira, red wine

Method : peel whole shallots brown in butter, add to casserole. Brown Smoked bacon bits (lardons) with some butter, add to casserole. Slice garlic cloves brown in butter, add to casserole. Skin and joint a pheasant or two, dip in seasoned flour, brown in butter, add to casserole. Flash off frying pan with a glass of madeira, mind your eyebrows and add to casserole. Cover with red wine (watered down with chicken stock if you must) put in medium oven for at least an hour. Serve with mash, carrots, greens etc. Quantities can vary as you like, but best to have more wine than madeira so its not too sweet, best to have plenty of madeira so that it's fairly rich. Sent in by Richard Allen (AirgunBBS forum)

Ingredients : Suet Pastry. 1 rabbit, cut into joints, 2 medium onions, chopped fairly small, 8 oz unsmoked streaky bacon (this helps put some fat in the pie),1 medium cooking apple, 4 oz chopped pitted prunes 1/2 pint dry cider, 3/4 pint stock,1/2 whole nutmeg, grated,1 bay leaf,1 1/2 oz plain flour,1/2 butter,salt and pepper.

Method: Wash the rabbit joints and place them in a large saucepan. Cut up the onion and apple and pop it in aswell. Next remove the rind from the bacon, chop the bacon and rabbit up into small pieces and add that to the pot along with the bayleaf, plus salt and pepper. Pour in the cider and the stock, bring to the boil,then put a lid on and leave to simmer for about an hour. When it's cooked, remove the rabbit and bacon pieces plus the onion and apple and pop them into a pie dish, stick in the chopped prunes as well. Mix up the flour and butter and add this to the stock in the saucepan,stir them round over a medium heat to melt and thicken the sauce. Sprinkle in the nutmeg and when the sauce reaches simmering point pour it over the rabbit. Make up the suet crust pastry. Mix the flour, salt, pepper and suet together, then add cold water to make a soft dough. Roll the dough out into a lid and stick it onto the top of the dish with the rabbit in it. Make a small hole for steam to escape, you can also brush the lid with egg yoke if you like then bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Sent in by Nanny Treeman (AirgunBBS forum)

ROAST SQUIRREL

Ingredients : 2 or 3 squirrels depending on size and your appetite. 3/4 cup olive oil, 1 squeezed lemon, A good pile of bread crumbs, 1/2 cup cream, 1 hand full of button sliced mushrooms, sautéd, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 4 tablespoons goose fat

Method: Cut up and clean the squirrels, give them a wash and dry. Cover with olive oil mixed with lemon juice and let stand for about 1 hour. Mix bread crumbs with cream, mushrooms, salt and pepper. Stuff squirrels with this mixture and tie them closed with string. Place in roasting pan. Brush with goose fat. Roast uncovered in medium heat oven until tender, 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hours. Baste every 15 minutes with fat. Serve with vegetables of your choiced, roast potatoes and gravy. Sent in by Nanny Treeman (AirgunBBS forum)

In my opinion, the tastiest venison comes from Sika, Sika venison is a little different to Red, Roe and Fallow and has more fat within the muscle tissue, resulting in a more moist meat when cooking. The next best eating is from an August shot , young or middle aged Red stag off the hill. It's all a matter of taste of course, and many folk prefer the more delicate and finer grained Roe deer venison. It never ceases to surprise me how little most of the general public in the UK know about venison and most restaurants and Hotels are usually in the same category. I have yet to eat a decent meal of venison in a Hotel or restaurant - they usually overcook the meat , roast it off the bone (and therefore dry it out) or drown the flavours with fancy sauces.

I usually roast the saddle and the haunches (for all species). The front shoulders and neck are boned out for stew or burgers. Venison meat makes the most superb curry - something which many folk may not have tried! Deer should always be hung in the skin in a cool dry airy shed. In summer time, I seldom hang a beast longer than 3 or 4 days and in winter 5 or 6 days. A lot depends on how dry the weather is outside because humidity is a real enemy and enables bacteria to quickly make the meat go 'off'

As ever, the best recipe for roast venison is the simplest. Preheating the oven is crucial. I prefer slow roasting at gas Mark 3 (325 deg. F. - 170 deg.C) Take the haunch or saddle and stab a short knife about a dozen times into the meat - make the incisions fairly deep and press some lard (beef dripping) into these holes. For good measure, I then take some warm lard and rub it all over the meat, at the same time adding 5 or 6 crushed cloves of garlic. Place the joint onto a grill which keeps the meat clear of the base of the roasting tin and add a cup or two of water. Then place a generous sheet of foil over the meat and tuck the foil into the inner sides of the roasting tin so that fluids cannot evaporate . (Don't fully wrap the meat - the juices can run into the base of the pan and therefore keep the meat bathed in moisture). Allow 45 minutes per pound plus 40 minutes for joints up to 6 lb . For joints over 7 lb , make that 35 minutes per pound plus 40 minutes. Check the meat about half way through the cooking time and more frequently thereafter. A skewer pressed through to the bone should have clear juices running out of the meat on withdrawal. About 20 minutes before the end, I like to take the foil off, run off the gravy and roast the meat just to crisp up the outside. That gravy usually tastes utterly superb and a teaspoonful of redcurrent jelly with some fresh ground pepper is all the seasoning that is needed with a little thickening.

The big mistake most folk is when carving the meat. I wait until people are sitting and ready and then start carving. As soon as I carve enough for one serving on a heated dinner plate , I pour the hot thin gravy over the meat and tell folk not to wait but to get stuck in! If you leave the meat sitting, it will dry before your very eyes and will be spoiled. A little red currant jelly is nice with the meat. Cold roast venison tastes quite different. Leave the joint to cool right down and then carve when cold. Use some of that gravy at room temperature to accompany the meat and you have a meal fit for a King. Sent in by Michael R of Countrysports (see Michaels website on the UK links page)

12 oz sloes ( Blackthorn fruit - picked the later the better) 5oz caster sugar. Take a 1.5 litre screw top dark wine bottle hock or similar, drink contents, sober up, wash out bottle. Add a little spirit and all sugar, shake to dissolve. Prick each sloe several times with a fork. Add sloes to bottle, add rest of the 75cc spirit, screw down and give it a shake once in a while for three months. Then strain off the fruit using plastic sieve and leave until the start of the next shooting season before you drink it. By the way when I strain off the fruit, I take out the stones, buy either milk or plain chocolate which I melt and add the fruit to to make a good alcoholic treat. When I use raspberries the fruit is great in a trifle. Peter H

The recipe I use is as follows :- You need a 1 litre glass jar, I use old fruit juice bottles. 9 ounces of Sloes, 4 to 41/2 ounces of sugar & Almond essence.

The old recipes suggest not collecting the Sloes until after the first frost so I stick mine in the freezer for a while to simulate the frost. I slash the skin with a sharp knife but pricking would be fine. Place the 9 ounces of Sloes and 4 to 4 1/2 ounces of sugar in the glass 1 litre bottle. The extra 1/2 ounce of sugar makes a slightly sweeter drink which I prefer. Top up the jar with a 70cl bottle of cheap Gin. I have tried both expensive and cheap Gin with the same end result so I use the cheapest I can get. This almost completely fills the 1 litre jar. Optionally add a few drops of Almond essence. Leave for a minimum of 6 weeks turning the jar regularly. Don't worry if it looks like the sugar won't dissolve. Eventually it will. After the six weeks, or longer if you want, strain the Gin back into the original bottle. This normally leaves about a glassful extra which gives you a chance to taste your handiwork. You can start drinking it immediately after bottling. I have kept bottles for over a year but I don't find it improves with age. Regards Allan G

Easiest way possible – can’t make it any more as we now live in Western Canada and can’t get sloes. Its best to pick them as far away from roads as possible and preferably after the first frost. Then put them in a basin, stab them a few times with a pair of kitchen forks using the forks to transfer them to a kilner jar or jars. Fill the jar right up to the top with sloes. Tip in as much sugar as the jar will hold without shaking it down. Fill up with gin put the top on and leave it in a dark cupboard until just before the sloes are ripe the next year at which point borrow a large coffee urn or something similar pour in all the sloes (I used a muslin bag to strain them) Let them drip dry for a while. Then the fun stuff starts. Take a small glass and sample the sloe liquer. Dilute with neat gin until the result is as you like it. My husband liked a very sweet drink, I liked a bit more gin. It will vary from year to year and you get a bit sloshed doing this bit. Stick it in gin bottles, put the caps on and put them in a cupboard. I am still drinking the last of my 96 and 97 which are both brilliant and taste very similar although the sloes in each year were very different and I had to dilute differently. All the best Liz

I was looking for a bramble whisky recipe and up you came. You might like to add these comments from a long in the tooth sloe gin maker. Like every body else, I slavishly followed the rules about first frost, when two things dawned on me: 1) In the summer of 2003 the fruit were plump and juicy in early September and I worried that the drought would spoil them - so I picked anyway- did not freeze, and the gin turned out fine. I've done the same thing this year. 2) Global warming. If it's true we may be in danger of not having sloe gin at Christmas from that autumn's production while we wait for the first frost!....... It occurred to me that it just might be a way of identifying, traditionally, when sloes were ripening- towards the end of September in a typical year. One other tip. Again like others, I used to slavishly prick, and then turned to slicing, each fruit. If you pick plump ripe sloes, and make the quantity I do, then put the sloes in a demijohn straight off the bush; shake the bottle vigorously sufficient to bruise the fruits, then add your sugar and gin in your preferred proportions. Seems to work fine. Bruce

Get down to the local off licence & get yourself some cheap Cava (Spanish sparkling wine about £3 a bottle). Put a slug of sloe gin in a champagne glass & top up with said cheap Cava, hey presto a lovely sparking refreshing drink, it's so simple but so effective, one to impress the friends definitely. Geraint

This one looks good hanging in the kitchen for a few days! 4 oz of sugar per half pint of rum, White preferably, it blends better with the marrow. Get yourself a good mature marrow, cut open the top & scoop a good cup full out of the middle. Underneath the Marrow make about half a dozen puncture wounds with a sharp narrow needle (preferably long sowing needle or a sharp thin knife ), & suspend above a glass bowl . Feed the marrow through the top hole with sugar & rum in proportion & in a few hours you'll get lovely scented marrow rum dripping out of the bottom. An average marrow will normally take about one & half pints of rum (over a few hours) I prefer to make most liquers on the tart side & sweeten to taste afterwards if necessary. Geraint

Peel 3 juicy oranges & keep the peel, get rid of all the white & eat the oranges (or juice them & serve with a bit of cold gin, shame to waste anything!!!) Place the peel in a bottle (easier with a kilner jar) with about 8 ounces of sugar, fill to the top with cheap brandy, seal & wait about four months. Geraint

8 oz sugar per pound pineapple & 1 clove. Again, make at Christmas with that leftover fresh pineapple you always get from the fruit shop (please, please don't use tinned pineapple) Chop up the pineapple (after peeling it) Half fill a jar with it, add sugar & cloves & fill to top with brandy, seal & wait 4 months. Geraint

Mix Pineapple brandy & Cava sparkling wine 50/50 for a killer apperitif (for some technical reason the bubbles get the brandy to your head in half the time) p.s I hope you dont think I'm excessively involved with the demon drink, I just love experimenting with different combinations & tastes (well that's the story anyway) Geraint

2 lbs of plums, 2 lbs of Demerara sugar, 2 1/2 pints of Brandy. Remove stalks and leaves from plums, wash well in COLD water, halve them and remove stones. In a Jar (Kilner or similar.) arrange layers of plums each with a GOOD coating of sugar. Cover the whole lot with brandy and leave for 6 months (minimum.) in room temp. (important). Strain and bottle. It will not be ready for another 6 months. John

Hi all, I think somebody asked about Rowan jelly recipes, and I've just spoken to my mother who made a batch of rowan and apple jelly a few days ago. She recommends using apple or a sweet berry as well as rowans, unless you're making rowan jelly to go with meat. All you need, besides the rowans and the apples, are sugar and water. Preserving sugar or jam sugar can be used, though aren't necessary. Chop up the apples, pop them in a pan with the rowans, and cover with water. Bring to the boil and give 'em hell! Keep up a good "rolling boil" (more than just a simmer) until the fruit and berries are soft and mushy. Remove from the heat and strain through a jelly strainer. This is a fine net (muslin type of thing), much finer than a sieve. Let gravity do the work, so leave it to drip into a pan for a good few hours or even overnight, though you can always spoon the last drops through. Measure the resultant juice, and put it in a saucepan. Put some jam jars in the oven at about 100 Celcius to warm up, while you add 1lb of sugar for every pint of juice to the saucepan, and bring to the boil again. Keep heating while you grab a spoon and a saucer. Every few minutes, spoon a little of the mixture on to the saucer and let it cool slightly, then drag the spoon through it to check the texture. Once it is firm enough, remove it from the heat and pour into the jam jars. You can put the wax paper disks on straight away, but leave the cellophane tops off until the jelly has cooled. Dispense to visiting friends and relatives. JJ.

Fry the breasts in Butter for 5 mins each side. Serve on squares of toast and eat immediately (for best flavour). I also serve it with Elderberry jelly but you could try some Red current jelly. Easy and quick meal! John.

I was given this recipe a few years ago by a friend and was told that it belonged to a famous Pigeon shooter, to tell you the truth I didn't believe him. I was given a book for Xmas, written by Archie Coats Widow (Prue) and an excellent book it is. The amazing thing is that my friend was quite right, give or take a few things the recipe appears in the book aptly named "Archie's Curry".

8oz Pigeon breast (4 birds), 1 tbl Sunflower oil, 4oz Apple (peeled & diced), 4oz Onion (Peeled & diced), 2 Garlic cloves (Peeled & chopped), 2 oz of any dried fruit (this is where my original recipe stated "Sultanas", 1 Des. spoon of Bramble Jelly (My original stated Redcurrant), 1 Des. of Mango chutney, teaspoon of Black treacle, 1oz of creamed coconut, 1 teaspoon of dried herbs (mixed herbs), 2 teaspoons of hot curry paste and another 2 of mild curry powder.

Heat oil in large pan, fry the apple, onion and garlic for a few minuets. Add Pigeon (cubed) and all of the remaining ingredients. Cook on the lowest heat setting for 1 hour, stirring occasionally to stop sticking and burning. Cover the whole lot and cook for another hour by which time the curry should be a near black colour (her words not mine) and be very thick. I always try to cook the curry a day in advance as it taste 100% better but in any case it taste just fine. For our USA visitors Pigeon is the same as Dove in the US. John

Ingredients :- 4 or 5 pigeons, 8 ozs. short pastry, 8 ozs. stewing beef, pepper and salt to taste, Shortcrust pastry, Stock or broth

Method: Joint the birds into two breast joints and two leg joints each and stew the rest of the carcasses in a little water for the gravy. Cut the beef into small pieces and line a pie dish with these, lay pigeon joints on top, cover with water, add seasoning, then cover the pie dish with greased paper or foil, place in a moderate oven and allow to simmer for one hour. Remove from oven, have ready short crust pastry and cover pie with this. Brush top with beaten egg, put back into oven and bake until the pastry is golden brown. Make a gravy by mixing a 2 teaspoons of cornflour (cornstarch ) with a little cold water, add a 1¼ cups of broth allow to thicken, season and add to the pie before serving. Graham

PIGEON PIE

Ingredients :- 3 pigeon breasts, 1 – 2 rashers bacon, ½ lb stewing steak, cut into small pieces, 1 sliced hard boiled egg, 1 dessertspoon flour, stock, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ lb flaky or short pastry, ½ teaspoon pepper, egg and milk to glaze, 1 teaspoon chopped parsley

Method: Cut pigeon breasts into 4, right through the bones. Dip each piece of pigeon and steak into seasoned flour and arrange in a pie dish. Add parsley, diced bacon, hard boiled egg and sufficient stock to about half fill the dish. Cover with pastry, decorate and glaze. Bake at first in a hot oven until pastry is browned, then lower temperature and cook for about 2 hours until the pigeons are tender. Protect pastry with greaseproof covering if necessary, to prevent over browning.
When the pie is cooked, fill up with the remainder of stock. (Tiger Oscar AirgunBBS forum)