The Cottage Smallholder

@ Seth

Ray, our favourite traditional Christmas Eve dish is pheasant done like this

Check out the Pheasant and Game category in the Recipes section of Fiona's blog for more options - see the left-hand column.

I do envy you being able to stock up on a shoot. We used to get maybe six every year from the great old boy who used to help F in the garden. Sadly, he retired two years ago. Up to then he used to get casual work as a beater every season and always handed F a brace or three.

I was curious about Elk meat and there are loads of options listed in Google. But for those who will never taste Elk or Bison I copied a few snippets from two of the online sources I found. Just for interest's sake:

Elk meat is a healthy alternative to red meats. It is a tender, fine-textured meat that is extremely low in fat and very healthy. It is as easy to cook other meats, and stays moist while cooking.

Bison or Elk meat is similar to beef and is cooked in much the same way. The taste is often indistinguishable from beef, although bison tends to have a fuller, richer (sweeter) flavor. It is not "gamey" or wild tasting. Bison and Elk is very low in fat, and cholesterol, and is high in protein, vitamins and minerals. Fresh cut Bison and Elk meat tends to be darker red and richer in color than many of the other red meats.

The lack of fat insures that Bison and Elk meat will cook faster. Fat acts as an insulator - heat must first penetrate this insulation before the cooking process begins. Marbling (fat within the muscle) aids in slowing down the cooking process. Since Bison and Elk meat lacks marbling, the meat has a tendency to cook more rapidly. Caution must be taken to insure that you DO NOT OVER COOK Bison or Elk.

Hah!

Good spot, Barbara. i did not know there were different terms for the beasts.

Ray - are you talking "proper" Elk, or toy Red Deer?