history - food : game foods

Game Foods

GAME (le gibler)

The term "game" is the name given to the meat of wild birds and animals which are 'collected', shot, trapped, etc for the table. These are generally classified into two groups:

• feathered
• furred

But, I always think that a third group also needs to be added to allow for the likes of insects, snakes, etc. This third group I normally refer to as 'Exotic'

Each year, here on the West Coast of New Zealand, we host a Wildfoods Festival to celebrate all the varieties of wildfoods that can so easily be obtained. If it can be shot, netted, speared or gathered it will be served.

This is the largest food festival in New Zealand with over 20,000 people attending the one day festival. To put this into perspective the town that hosts it only has a normal population of 3,000. Meaning 17,000 people from all over New Zealand and the world come for this one day.

For more information on this festival www.wildfoods.co.nz

FOOD VALUE

As it is less fatty poultry or meat, game is easily digested, with the exception of water fowl, owing to their oily flesh. Game is useful for building and repairing body tissues and for energy.

STORAGE

• Hanging is essential for all game. It drains the flesh of blood and begins the process of disintegration which is vital to make the flash soft and edible, and also to develop flavour.
• The hanging time is determined be the type, condition and age of the game and storage temperature.
• Old birds need to hang for a long time than young birds.
• Game birds are not plucked before hanging.
• Venison and hare are hung with the skin on.
• Game must be hung in a well ventilated, dry, cold store room; this is not to be refrigerated.
• Game birds should be hung by the neck with the feet down.

QUALITY POINTS WHEN PURCHASING

Venison:
Joints of venison should be well fleshed and a dark brownish red in colour.

Hares:
The ears of hares should tear easily. With old hares the lip is more pronounced than in young animals. The hare is distinguished from the rabbit by longer ears, feet and body.

Rabbits:
The ears of rabbits should tear easily. The rabbit is distinguished from the hare by shorter ears feet and body.

Birds:

• The beak should break easily
• The breast plumage ought to be soft
• The breast should be plump
• Quill feathers should be pointed, not rounded
• The legs should be smooth

FURRED GAME

Venison (la venaison):

Venison is the flesh of deer and the lean meat is a dark blood red colour. The surface of the carcass is usually dusted with a mixture if flour, salt and black pepper before being hung in a cold room for 2 - 3 weeks. The roebuck (le chevrueil ) is the deer which is frequently used.

Venison is usually roasted or braised in joints. Small cuts may be fried. Before cooking it is always marinaded to counteract the toughness and dryness of the meat. menu examples: Roast haunch of venison, Cumberland sauce; /fillet of venison with beetroot.

Venison in New Zealand
Deer were first introduced into New Zealand in 1850 by the early European settlers, as a means of sport hunting. The hunting was actively encouraged to control the numbers, as the deer had no natural predators and had plentiful food to survive.

However in the early 1970's a whole new industry of deer farming was introduced, because of the depleting stocks due to high overseas demand for N.Z. deer. These deer are/were slaughtered when they reached 15 months old and before they were 27 months, this ensured good quality meat.

Cervena

What is Cervena? Cervena is the product of New Zealand farmed deer; less than three years old, that is all natural, range/grass fed without hormones or steroids. It has changed venison from an often tough and strong gamey meat, into a new venison with a consistently tender texture and mild yet distinctive flavour.

What does the name Cervena mean

It is derived from the following words:

• Cervidae - the Latin word for deer
• Venison - the Latin word for hunted game
• A - for premium quality

CER (vidae) VEN (ison) A

Who controls it all?

A group called Cervena Co. , who are a subsidiary of the New Zealand Game Industry Board. Who are responsible maintaining the strict standards of production, packaging, aging, storage, tenderness, and the stringent health and hygiene ISO 9002 standards.

How and why is it aged?

It undergoes an aging process at the plant, whereby naturally occurring enzymes react with the meat tissue, ensuring that the meat is tender and ready to use straight from the vacuum pack.

Is it really ready to cook straight from the pack?

Mostly yes, but the removal of the silverskin will ensure less shrinkage and tenderness.

Does the gold and silver stripes on the packaging reflect its quality?

Yes and no! The gold stripes signify it is chilled while the silver shows it is frozen; chilled maybe being preferable to frozen depending on your needs. The quality being guaranteed either way, but the different stripes being another way for the purchasers knowing exactly what they are getting.

So frozen Cervena will not deteriorate in quality?

Not as long as it is held at correct temperatures and it is less than two years old

How do I know it is fresh?

All packs are date stamped.

How is it best stored?

Chilled Cervena will keep for 3 months at 1 C as long as the vacuum seal is intact. Once the vacuum seal is broken , it recommended to either dry or wet marinade it, keep under refrigeration and use within 3 -4 days. Therefore open the vacuum sealed packs only as needed for better storage

Hare - la lievre

Hare is often cooked as a red wine stew called jugged hare (civet de lievre) and the saddle (rable de lievre) is roasted. The jugged hare is an unusual dish as the blood is drained and its natural clotting abilities used to the thicken the sauce.

Rabbit

Anyone born in the first half of the Twentieth century would recall eating rabbit regularly. In the hands of a good cook, it was delicious, but as much a "poor mans food" as bread and dripping. Such basic delights seemed to disappear with "progress" in the 1950s, when any vestige of the prewar Depression years was quickly shucked. Come the '90s, rabbit and hare, along with other sturdy foods, couldn't be more chic. They even meet the smart food criteria of being low in cholesterol, and they're still quite an economical meat.

European cooks never lost touch with these meats, and have developed countless ways of preparing them. Marinades are often used, with hare in particular, to improve the flavour, and braising and casserole cooking have long been favoured to retain juiciness. However, a saddle of young hare or rabbit, quickly roasted until well browned but still quite pink in the centre, can be one of the juiciest and most tender cuts of meat. Rabbit and hare are readily available at butchers specialty game and poultry shops. Rabbits usually weigh 800 g to 1 kg. Farmed white rabbits, known as New Zealand white rabbits, are less widely available, as there are very few licensed farms. Farmed rabbits weigh about 1.5 kg to 2 kg and the meat is whiter, more tender and slightly fattier. Due to desease and the release of a killer virus in New Zealand in 1997, wild rabbits are no longer available on the retail market.

The information contained here is supplied for your interest only and further research may be required. I have gathered it from many sources over many years. While I attempt to insure they are crossed referenced for accuracy, I take no responsibility for mistakes - additions or corrections are welcomed.

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