Food from the Wild
Animals
Deer
Of the three common species of deer in Great Britain, gastronomically the
roe deer is considered the finest, followed by the fallow deer and then the
red deer. Fallow deer inhabit lowland deciduous woods mainly in England and
Ireland. Roe deer are common in Scotland, and in parts of northern and southern
England, in scrubland and open woods. Red deer live in mountainous areas in
Scotland and England.
However, their flesh falls under the overall title of venison and they are
all cooked in the same way. Deer should only be taken outside their breeding
season and usually belong to the person on whose land they are roaming. Although
some culling of deer is necessary, there is much indiscriminate poaching which,
if uncontrolled, could lead to their total destruction. Deer are at their
best under three years old; after this age the meat becomes tough. Before
cooking, all venison should be hung for 12-21 days in a cool, airy place.
The meat is inclined to be dry and should be liberally larded or wrapped in
bacon fat and roasted slowly. Rowan jelly is a traditional accompaniment.
Hare
In England the common brown hare is found on all kinds of open, rough ground.
In Ireland it is rare, its place being taken by the Arctic or blue hare. Both
hide up during the day in 'forms', nests which they make in dense vegetation,
and emerge at night to feed. Both are edible and delicious. Young hares have
a flesh almost like chicken and should be cooked by roasting. Older animals
should be hung for a week and then are best marinated and made into the classic
dish of jugged hare.
Rabbit
Doe rabbits taste better than buck rabbits which, especially if in season,
can be very strong-tasting. As with all animals, the younger the rabbit the
tender the flesh. You can tell if a rabbit is young by its fragile jaw and
easily-torn ears. Rabbits were introduced into this country in the twelfth
century by the Normans both for food and sport. Rather surprisingly, it took
them until the nineteenth century to reach and colonise Scotland. Their prolific
numbers were temporarily reduced by myxomatosis, but now a new and largely
immune species has developed and in most areas they are back to their original
strength.
Rabbits are great breeders and eat almost all kinds of vegetation up
to 180kg (400lb) of fresh food per year. They live in warrens, which may be
found on grassland, woodland, arable land, sand-dunes, marshes, moorlands
and cliffs. Rabbits can be caught with ferrets or dogs, and are easily netted
or shot, especially at night when they are dazzled by the headlights of a
car. After skinning, tender young rabbits can be simply jointed, brushed with
butter and grilled or fried. Older ones are better stewed. Use the recipe
for jugged hare leaving out the port and Mood or one of these two.
Snail
A land mollusc rather than an animal but, for want of a better place, I have
put it in this section. It is not generally known that all snails are edible
and, since they are numerous, can constitute a copious food supply. However,
much individual attention is required to prepare a snail for cooking and the
larger ones repay the effort with greater dividends. There are three kinds
of snail in Britain of which Helix pomata is the largest. It is said
to have been introduced to Britain by the Romans expressly for eating.
They kept them in special snail gardens surrounded by water to prevent their
escape, fattening them up with all kinds of herbs and oatmeal. The other two
kinds are the wood snail, H. nemoralis, and the garden snail, H.
aspersa. All snails should be made to disgorge their last meal before
cooking by putting them in a covered bucket full of salt water and changing
the water several times over a period of 6 hours. Large snails are best cooked
by the traditional recipe of Escargots dit de Bourgogne found in
most cookery books. Smaller ones are probably better removed from their shells
and stewed thus:
Escargots Petits Gris au Vin Rouge
Cover the snails with water, bring to the boil and simmer for 8 minutes. Then
plunge them in cold water, remove from their shells, wash well and drain.
Meanwhile put in an earthenware pan some diced streaky bacon, button
onions, crushed garlic and good red wine. Add the snails, salt and pepper
and a bouquet garni. Bring to the boil and cook in the oven very slowly for
2 hours. When cooked, a finishing-touch is to add a knob of butter kneaded
into flour, and a liqueur-glass of brandy.
Hedgehog
Hedgehogs are found in most open country but, as they are a valuable animal,
eating slugs and snails and other destructive insects, they should not be
taken for food unless absolutely necessary or unless found dead, killed by
a passing car. Hedgehogs were traditional gypsy food. They cooked them by
wrapping the hedgehog in clay, then digging a hole in the ground, lining this
with stones and lighting a wood fire on them. When a good bed of ashes had
accumulated, the hedgehog was put in, covered with the ashes and left to cook.
Once done the clay was broken with a sharp blow and the spines came away with
the clay. Another method was to skin and gut the hedgehog first then roast
it on a spit.
Grey Squirrel
Introduced into this country in 1876, their ability to adapt to all kinds
of living conditions, from London parks to Scottish forests, has led to their
proliferation at the expense of the indigenous red squirrel, now quite rare.
A squirrel which has been feeding on the right ingredients can be as large,
fat and sweet-tasting as a rabbit. One that has not can taste like bad curried
chicken. However, casseroled in a good, strong, tasty sauce, even the rankest
squirrel is made quite palatable and they are an abundant source of free food.
Rat
Another form of vermin which, when they have been feeding on clean food, are
considered, by those who have tried them, to be not bad at all. Gypsies frequently
eat rats and anyone who has been in a state of siege, penury or imprisonment
will be well acquainted with the taste. If ever you have the need to eat rat,
it is best wrapped in bacon fat and slow roasted.
