Food from the Wild
Water Birds
Gull
All gulls are edible and informer times were much esteemed, very expensive
and thought a delicacy. Frequently they were caught and specially fattened
for the pot. They would be taken when young from their nests, put into large
barns and fed on, among other things, dogs' flesh. Gulls which have fed exclusively
on fish do tend to taste very fishy. Skinned, then casseroled or roasted and
served with a mustard and vinegar sauce they used to feature on
West-Country hotel menus.
Coot or Moorhen
Coots and moorhens are often confused with each other, both being small, black
birds inhabiting freshwater ponds and streams. However, they can be identified
as the coot has a yellow bill with a white mark above it, while the moorhen
has a red beak without a white mark. Informer times, the coot was eaten more
frequently and was sold in markets, appearing, often disguised under a more
glamorous name, on the menus of London restaurants. Both birds are protected
during their breeding season. They should be skinned before cooking but even
then are inclined to be tough. Casserole with vegetables.
Duck
All duck are protected during their breeding season and all are edible. However,
they do vary in flavour and according to which time of year they are killed.
A duck's meat will taste of the food on which it has eaten. If this is fish,
the flavour can be overpowering and the bird may need soaking. However, when
taken from inland waters where they feed on molluscs and plants, mallard,
pochard, shoveller, teal and wigeon are all fairly common and have well-flavoured
flesh. Less fat and more like game than the domestic duck, they are best roasted
or cooked with something sweet.
Goose
Wild geese come under schedule 3 in the Birds Protection Act, that is 'Wild
birds which may be killed or taken outside the close season', are the bean,
canada, greylag, pink foot and whitefront. The greylag, a pale grey goose
with an orangy yellow beak and oink feet, is the most common in Britain and
large flocks may be seen in winter in estuaries and on arable land especially
in Scotland.
To eat, wild geese are quite different from domestic geese, much gamier in flavour and the flesh darker and drier. Formerly, in the north of Scotland, smoked goose formed part of the breakfast menu. Most old recipes recommend some preliminary salting before cooking, which usually took the form of boiling with spices and garlic.
Today wild goose is generally roasted,
but in order to prevent it from becoming too dry, the bird is first wrapped
in a coat of bacon fat then cooked in a hot oven making sure not to overcook.
A sweet sauce is generally served as an accompaniment.
Land Birds
Pigeon
Fat from the farmer's corn, pigeons of all varieties are delicious to eat.
However, I cannot say how good those are, fat from tourists' bread and
London dustbins. Pigeons breed prolifically and are considered a menace
by those who have to deal with them. Anyone who removes some from circulation
for the pot will be performing a service.
Young ones, their breasts covered with bacon and brushed with butter, can be roasted. Old ones are inclined to be very tough and should be casseroled. People who have a glut of pigeons often just take off the breast and cook this, discarding the rest or making it into soup.
Rook
Rooks inhabit agricultural areas, nesting in colonies in treetops all over
the British Isles. There is a country saying that if the rooks build their
nests high in the trees a good summer will follow. A fully-grown rook is rank
and unfit to eat but, in country areas, the breast and thigh tops of young
rooks were often stewed or put in a pie.
Sparrow
The idea of eating the garden sparrow does seem quite unlikely. No matter
how often he takes the top off your growing plants, he is nevertheless a chirpy
fellow and one that you would be loath to catch and put in the pot. However,
in former times he was eaten frequently in rural areas both in the U K and
on the continent, either plucked, drawn and put in a pie or pushed on to a
skewer and grilled. Only the breasts were eaten.
Game-Bird
All birds that come under this heading are protected during their breeding
season. They are usually closely watched at other times, too, great care having
been taken by the owner of the sporting rights to preserve their habitat and
to encourage their proliferation. Under the game-bird category come pheasants
and woodcock, which live in woodland, partridge found on pastureland, snipe
in boggy and marshy areas, and grouse sound on moorland.
If a game-bird comes your way by design or accident -pheasants are often run over by passing cars-the best way of cooking it will be to roast or, if of uncertain age, casserole it, following the recipe for stewed pigeons (see above). Hanging improves the taste of all birds; hang pheasant for 3-12 days, partridge for 3-4 days and grouse for 4-7 days.
