Game & Fish

Wild animals and birds that are hunted and eaten are known as ‘game’. Game meat is healthy, natural and delicious.

Eating game is a great way to enjoy local, seasonal food.

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Getting hands on with Game

A series of informative and practical videos produced by one of our partners BASC. The British Association for Shooting and Conservation has the mission to promote and protect sporting shooting and the well-being of the countryside throughout the United Kingdom and overseas.

Find out more about the activities of the BASC here.

Rabbit Recipes & Butchery

Recipe: Rabbit Lasagne.

A delicious recipe for rabbit. This one is for the those that like to cook, but the effort is more than worth it. With simple and cheap ingredients, this dish comes highly recommended. A BASC "Taste of Game" film, made in conjunction with the "Scotland's Natural Larder" campaign.

How to skin and joint rabbit

Kenny Willmitt of BASC Scotland demonstrates how to skin a rabbit and joint it ready for the pot.

Pigeon Recipes & Butchery

Pigeon - getting them home.

When taking your pigeon home in the car, a few simple precautions will make the eating safe and all the tastier.

Thanks to Ian Lawrie at Plucking Magic in Fife for supplying the pigeons in this film.

Pigeon - Plucking and gutting.

BASC Scotland's Kenny Willmitt demonstrates how to pluck and prepare your pigeon for roasting.

Thanks to Ian Lawrie at Plucking Magic in Fife for supplying the pigeons used in this film.

Pigeon - removing the breast.

The quick and easy way to prepare a pigeon for cooking. A technique that leaves very little waste as most of the meat of a pigeon is found in the breast.

Recipe: Pigeon & Black Pudding Salad.

A quick and easy recipe for pigeon breast. For more about cooking game food, see http://www.basctasteofgame.org.uk

Clean and gut a brown trout.

Casting for Brown Trout

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Game includes:
pheasant
partridge
grouse
pigeon
hare
rabbit
‘wild’ boar
Taste and nutrition
Wild game meats have a ‘gamey’ flavour – the result of a mixed diet of natural grasses, insects, berries and grains. Wild birds and animals also exercise a lot, producing lean muscle and meat with a denser texture. Game meat is low in fat and high in polyunsaturates. It’s full of vitamins – like niacin,riboflavin and vitamin B6 – and contains iron, a mineral. Game meat is similar in nutrition to skinless chicken breast.

Availability of game

Scotland has a good number of specialist game outlets, which sell locally and online. Your local butcher or farm shop may also stock a wide range of game.

Variety and seasonality are part of the charm of wild game. Eating different meats or cooking them according to the time of year connects us to the natural world and the influence of the seasons.

Some frozen wild game meats are available year-round. But the best time to enjoy fresh game is autumn and winter.

As the shooting seasons open, various meat products start to be sold:

grouse – from 12 August
partridge – from 1 September
pheasant – from 1 October
Rabbit and pigeon are the products of wildlife management and are available year-round. These species can be legally controlled as they cause economic damage by eating crops and pasture and, in the case of rabbits, trees.

Please be aware that some game is killed with lead shot. The Food Standards Agency (and Food Standards Scotland) advise against excessive consumption of lead.

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