Stock and broth
So, after enjoying our roast partridge so much the obvious thing to do next was make some stock with the leftover carcasses. Guy took on that responsibility, and he had a pot of gently simmering gamey liquid on the stove all afternoon, promising flavour and goodness. I reckoned the most appropriate thing to make with the stock, which incidentally turned out to be delicious, was a nice autumnal broth. However, since we were both working all week with no time off to indulge in soup-making, the stock went into the freezer to wait for its moment to shine.
In the time between my days off we had a new menu launched at work, with recipes and ingredients changed to follow the turning season. As it is the season for game we have pheasant and pigeon on the menu, as well as venison. The pheasants get delivered as whole birds, but we only serve up the leg (confit) and breast (pancetta-wrapped and roasted). The remaining carcass is roasted then turned into stock. This stock was a cut above mine and Guy’s effort, I must admit. Sous chefs Marc and Marcus worked their magic; pheasant and pigeon carcasses and venison bones made up the essential component, and Marcus decided to add extra flavour only in the form of wild foraged mushroom stalks, mainly birch boletus. Game and mushroom stock, it was going to be awesome. Myself and Marcus, a talented chef and fellow food obsessive, were appreciating the fact that the mushroom and game season coincide and that their flavours complement each other so well; it’s as if Mother Nature intended them to go together. And so, the job of turning the excellent game stock into a delicious broth fell to me and was to be served up at lunch. I was delighted to do so, and the broth turned out to be very tasty. There is nothing better to warm you up on a cold, windy October day.
The bar had been set high; mine and Guy’s broth was unlikely to be quite as good as the one I served up at Wedgwood, but would be pretty good nonetheless. The resulting product was much lighter and delicate than the hearty broth we did at Wedgwood, a result of the partridge’s delicate flavour compared to that of pigeon, venison and pheasant. The gamey flavour was still present though, and it went down a treat. Here it is.
![Game Broth](\"http://www.grubdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/IMG_1038-copy.jpg" "Game Broth")
- 2 partridge carcasses
- 2 small carrots
- 3 sticks of celery
- 2 small onions
- 1 head of garlic
- 5 black peppercorns
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- a handful of button mushrooms
- 2-3 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
- olive oil
- sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- Set the oven to 180C and roast the carcasses until golden and caramelised. Roughly chop 1 carrot, 1 onion and 1 stick of celery and most of the the garlic and fry in a wide-based pot until light golden. Add the roast carcasses, peppercorns, thyme and bay, then fill until just covered with cold water. Simmer gently for about 6 hours, skimming regularly.
- To make the broth: Take 2 or 3 rashers of smoked streaky bacon and chop into lardons. Saute in olive oil until just starting to turn crisp. Meanwhile, take the remaining vegetables and cut them all into medium sized dice, but finely chopping the garlic. Throw all into the pot and saute until soft. Whilst the vegetables are cooking, get your stock into a separate pot and pour in about 100g of broth mix or pearl barley. Bring to boiling point, ready to add to the veg. When the vegetables are nearly cooked, add the stock and broth mix and simmer everything together for a few minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then serve. Sprinkle some chopped parsley or chives to garnish.