I can't remember if I've previously mentioned Robertson's Prime in Alnwick, but I shall again. It is perhaps the most batty food shop you're likely to encounter. The name suggests that it's raison d'etre is food of the dead variety. However, immediately outside the door on this occasion were boxes of charity shop books. As you go in you do wonder if you have indeed stumbled into a charity shop. However, if you can fight off the army of Toby jugs you will come across the freezers packed with tempting beasts. On this visit my haul included 3 partridges (2 not enough for Rory), a brace of Widgeon, a Mallard, a 1.5kg pack of mixed game, and a couple of bits of salmon for forty quid. Annoyingly I keep visiting after the hunting has closed, so it's frozen again. I roasted the ducks and managed to burn the lovingly made game bread crumbs which might have offset the dryness of the meat. The Widgeon I found a bit muddy, maybe reflecting the esturine lifestyle? Still, an intense wild meat experience. I should have just debreasted the carcasses and slow cooked the legs and wings to serve alongside. They were inedibley tough for a roast, as is almost always the case with feathered game. I did cook the carcasses, and made a lovely soup with the stock. The now tender meat I've removed and frozen. I'll perhaps make a creamy sauce for pasta, like lepre con pappardelle.

The game mix included partridge instead of rabbit, praise the lord, I love Monsieur Perdix. Having reveilled before six with my not so darling Felix, I made use of the time by sweating some shallots, flouring the game mix and browning in butter and fat from the Mallard. Oh yes, and bonding simultaneously with said Happy Sargent. Guiness to deglaze the frying pan and simmered for 2 hours or so. Oh yes, a generous tablespoon of red and blackcurrant jam. Mum made some seriously rich flaky pastry (8oz flour/ 6oz butter), which was enough to make a proper pie, not just a crust on top, but a lard-arse bottom too. In fact, if there is time pre-Oz, I will need lard to make a hot water crust game pie with the rest of the mix. I digress. The pie is in at GM 7 for an hour, and hey presto, food of the gamey gods. OK, there was fat bubbling on the surface of the pastry, so the veg needed no lubrication. There was the Holy Grail black rim of sticky, concentrated meat juice upon pastry. It is difficult to control the superlatives here. Carrots and brussels, and potatoes cooked in the skin, then de-skinned. Decent Bordeaux to lubricate (the  Burgundy we opened was a bit on the rose side).

The picture at the top shows possibly the most perfect outing of a grouse is likely to have, well, on a plate anyway. Even at £10.50 each from the wonderful Finzean estate farm shop (pron. 'Fing-an'), though annoyingly. they ware liverless. Nevermind. The legs I cooked slowly in a very light pinot noir, just topping up evry now and again when no more fluid was present. Bread sauce is such a fine combination with any game bird, but with grouse the harmony is particularly sweet. Some milk and and onion, bay leaf, then removed and obviously bread, which can be stale and doesnt need to be crumbed, just good bread. My game crumbs didn't burn this time, and were wonderful. Fry the bread crumbs withenough butter to absorb into all of them, then a chuck of sherry, any will do but I like Oloroso.  The de-legged beasts I covered in copious lard and roasted very high until as shown, 15mins or so. Had I had the liver, I might have fried and flambeed with brandy, spread on bread fried in lard.