What's in your Wild Food Larder?

[Hudson1984]

So, all the discussion on the "cost to process" thread had me wondering what peoples proportion of shop bought meat is compared to their own wild/hunted/shot meat?

are you 100% wild food?
do you add wild meat as a regular treat?

Main reason for me asking is i'd like to be a bit more sustainable with meat. I work in an environment closely linked to the food sector and the numbers of animals processed is CRAZY!! don't get me wrong, it's a necessary evil as there's of course loads of people wanting to eat. I'd just like to do that slightly differently.

We have a fairly large garden, so could grow a fair amount of items in house.

Just be interested where my own cut off point could sit. At the moment i'm 100% supermarket (apart from sausages - the local butcher gets our money for that)

I'd like to move that % if at all possible.

 

[Essex stalker]

This time of year we are virtually totally wild food, I turn a lot of my venison into mince and dice, the wife uses that to make burgers, casseroles etc. Every now and then we put a haunch or shoulder in an oven tray, cover with some red wine and let it simmer away in the Aga for about 4 hours. We use pheasant breast as a replacement for chicken, it gets used for curry's etc.
We used to eat more rabbit but a few years ago I think we over did it and gave it to the kids far too often which I think put them off a bit.
Only thing we really buy this time of year is Chorizo however Ive just purchased a smoker so hopefully in the future that side of things may also change

 

[VSS]

100% home killed meat in this household, but not all of it wild. In fact, I did a freezer restock a couple of weeks back by killing five sheep. Mutton makes a nice change from venison, and vice versa.

 

[bowji john]

Mostly male ducks that i dispatched earlier in the year

Some roe and some fallow

Curiously dispatching the drakes caused me a few sleepless nights - I think it was the betrayal of trust (as perceived by me)

some sausages and burgers from local farm

Oh - and some rabbits

That's it

 

[stubear]

I'd say we're probably 30-40% wild meat and the rest shop bought.

I've got a venison, pheasant and rabbit in the freezer at the moment. I'd like to get more rabbit and pigeon in there as I really like them both.

 

[gonzo]

100% shop brought at the mo.
But that is the reason that I am here. Need to change that.

 

[finnbear270]

Mutton, MMMnn!, Climbing over that car park back fence of the Red Lion in Dodleston circa 1980's, with flighted Mallard & Teal, & the odd Widgeon clutched underarm & game pockets, with steaming black labs in front of a huge open fire, wellies dripping with mud, in a proper tap room, served by happy to see you bar staff, "Would you lads like more crusty rolls with that mutton stew? ..... Memories EH?

 

[bowji john]

Mutton, MMMnn!, Climbing over that car park back fence of the Red Lion in Dodleston circa 1980's, with flighted Mallard & Teal, & the odd Widgeon clutched underarm & game pockets, with steaming black labs in front of a huge open fire, wellies dripping with mud, in a proper tap room, served by happy to see you bar staff, "Would you lads like more crusty rolls with that mutton stew? ..... Memories EH?

Love it

 

[Freeforester]

Roe, red, sika, mallard, pheasant, woodpigeon, rabbit, grouse, and a pack of leek and wild boar sausages (home made); game for anything!

 

[sauer]

Double garage lined and hygienic white wall pannelled

Chest freezer
Under counter freezer
A farm foods chest freezer
2x double door coke chillers
Stainless tables
Butchers block
Biltong box
Hand wash sink
Industrial double sink unit

And a box full of Angus & Oink & other bbq & meat seasoning

I’d go 75% wild here ..... mainly roe , odd red if I’m lucky

Pheasant and odd duck

I’m only one who eats lamb or mutton in house or I’d buy form farm if I could

Sometimes get home reared chickens from my brother

Meat I buy most ? Bacon ..... pork

Just built a 4m x 4m pen and got two coops ... 8x ex battery / rescue hens coming .... really looking forward to getting them


Paul

 

[levigsp]

All, Home reared or wild shot, well 99% anyway, occasionally buy a 4 rib of beef.
I shoot and eat Deer, Rabbits, Boar, Geese all game, Pigeons, Woodcock and Snipe. I rear and kill my own Pigs and Sheep Chickens, Turkeys etc, and I make my own Salami, Kielbasa, Chorizo, Air dried hams etc

 

[sauer]

All, Home reared or wild shot, well 99% anyway, occasionally buy a 4 rib of beef.
I shoot and eat Deer, Rabbits, Boar, Geese all game, Pigeons, Woodcock and Snipe. I rear and kill my own Pigs and Sheep Chickens, Turkeys etc, and I make my own Salami, Kielbasa, Chorizo, Air dried hams etc

Sounds like heaven

 

[Neoublie1]

Mutton, MMMnn!, Climbing over that car park back fence of the Red Lion in Dodleston circa 1980's, with flighted Mallard & Teal, & the odd Widgeon clutched underarm & game pockets, with steaming black labs in front of a huge open fire, wellies dripping with mud, in a proper tap room, served by happy to see you bar staff, "Would you lads like more crusty rolls with that mutton stew? ..... Memories EH?

Damn, I'm all hungry now!

 

[John Gryphon]

are you 100% wild food?
do you add wild meat as a regular treat?

I remember one Saturday my mate Wal and I had just returned back to my home after a shoot with 1/2 a dozen Pacific Black Ducks a dozen Stubble Quail and as he was a gun butcher he said "I will bone out that sambar spikey arse end for you while I`m here" A task that he did in seconds compared to my time just thinking about it.
Then a short time later coming to the back door was another mate that had a full arse end of a Hog Deer stag over his shoulder...

"Johnny look what I have brought you"
"hmmm suspiciously, what do you want me to do **** ha ha?
" Oh I thought that you might want to cape out the other end of him"
" I knew it ha ha"
Ok mate go get him.

So on the table that day the ducks,quail,sambar and Hog deer venison was a showcase of what is to be had from the wild,a hunters feast.
Other times there are Fallow hanging or Reds,not so often as I have moved into the mountain country.

I would take a stab at it and say that 90% or more of our meat is wild venison here and having it a plenty only the absolute best cuts are for the house,then lesser cuts minced and the dogs share in the rest.
Eating a lot of wild venison means that the pork roasts are so much more delicious!
Same goes for the chicken and wild duck.

Two mates regularly make salami and pastrami that turn up here also.I shudder at the thought of the Greens wanting us all to stop taking food from the wild.

 

[CarlW]

100% home killed meat in this household, but not all of it wild. In fact, I did a freezer restock a couple of weeks back by killing five sheep. Mutton makes a nice change from venison, and vice versa.

Same here. Hate buying meat.

When in the UK: wild venison and home-shot lamb/mutton. Kill and butcher it all myself. Supplemented by the occasional bunny, pheasant and pigeon.
When in Moz: wild venison of whatever flavour the clients shoot. Butchered by Ferez, the cook, so I can't take credit there.

Best,

Carl

 

[Pine Marten]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say my household have the highest proportion of wild meat in their diet in... this bit of Ealing. Now that said, the freezer contains pheasant, partridge, roe, hare until it was all scoffed by the kids last week, wild ducks until they were all scoffed by American uncles. I use game as a PR tool! But mostly it just makes people happy. Otherwise I buy all my meat from the farmer's market. There's a game dealer there who is unfortunately retiring next month, but me and my friend down the street have been stocking up on pheasants, as we don't shoot many, love them, and they're stupidly cheap.

So, you know, not bad for city folk. And zero intensively produced, poor welfare stuff.

 

[User00047]

I have a bit of an unusual situation where I regularly gift other people with venison and they supply me with home reared pork and lamb.
I don’t shoot anything like as much wild game as I could do, because we simply can’t eat all of it:
My Mrs is as stubborn as a mule and will not cook wild game as regularly as I would like because she likes pork,beef and lamb best! - she does nearly all the cooking so it’s a difficult argument for me to try and win.
In terms of percentages we probably eat about 20%wild meat, 50% meat reared by our friends, 30% supermarket cat/horse/meat

100% of the fresh fish we eat at home is caught and processed by me and usually eaten within hours of landing. I never buy fish from a fishmonger.

We grow some tomatoes each year and pick wild blackberries,blackcurrants,damsons,apples,sloes, elderberries/flowers. I also annually glean a trailer load of spuds etc. but the rest of the fruit and veg is usually bought in.

 

[VSS]

Seems like the perfect opportunity to give this a plug:
Viable Self-Sufficiency https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1904871925/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_LUJqCbRWB5DXD

Although showing out of stock on Amazon, signed copies are available directly from the author.
(Me! )

 

[bowji john]

Mate - what does a signed copy of your learned tome cost?

 

[Layton]

About 90% wild meat from September to February mainly duck, pheasant and this year venison. I give a fair bit away to friends who grow veg and who will drop some by when in season which works out well as I dont grow any veg. Spring to autumn plenty of fish and whats in the freezer from winter shooting probably down to about 50% wild meat in this period. Only meat we seem to buy is bacon and a pork joint every now and again!