GEORGALLI’S TIPS AND TRICKS

For cooking outdoors, make yourself a chef’s pouch. Much like a builder’s apron, it holds the tools of your trade, such as herbs, spices, oils, knives and cutlery. Make sure you are prepared with plenty of water and make use of tinned ingredients and prepackaged products to save valuable time.

Keep your meat ‘‘safe’’. If you have a mai mai or space at home, use a meat safe if possible to hang your catch/birds. They are great at allowing air to circulate and prevent flies or predators from contaminating your meat.

If you want to keep them a bit longer, or if it is warmer than usual, hang your birds in a chilled environment below 4degC for a maximum of 10 days. This will help age the bird and tenderise the meat. Anything above this temperature can spoil your meat and promote the growth of bacteria.

Give it a pat. Once plucked and cleaned, always pat your bird dry with a paper towel. You’ll get a better result from your cooking.

Because of the lack of fat in waterfowl, very slow or very fast cooking is the way to ensure a tender dish. For meltinyourmouth goodness make sure you follow the recipe guide for heat and cooking times, otherwise you could end up with a tough or chewy bird.

To check if your roasting bird is done, use a thin sharp knife or a skewer and pierce the breast all the way to the breastplate. If it bleeds red, give it a bit longer. If it is clear, it is done. Light pink juices are fine, but if there is no juice, whip it out of the oven quick or you will end up with a dry bird!

With game birds, to get the most out of the flavour and to add a bit of fat to them for cooking, make a herb butter of your favourite herbs and spices, and rub into or under the skin before cooking.