How to pot roast partridge

The partridge season kicked off this month and our first birds came in from a local shoot – a welcome sight for us game lovers!

We find pot roasting the best way to cook these gamey little birds. It’s not only quick and easy but is a great way to keep them moist as they can easily dry out when roasted.

So when partridge are in, pick up one per person and try pot roasting for yourself.

This is how we like them.

1. Brown the birds all over in a hot pan with a slug of olive oil and a knob of butter.

2. Remove and set aside while you add an onion and a couple of carrots which have been roughly chopped, then some crushed garlic and some fresh hard herbs like thyme or rosemary – no need to chop. it’s easier to fish them out if you leave them as stalks.

3. Stir the veggies around to coat and slightly soften then tip these into your casserole and nestle the birds on top.

4. Season well then lay a rasher or streaky bacon over the top of each bird which will help keep the meat nice and moist and give you a lovely bacon crunch as well!

5. Slosh in white wine or chicken stock (or a mix of both) until it covers the veg, cover with foil and pop that into a 180 degree C over for 20 minutes.

6. Let the partridge rest for 10 minutes then serve.

We’re committed roast potato lovers so we serve it a big tray of them roasted with more of the herbs but you can also add the drained contents of one can of cannellini beans to the veggies before you sit the birds on top at stage 2 to make a delicious one-pot supper.

If you like the sound of pot roasting, here are two other recipes to try.