Game Bird Recipes, Recipes

Roast partridge recipe w/ barley, bacon & cabbage

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The beginning of the game season is one of my favourite times of the year for cooking, and a roast partridge recipe is a perfect way to embrace it. The variety of game birds, each with its unique flavours, opens up a world of possibilities in the kitchen, arriving just as some of our best and most treasured autumnal ingredients reach their peak. With fruits, mushrooms, brassicas, and squashes on the horizon, it feels like the perfect time to celebrate British food and ingredients.

Ingredients

Method

Start with the barley:

  1. Set a pan over medium heat, add the pearl barley, and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Toast the barley to enhance its flavour – you should smell a nutty aroma coming from the pan.
  2. Remove the barley from the pan and return the empty pan to the heat. Add a glug of olive oil, followed by the onions, carrot, celery, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook over low to medium heat, stirring regularly with the lid on, for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are soft and sweet, but without colouring.
  3. Return the toasted barley to the pan, then cover with water, about an inch above the barley.
  4. Tie the bay leaves, thyme sprigs, and sage together with string, and add them to the pot.
  5. Season with salt, bring to a simmer, and cook for 40-minutes.
  6. Remove from the heat and set aside.
  7. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, add the bacon lardons and a glug of oil. Cook until golden and the fat has rendered, then add the cabbage. Season with salt and cook on medium to low heat for 8-10 minutes, until the cabbage is wilted.

To cook the partridge:

  1. Remove the birds from the fridge and their packaging at least 1 hour before cooking.
  2. Preheat your oven to 180°C.
  3. Season the birds generously with sea salt, both inside the cavity and on the skin.
  4. Heat a frying pan or cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add a tablespoon of oil.
  5. Place the birds breast side down in the pan. Brown the skin over medium heat, rotating and turning them every 30-seconds or so to ensure the whole bird is evenly browned.
  6. Once browned, add a good knob of butter to the pan. When it starts foaming, baste the birds for 2-minutes.
  7. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 4-5 minutes. Remove the birds from the oven and baste heavily again, then allow them to rest for a further 10-minutes.
  8. Remove the birds from the pan, tilting them so the juices run from the cavity back into the pan. Return the pan to the heat, add the Marsala, and reduce by half. Then, add the chicken stock and reduce by half again, or until you achieve a nice sauce consistency. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

To serve:

  1. Remove the bundle of herbs from the barley, then mix in the cabbage and bacon. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary.
  2. Spoon the barley onto a plate and place the partridge on top. Pour over the sauce and serve with a side of damson jelly.

Shop the ingredients

Myles has more than a decade of enviable kitchen experience gained at a collection of London’s most revered restaurants, including a stint as head chef at Noble Rot’s flagship restaurant on Lamb’s Conduit Street, plus time at the iconic St. JOHN Bread & Wine in Spitalfields. His sparkling career has now taken him to the unique and beautiful The Garden Museum Café where his seasonal approach to modern-British food is a joy to witness. Myles’s approach is inspired by both excellent produce and classic techniques, bringing them together with uncomplicated and delicious combinations.