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I attended a very interesting cooking course on a game farm recently seeing that it is now hunting season and it is possible to get hold of some nice fresh game. While we were de-boning quails, cutting up springbuck carcasses, skinning rabbits etc, we got talking about less well known/well used cooking methods.

For those who don’t know and those who need a reminder: there are basically two categories of cooking methods and they are Dry Heat and Moist Heat cooking. Normally tough cuts of meat like brisket or shank need to be cooked slowly, on a low heat, for a long time, with plenty of moisture to ensure the meat becomes tender and delicious. More tender cuts of meat like fillet and sirloin need to be cooked using a dry-heat method that involves very high temperatures and short cooking times to keep it tender and moist.

Animals are like front-drive vehicles as they depend mostly on their front part when running away (and that is what wild animals do when you hunt them)! Therefore, in most cases you will find the meat on the front part of an animal contains the more tough cuts and those in the back (and on the back) have the more tender cuts.

Some of the men that attended the hunting trip told us how they cook meat while they are “roughing” it with not a lot of equipment.

Liver and other entrails you can throw straight into the ashes of a fire and then just dust off and salt before eating.
Or you can dig a hole in the ground, lay coals at the bottom, put any animal with skin on, on the coals, cover the ground and put more coals on top and leave for +/- 12 hours. By covering the pit you maintain a constant temperature that is perfect for cooking. Traditionally the meat goes in the fire at night for eating the next day.
When you are going for a long drive (2-3h) you can also cook a cut of meat in tinfoil on the engine of the vehicle (and if you want to impress your buddies, you can stuff the piece of meat). See the evidence below from a recent hunting trip:

After all this “bragging” and tips, the chef who ran the course asked: Did you know you can cook a whole pig in a Jacuzzi?
He then told us about a chef in the UK, Heston Blumenthal, who wanted to cook a whole pig “Sous Vide”. Sous Vide is a method of cooking that uses airtight plastic bags (in other words, the meat is vacuumed) and then the meat is placed in hot water well below boiling point (usually around 60°C). The meat is then cooked for up to 24 hours.
Realising that he would not find a pot big enough to fit a whole animal, Blumenthal hired a Jacuzzi and cooked the pig in it. No wonder they say sitting in a Jacuzzi relaxes your muscles!
So, go and try out some adventurous cooking but stay out of Jacuzzi’s!

Author: Cecile van Rooyen

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