Robin Gill recipes: Our new guest food writer takes a visceral approach to cooking game

My first experience with game was also my first experience in one of the most exciting kitchens there has been. It was The Oak Room Marco Pierre White and I was literally fresh off the boat from Dublin. Robert Reid was running the kitchen and to this day has been one of the biggest influences on the way I cook.

Rob was going off-road on the menu, knocking up something special. It was game season and as he stormed through each section of the kitchen, commanding caramelised ceps here, roast foie gras there, I looked up to see him stuffing the cavity of a grouse with juniper, bay and a bunch of thyme; rolling the bird in nutty foaming butter, he popped it into the oven and we had four minutes to respond to all his requests perfectly or… We were, of course, ready and waiting.

It was two minutes for the bird to rest before he smashed the heart and liver into the warm pan, added a dash of sherry vinegar and proceeded to carve.

As we dressed the plate, he rolled a bunch of watercress through the warm pan with the bird's offal, before delicately placing the breasts and leg on the plate, scattering the watercress, and that's when he did it… It's a moment that will live with me, something that made me forget about the long hours, terrible money and unforgiving girlfriend; none of that mattered! He took the bloody carcass in his hands, and with brute force he squeezed; the blood and innards trickled between his hands, splattered on to the plate.

Game, to me, is the essence of macho cooking. It is so wild and exciting and around at a time when the rest of nature has little to offer. Here, I have decided on three very different and challenging recipes for the cook who likes a test and wants to flex a bit of culinary muscle.

Robin Gill is chef-restaurateur of The Dairy, The Manor and Paradise Grange (@robingillchef)

Roast wood pigeon with chicory and rhubarb

I took all the chefs out one night for dinner about two years ago and Rob Reid's technique came up. After many a bottle of wine, we all decided we would do it table-side at The Dairy. We would carry the bird over to the table on a roasting-hot pan, hay and heather smoking away, through the dinning room. We'd plonk the plated dish in front of the guests and politely request they pull up their white, starched napkins as we performed our pigeon press by hand. It is a shocking showstopper of a dish – not for the faint-hearted, but one for the adventurous foodie.

Preparation: 1 hour

Cooking: 1 hour

Serves 4

For the pigeon

4 whole wood pigeons (plucked and trussed – ask your butcher to clean the carcass but ask for the livers and hearts for your sauce separately)
10 juniper berries, crushed
1 bunch thyme

For the chicory

2 heads red chicory
50g soft butter
5g sea salt
20g caster sugar
500ml water
1 lemon

For the rhubarb

10g salt
50g caster sugar
2 sticks English forced rhubarb, washed and cut into strips

For the sauce

Knob of butter
Hearts and livers of the birds, chopped fine
200g muscat grapes or black seedless grapes, washed
5ml sweet sherry vinegar

Start with the braised chicory. Cut the chicory in half lengthways. Place all the remaining ingredients into a pan and bring to the boil. Whisk then place the chicory into the liquor on a low heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the chicory is tender on the stem. Allow to cool in the pan.

Now add the salt and sugar to the rhubarb in a mixing bowl, and leave to marinate for an hour, then drain the excess liquid from the rhubarb and char on a very hot grill to scorch on all sides for 2 minutes, until it is just tender. Remove and keep warm.

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Next, the pigeons. Stuff the thyme and juniper into the cavity. Place a large pan on a high heat, add a little vegetable oil and colour the birds all over then place in a dish in a preheated oven at 150C for 12 to 15 minutes. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in the pan you used to seal the birds, add a knob of butter, the chopped hearts and livers and the grapes. Cook for 2 minutes, add the vinegar to taste and keep warm.

Next, remove the breasts and legs from the carcasses and keep warm in the roasting pan.

To serve, arrange the chicory and rhubarb on the plate, followed by the pigeon and pan juices. Take the bloody carcasses to the table and hand-squeeze over the entire dish. It's bound to cause a stir!

Game faggots with celeriac and toasted hazelnuts

This is a comforting dish, which is also really versatile; the measurements here are a guideline only and the game could easily be substituted for lamb, beef or pork.

The celeriac adds a richness, and the pickles help to cut through that richness. I add fresh shavings of truffle at our restaurant, which bring a bit of luxury to what really is a peasant dish made from leftovers.

Preparation: 1½ hours

Cooking: 40 mins

Makes 10 faggots (serves 5)

For the faggots

100g chicken breast
150ml double cream
150g duck liver, minced or chopped fine
150g duck hearts, if available
200g venison trim minced, or game mince from your butcher
5 juniper berries, roasted and crushed fine
5 freshly cracked black peppercorns
Pinch mace
Pinch fresh grated nutme
1 sprig thyme (picked leaves)
5g dried mushroom powder (dried porcini or wild mushrooms blended into a powder, optional)
8g salt
10ml of cognac
300g caul fat, soaked in cold water and cleaned well

For the celeriac pickle

300ml water
150ml white-wine vinegar
10 juniper berries, crushed
8 black peppercorns, crushed
10g salt
½ celeriac, peeled and sliced on a mandolin as thinly as possible

For the celeriac purée

50g butter
½ celeriac, peeled and diced into small pieces
200ml milk
50g crème fraîche
Salt, pepper and lemon, to taste

For cooking

Drizzle vegetable oil
Knob of butter
To serve
200g toasted hazelnuts, crushed lightly

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For the faggots, dice the chicken and place in a food processor with a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth, add the cream, scraping down the sides until all is incorporated. Remove the mix and place in a mixing bowl over ice to keep it cold. Add all of the remaining ingredients apart from the caul fat, mix well, and sit in the fridge for 30 minutes. Roll the mix into 50g sausage shapes, wrap each sausage in 2 layers of the caul fat and reserve until required.

For the pickle, combine the water and vinegar, then bring to the boil with the spices and pour the hot liquor over the celeriac. Cover with cling film or a lid to steam for 5 minutes, and keep warm.

For the purée, add the butter to a hot pan; when it starts to foam, add the celeriac and a pinch of salt. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly, then add a squeeze of lemon juice and the milk, and turn the heat down to a simmer for another 5 minutes. Once the celeriac is cooked, transfer to a blender with the crème fraîche and blitz to a smooth purée. Adjust the seasoning and keep warm.

Now take a high-sided frying pan and add a drizzle of vegetable oil and a knob of butter. Add the faggots and seal all over to get a little colour, then place in a pre-heated oven at 190C for 6 to 7 minutes. Leave to rest in the hot tray.

Place a spoon of the celeriac purée on each plate, followed by the faggots, a spoon of the oil and juices from the tray, the celeriac pickle and the hazelnuts.

Fermented barley, BBQ duck hearts, wild mushroom

This dish is about as wild as it gets. The natural acidity from the fermentation process is off the charts. I have used duck hearts here but this is also excellent as a vegetarian dish or with any type of game or offal. I love a really hoppy beer with this dish, rather than wine; it's a perfect midweek supper that costs practically nothing.

Preparation: 1 hour (plus 4 days to soak the grains)

Cooking: 1 hour

Serves 4

200g barley
100g butter
Sherry vinegar (to taste)
400ml chicken or vegetable stock
20g crème fraîche
8 duck hearts
300g selection of wild mushrooms
Salt, pepper and lemon, to taste

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Take a large container and sterilise in boiling water. Place the barley in the container and pour the water over the grains; stir with a clean, sterilised spoon and cover with a cheesecloth. Keep in a warm part of your kitchen and store for 4 days.

Drain the barley, reserving the liquid, then place a large pan over a high heat and add three-quarters of the butter. Wait until it starts to foam, then add the barley. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan as it starts to catch and caramelise, until it reaches a dark roasted and nutty appearance and aroma (about 30 minutes).

Add a drizzle of sherry vinegar to deglaze the bottom of the pan, then add half of the chicken stock and a little salt. Turn down to a simmer and cook out as you would a risotto, adding a little stock at a time, stirring into the grains until it reaches a risotto consistency and the grains are cooked through (about 10 minutes). Adjust the seasoning and add a spoon of crème fraîche.

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Meanwhile, place the duck hearts on a skewer and grill or barbecue for a couple of minutes each side, so that they are still pink in the centre.

Place a frying pan over a high heat. Add the remaining butter and the mushrooms and cook for just a couple of minutes; finish with a pinch of salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste. Keep warm.

To serve, place a generous spoon of the barley in some warm serving bowls, place the duck-heart skewers to the side, add the mushrooms and serve.