Name: Wild Game Preparation & Outdoor Cookery
Start: 2025-11-22T09:30:00+00:00
End: 2025-11-22T16:30:00+00:00
Location: Park in The Past

GET HANDS ON EXPERIENCE IN SKINNING, GUTTING & PLUCKING
You’ll get up close with fur, feather and fin as we cover deer, pigeon and fish. The day will be very much hands on and the course will culminate in you enjoying a freshly cooked game casserole which celebrates the wild animals of the day.
On this course we will take you through the process of identifying if your game is fit for consumption, how to prepare each animal for cooking and use some of the cuts to create simple but hearty campfire meals. We will also discuss the history and uses of the various non meat parts of the animal and talk about the processes our ancestors would have employed to make as much use of the animal as possible.
This one day course will give you a solid grounding in using wild game in your cooking, all against the backdrop of the mixed woodland at Park in the Past.
Your special guest tutor for this course is bushcraft instructor Pete Morton of Red Oaks Bushcraft.
ACTIVITIES INCLUDE:
* Discover the seasons for game; what can be hunted, when and by whom
* Learn the benefits of eating game for your health and for pest control
* Get confident in knowing whether your game is fit for consumption
* Ensure your game is stored and prepared hygienically outdoors
* Build knife skills with skinning and gutting
* Prepare a range of game ready for cooking
* Use traditional dutch ovens, pans and willow frames for cooking
* Create a delicious game casserole over the campfire
* Enjoy a range of wild game freshly prepared by you and the tutor at basecamp
Wood Pigeon: learn about the bird, how to identify it, what it eats, internal organs specific to most birds, specifics to look out for with birds that have been shot. You will then have a demo of preparing the bird, first with a knife then without tools before having a turn for yourself. The meat will then be made ready for flash frying with elderberry balsamic vinegar and served in bread rolls with selected greens for your lunch.
Fish: discover how to gut fish with a knife, how to fillet a fish using just your fingers. Craft and set up a ponassing rig using living willow withies to cook your fish over the fire.
Deer: learn about the different animals, their history, what is gralloching? Then we will work on the skinning and prepare the skin for tanning while some of the group start on the jointing. You will look at selected prime cuts of meat and debone as much as possible, the bones will be kept for use on other courses (using as much of the animal as possible).
BOOKING
Get in touch if you’d like to know more. Phone James, 07876 794 098 or email us. Advance booking is essential.
Tickets are available on our website: https://woodlandclassroom.com/event/wild-game-preparation-outdoor-cookery-2/
The course costs £85.00 per person.
ABOUT YOUR TUTOR
“In 2006 I quit my IT job and set off in a new direction, to establish Red Oaks Bushcraft with my wife Nichola, based in the Peak District. I have been involved in the outdoors since becoming a guide at the age of 5 (its a long story, I will tell you about it when we meet) and working my way through the Peak Park Ranger Service and Mountain Rescue.
I love my office window now. Bushcraft and wilderness skills are my passion and combining them with a canoe trip makes it even better!
It’s not just about learning skills, it’s about clearing your head and maybe taking a different approach. Far too often we are forced to put our heads down and get the job done. Sometimes you need to stop and take stock. The woodland environment is the perfect place to do this. If you can do this, learn a new skill or two and have fun you will notice the benefits!”
ABOUT THE VENUE
Park In The Past comprises 120 acres of outstanding natural beauty offering woodlands and wetlands, a magnificent 35-acre lake and the gorgeous River Alyn winding through it, as well as wonderful walks and spacious fields. Visitors can journey back 2,000 years and discover the recreated Roman Fort Build, an ongoing project in experimental archaeology and the only one of its kind in the UK.