After a long day at work Zoe and i packed the car and set off to catch the ferry from Scotland, this ended up being an eight hour trip, it was good crack, the kids loved the adventure.
On arriving in N Ireland we visited Auntie Vi, East Belfast has never changed and Aunti Vi's baking gets better every time we see her, a traditional cook with a recipe collection i would love to own.
After a long day we finally arrived at My father in laws house, it was great to be home, as always Sepp's allotment was full of produce and the dinner that evening was perfect.
As we all do when we are away on holiday i started to plan what we wanted to do, then a phone call from Barclay my brother inlaw changed things, in a good way!
" I will pick you up at 6am in the morning, we are going shooting"
Even though i had drove through the night and not had much sleep You wouldnt believe how excited i got, Fantastic a day sitting in a field with no one to talk to is just what i needed, the shooting was a bonus.
As arranged Barclay arrived at 6am with a cup of coffee and a roll up in his hand , dressed like a tree, this lad takes things very seriously and always has all the gear. "All right love, what about ya", he never fails to make me smile, hes a great lad to be around.
After a short drive along the country roads and a quick catchup we arrived at the freshly cut cornfield, the decoys were put out, the hide was set and the day began.
The view from the hide was good, the pigeons were perfect and the mornings shooting was amazing, although i was slightly out of practice. After not shooting for a while i was pleased with my efforts and 15 birds came home with us. As usual when we arrived back at Sepps the preperation and cooking bebate began, whole bird or just the breasts? "Just the breasts, what a waste".
After a period of time the whole bird won the day, the plucking began, the prep was messy but the end product was fantastic.
Five hours after shooting the birds the cooking began, i roasted the bird with a little olive oil, salt and cracked black pepper, when produce is five hours old i dont see why you need to over do the method of cooking, simply let the produce speak for its self. The birds were cooked medium rare, i served them with fresh boiled potatoes, a large mixed salad, toasted pitta bread and a blackberry dressing finished with crushed nuts and thyme.
Please see my recipe bank for the recipe.
