Borough Market's game season begins quietly, with woodsmoke drifting from the hot food units before anyone notices the stalls have changed. By November, counters across the market carry pheasant, partridge and venison that were nowhere in sight back in July. This shift runs roughly from August to February, and it rewards shoppers who know which stall sells which bird, and which week brings the best price before Christmas demand pushes costs up.
The stalls below are all trading at Borough Market now, not seasonal pop-ups, and each one prepares its own game rather than relabelling wholesale stock. I picked them for the problems they solve: a fast Tuesday dinner, a dish worth planning two days ahead, and a cut that needs confidence rather than a recipe card.
### Venison at Shellseekers Fish & Game
Shellseekers Fish & Game is known for hand-dived scallops, but the stall also sells other sustainably caught fish, shellfish, crustaceans and an impressive selection of game, much of it shot by Darren himself. Darren Brown treats venison as a practical fix: eating more of it helps control deer numbers that damage woodland, a point Chris Packham has argued in his (perhaps surprise) support of deerstalking. Darren's own line, to "eat our problems", places venison alongside beef and lamb rather than treating it as a one-off treat. Ask for the loin for a quick pan-fry, or the shin for a slow braise.
### Partridge, pears and a perry gravy
Partridge is usually the first bird to reach the counter each year. The designated hunting seasons are the same, from 1st September to 1st February for both grey and red-legged partridge. Shellseekers lists a recipe for roast partridge with pears and perry gravy, pairing the bird's mild flavour with a West Country pear cider rather than a heavy red. It is a sensible entry point if you have never cooked game before: partridge is smaller than pheasant and the breasts cook through quickly.
### Venison chorizo and other unexpected pairings
Not every piece of venison needs a Sunday roast treatment. Mussels with oloroso sherry & venison chorizo is one of Shellseekers' own recipes, treating venison chorizo as a seasoning rather than a centrepiece, stirred through a pan of mussels for a smoky, surf-and-turf style supper. It is a useful way to use the smaller cuts that come from a whole deer, rather than paying a premium for loin every time. Ask the stallholder what else they have beyond the obvious cuts; the answer often changes week to week.
### Pheasant: the everyday game bird
Pheasant is the most common game bird sold anywhere in Britain, and pheasant and partridge are bred by gamekeepers, and typically live up to three years, free to roam, unlike their popular cousin the chicken, which is often bred in appalling conditions in cages and only allowed to live for a few months. The pheasant shooting season starts on 1st October and finishes on 1st February. Borough Market's own recipe collection includes a pheasant tikka masala, proof that the bird takes spice as well as it takes bread sauce. Buy it whole if you want to joint it yourself, or ask for breasts only if time is short.
### Grouse: the shortest window of the season
Grouse has the shortest season of any bird on this list. The shooting season for the red grouse starts on the centrepiece of the shooting year, the "Glorious Twelfth" of August, and the season runs until 10th December in England, Scotland and Wales. That means the window to buy fresh red grouse at Borough Market closes well before Christmas, weeks before pheasant and partridge are still on sale. If you want to try it, go in September or October rather than waiting, since supply drops off fast once estates finish their shoots for the year.
### Game birds at Wyndham House Poultry
Wyndham House Poultry is a founding Borough Market trader since 1999, selling free range poultry, specialist game, and hot roast chicken wraps from Stand 29 on Bedale Street. Game season runs from autumn into winter, partridge, grouse, venison, pheasant, mallard, woodcock. The business runs four shops, but Borough is the best of our four shops for the rarer birds. Go here if you want woodcock or mallard rather than the more common pheasant and partridge, and expect the counter staff to know which estate each bird came from.
### The game calendar: what you can legally buy, and when
England and Wales still regulate game timing under a law written in 1831. Section 3 of the Game Act 1831 remains in force for England and Wales, and it prohibits killing game "between" the stated dates, so the first and last days named in the statute fall outside the prohibition and are shootable. That quirk explains why pheasant and partridge seasons run to 1 February rather than 31 January, a detail that trips up even regular shoppers. No game may be killed or taken in any county in England and Wales on Sunday or Christmas Day. If a stallholder is out of a bird on a Monday, the shoot likely did not run the day before.
Choosing what to buy during game season
Start with how much time you have, not which bird sounds most impressive. Partridge and pheasant breast cook quickly and suit a weeknight, while venison shin, grouse and whole birds for stock reward a weekend. If you are new to game, buy partridge first: it is mild, forgiving, and in season for the longest stretch, from September to February. Ask whichever stallholder you choose how long the bird has hung, since flavour depends on it as much as the recipe you follow, and buy only what you can cook within a few days unless you plan to freeze it.
Learn more about game season
Originally published on LONDONwebzine.
