Roast partridge

I've posted about this technique before, so I won't go into great detail here - it's just another push for a fantastic bird-roasting method and some encouragement to use under-used and plentiful in-season meat.

We're very lucky to have a butcher nearby that offers all sorts of unusual produce and I couldn't resist a £2.65 partridge when I bought the haggis the other day.  A small bird like that is just the thing for two.

Game birds can be drier than domesticated chicken so I thought it would benefit from the slow treatment.

This is the easiest thing in the world:  Peel and chop potatoes and carrots and put them in the bottom of the slow cooker with a few knobs of butter, salt and pepper.  Add some sprouts from the freezer if you feel so inclined.

Place the partridge on top with a bit more butter, sprinkle everything with thyme, put the slow cooker on low and leave it all alone for about five hours.

At this point everything is nicely cooked but lacking in roast character, so whack the oven up as high as it will go (mine reaches an indicated 250C, downhill with a following wind), transfer the meat and veg to a roasting tray and pop them in.

After five minutes it will look and smell fantastic.

Knock up some gravy in the roasting tray in the usual way, using the liquid which will have collected in the bottom of the slow cooker insert and a splash of chicken stock if you need more.

Serve with steamed green veg (we had Purple Sprouting Broccoli in the veg box this week) if you feel so inclined.