The preparation of game meat requires skill, knowledge of subtleties and patience. It has a specific taste and aroma. The meat most often prepared in Bulgarian cuisine is wild boar, pheasant, wild duck, quail, wild hare, roe deer and venison.

Game meat is rich in muscle fibre because the animals move more and it is cleaner because they eat only roots, insects, mushrooms and berries.

Here are some subtleties for its preparation

• At the slightest doubt, the meat should be examined. This must be carried out by a specialist.
• Keeping the meat in a freezer for a while will make it more tender.
• Game meat is not rich in fat, for this reason it is better to spike with bacon.
• Wild rabbit should not be cooked with sauerkraut.
• Cranberry jam perfectly suits boar meat.
• Meat becomes tastiest if boiled or stewed.
• Serve the venison with red wine.
• The marinade is divided into two - for big game and for feathered game. The main ingredient for large game is vinegar, and for birds - milk.
• Prepare the wild meat with fruit. You will enjoy tender bites that melt in your mouth.
• Avoid marinating game meat with alcohol in the process. It will make the meat even more stringy.

A few subtleties on the preliminary preparation of game meat and trivia

The smell and taste of game meat depends on the game species, the living conditions and the food consumed. The meat tastes best in the autumn-winter period.

In the mating period, the meat of the males acquires an unpleasant odour. This should be taken into account before processing and consumption.

If the game has agonised for too long, the meat has reduced flavour. This is due to the adrenaline released.

The protein content of boneless meat was 15%-20%, fat 5%-20%, carbohydrate 0.5%. It is also rich in potassium, phosphorus, sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc.