General Trends
There is, after all, something that unites the most diverse European cuisines. That "something" is mountains. Because it is in the mountains - the foothills of the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Ardennes, the Black Forest, the Jura, the Tatras - that wild animals still exist even in an extremely civilized and urbanized Europe. Of course, game is increasingly supplied to restaurants from special reserves and farms, and the pheasant you order somewhere in Paris could well have been brought, say, from Slovakia (at least, for forest mushrooms in Western European menus, gourmets in 90% of cases should thank Belarusian and Russian foragers). It is all the more interesting to taste an "authentic" beast or bird in season.
What do you need for this? First, choose restaurants that specialize in local cuisine. Second, avoid big cities and try to eat in countryside establishments - Tyrolean "Waldhäuser", Savoyard "osterie", Slovak "koliby" are just what you need. Choose by appearance, by the smell from the kitchen, by the menu on boards at the entrance: the more "rural" the place you've chosen seems, the better. And if hunting trophies hang above the entrance, then you have definitely made the right choice!
The point is that forest game almost never requires any particularly tricky culinary preparation. Exquisite sauces and gravies are more the domain of haute cuisine, and if the menu of a gastronomic restaurant features duck, goose or pheasant, then almost certainly it is about birds that were raised in captivity. With hoofed game it is a little more complicated - but it too is best tasted in small inns away from the city noise. It turns out more honest that way.
In general, "wild" meat is a classic example of "like cures like." That is, there is no better accompaniment to it than forest berries, mushrooms, various aromatic herbs. The choice of the latter should be treated with particular care: very often game meat has a specific smell and an equally specific aftertaste. They are, of course, natural, since they are caused by natural reasons, but they do not always have a beneficial effect on appetite. So it is better to get rid of the marshy smell characteristic of wild duck, or the sharp spirit of fresh boar meat in advance. How? With marinades, of course!
Game and spicy marinades are inseparable, like Siamese twins. And the first fiddle in this union is played by those very aromatic herbs. Moreover, in the case of traditional European cuisine - no exoticism. The king of spices for game is juniper, its retinue is thyme, sage, oregano... the list of retinue can be continued indefinitely, since each cuisine has its own "signature" herbs - and in Italy their set will be at least a little different from the French or German one.
National Differences
There is no agreement among European cooks regarding the most popular meat. It would seem that the same animals run through practically all European forests, and the same birds fly. But no - it's classic: "One man's meat is another man's poison."
Let's start with our northern neighbors - the Finns. There, reindeer meat rules: without exaggeration, reindeer meat with lingonberry sauce or jam is a signature dish of Finnish cuisine. True, we are talking about the reindeer. And it is, in general, quite difficult to classify as game... To try "real" venison, you should go to other neighbors, the Slavic brothers - to the Czech Republic or Slovakia.
Well, you won't have to travel far for the largest hoofed game. Of course, you can try elk meat in your own country and in Belarus, but if we are talking about foreign gastronomic tours, it is better to go to Lithuania or Poland. Game dishes are a classic of Old Polish cuisine, and Lithuania was also part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for quite a long time.
One of the best options is elk stewed with dried apricots. No less good is tsomber (the back and kidney part of a boar carcass) in a hawthorn sauce. Although boar is still better to look for further west. The fact is that the wild boar was one of the totem animals of the neighbors and eternal rivals of the Western Slavs - the Germans. For example, in England, until the middle of the 19th century, baked boar's head was the main decoration of Christmas and New Year tables - and no one cared that a essentially pagan dish was served at a festive Christian meal. Only in relatively recent times have boars been replaced by geese and turkeys at Christmas. But that is a completely different topic...
By the way, another totem of the Germans (and of the Slavs and Balts in this case as well) is the bear. However, bear meat is a rare commodity; too few bears remain in Europe, so finding it on the menu, even in restaurants specializing in hunting cuisine, is extremely problematic.
Our Little Brothers
Hares are a completely different matter. Fortunately, they still inhabit all of Europe. Here, French cuisine rules: there you have hare pâté, Landes-style stew, and Provençal fillet. Italy is not far behind with its "lepre alla cacciatora," a hunter-style hare from the Umbria region, marinated with garlic and rosemary and stewed in wine. And what about pasta with hare meat! The Italians are followed by the Spaniards with hare saddle (again, "hunter-style," but much more aromatic and spicy - thanks to the chefs of the Basque country, who are not stingy with spices!), grilled hare meat from Extremadura, and finally, Valencian paella. Now, however, rabbit meat is increasingly added to it, but originally it was hare. And quite wild.
Having said A, you must say B. Where there is a hare, there is a rabbit. It is clear that now most of the long-eared amorous creatures are bred in captivity, abundantly fed with cabbage stalks, carrot tops, and other agricultural waste. But there are still places where rabbits feed and breed in the wild (causing a lot of problems for the local peasantry), differing from their domesticated counterparts in their unique 'wild' taste and aroma. Moreover, in search of such places, it is not at all necessary to go to the textbook state of Kentucky or somewhere to Australia. Malta is much more accessible. And the local rabbits - called, for some reason, 'fennecs', although the fennec is a small desert fox of North Africa - are the hallmark of Maltese cuisine. As stew, braised in red wine, baked with garlic sauce, simply grilled with herbs and spices... I honestly confess: I have never eaten tastier rabbits than in Malta, anywhere and never.
From other 'small game', we criminally overlooked roe deer. And all other small ungulates. They are also willingly (and deliciously!) prepared throughout Europe - mainly in the same foothills. Czech-style schnitzel, Hungarian-style roe deer perkelt (hearty stew in thick sauce), Baden-style saddle of roe deer or roasted in French style, stewed meat with polenta and porcini mushrooms Italian-style... The list, as with hare meat, can be continued almost indefinitely. The main thing - I implore you again! - try all these delicacies only in authentic establishments specialized in hunting cuisine.
A bit of exotica
We completely missed the birds. On the other hand, all kinds of pheasants, geese, ducks, and other quails fully deserve a separate article. Perhaps for the second hunting season - spring - we will tell about them. And for now, let's add a bit of exotica to our measured narrative.
For if you thought that you had to go to Asia or Africa for culinary curiosities, you were seriously mistaken. Good old Europe is also quite capable of heating things up. For example, pigeons are popular throughout the Mediterranean. And in French cuisine they are considered one of the most delicious dishes. Of course, we are not talking about urban 'flying rats', but about noble birds, wood pigeons and turtle doves, either raised in captivity or (better) obtained by free shooters.
France is generally a country of culinary delights, including in terms of game. The infamous frogs, for example - aren't they game? Especially since their legs really taste like not so much chicken but rather noble field birds. And snails? True, snails have now also been learned to be 'domesticated' (or even imported from abroad - for example, from Ukraine or Moldova), but connoisseurs say that in this case their taste is completely different from the natural ones, hand-picked in the vineyards of Burgundy. Burgundy snails are another true classic of French cuisine.
The North also has plenty of delicacies - albeit of a very specific sort. If you want to try the most extreme ones, go to Iceland. There, if you're lucky, you can taste stew of ptarmigan, whale meat, dried shark, and seal blubber. The taste is certainly an acquired one, but what memories you'll have! And Finnish reindeer tongues are also worth a lot (literally and figuratively).
Well, the most unexpected game, oddly enough, awaits you on such a well-trodden resort as Cyprus. The fact is that migration routes of robins 'from the lovely north to the southern side' pass through Cyprus. And this bird route map suits the Cypriots quite well: every year, small but tasty game literally falls into their hands. Robins are fried, stewed, but mainly the carcasses are marinated and then canned. Finally, there is such a specific delicacy of hunting cuisine as beaver tail.
And also - black Africa beats the drums, luring with crocodiles, elephants, and antelopes. Latin America dances the mambo, tempting with capybaras, llamas, and tapirs. Asia smiles politely, offering snakes, wild rats, and generally anything that can move. So much the better - there will be reason to return to our topic many times. After all, what's the main thing? The main thing is that these wild animals are tasty, especially during the Great Hunting season!