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The perfect snipe on toast

GAME COOKING

Q Some people say I should remove the guts from snipe and others say I shouldn’t. How should I prepare snipe for cooking?

A Though they are small, snipe are absolutely delicious to eat and should be regarded as a real delicacy. Removing the guts is entirely down to personal preference, but I never gut a snipe. It’s simply not necessary.

My procedure is to pluck the bird completely, removing the lower legs and the top wing joint with a pair of kitchen scissors. I pluck out the head and neck, leaving the head on. Then I twist the head round and pierce through the abdomen with the long bill, pushing it right through like a skewer just forward of the legs. This creates a neat carcase for cooking.

Next, I toast a slice of bread on one side only. Placing the bread, untoasted side uppermost, on a grill pan, I put the snipe on top and cook it in a high oven (220°C) for 10 minutes. The snipe will be perfectly roasted and a little pink inside, which is just how it should be. The juices should have started to flow out of the abdominal cavity and into the bread, which should now be crisp on top.

Snipe on toast is the perfect breakfast dish, served intact in all its glory straight from the oven. Use a sharp knife to remove and enjoy the breast meat, savouring the toast that has been flavoured with the cooking juices. Then remove the legs and eat the thigh meat using