The term 'game' applies to wild animals and birds that are hunted and eaten, and also includes birds and animals once caught in the wild that are now raised domestically, such as quail, rabbit and deer. Game falls into two categories:

Feathered game or game birds: the two-legged feathered variety, including grouse, pheasant, partridge, quail, snipe, wild duck, woodcock and wood pigeon.

Furred game: four-legged, land-based game, including hare, rabbit, venison and wild boar.

You can buy oven-ready game from supermarkets but if you want to know a bit more about what you're buying, go to a specialist game dealer.

The dealer will be able to tell you the age of the animal, when it was killed and how long it has been hung. They will often have a good supply of locally shot game of different ages that have been hung for different lengths of time. The game dealer will skin and clean game for you and will joint it if you ask.

If you're not confident about what to buy, don't be afraid to ask for advice. Say how gamey you want it and also how you plan to cook it. Your game dealer will be able to provide you with what best suits your needs.

You could also buy from farm shops which often stock different kinds of game. Fine food fairs, farmers' markets and mail-order meat delivery companies are another good source of game.

It's important to know the age of your game, because this will affect how you cook it. Young game requires quick roasting at a high heat. Older game will be tough if you cook it this way and will work better as a pot roast or casserole.

You can tell the age of a bird if it hasn't been plucked - a young bird's legs are smooth and the beak and feet are still pliable. Young rabbits and hares have ears that can be torn easily.

Fresh wild game can only be bought in season but it can be bought frozen at any time. Farmed game is not subject to the same seasons and some, such as venison, is available year-round. Farmed game's often more tender than wild game but can lack the strong 'gamey' flavour that many people like.

For the least work, buy your game fully prepared (as it is in supermarkets and butchers). When buying oven-ready game, look for moist, well-shaped cuts firm to the touch, not slimy, with no discolouration or dry spots. The meat should smell fresh. The skin on game birds should be smooth and supple and the wing tips moist and pliable.

Game dealers or butchers will tell you how long the game has been hung. Don't avoid frozen game, which is much better than poorly handled fresh game. If you buy game from a shoot, it will obviously need more preparation, but a good butcher will usually do this for you.

Farmed and frozen game provide a supply of game all year but most wild game is only available during the shooting seasons, which vary from animal to animal. Game cannot be shot outside these seasons.

Here are the seasons for the main varieties of game (although there are variations between foreshore or inland for some water fowl):

Ducks and geese - 1 September to 31 January; Hare - 1 August to 29 February; Grouse - 12 August to 10 December; Partridge - 1 September to 1 February; Pheasant - 1 October to 1 February; Pigeon and squab - all year; Quail - all year; Rabbit - all year; Snipe - August to January; Woodcock - October to January; Woodpigeon - all year

Venison: Red deer stags - 1 August to 30 April (England, Wales, Northern Ireland), 1 July to 20 October (Scotland); Red deer hinds - 1 November to 28 February (England, Wales, Northern Ireland), 21 October to 15 February (Scotland); Fallow bucks - 1 August to 30 April; Fallow does - 1 November to 28 February (England, Wales, Northern Ireland), 21 October to 15 February (Scotland); Roe bucks - 1 April to 31 October (England, Wales), 1 April to 20 October (Scotland); Roe does - 1 November to 28 February (England, Wales), 21 October to 31 March (Scotland);

Grouse is considered by many to be the finest game bird for its rich, rounded, gamey flavour. A plump bird will feed one person. Grouse is most commonly roasted and served simply, without fancy sauces. It needs barding (layering with bacon) and regular basting during cooking. Grouse can be cut into portions and grilled, fried or braised.

Try Nick Nairn's Pan-fried grouse with skirlie and glazed beetroot

Partridge falls into two types: the English, or grey partridge, which has the finer flavour, and the larger French (red-legged) partridge. They're small birds (serve one per person) with lean, tender breast meat. Roasting tends to dry them out, so try braising.

Try Paul and Jeanne Rankin's Roast partridge with bacon, garlic and thyme

Pheasants have a pleasant, mild flavour and are readily available. The hen will serve two, the cock 3-4 depending on the size of the birds. Younger pheasants are good for roasting, if well barded (layered with bacon) and basted; older birds are better casseroled. Cold pheasant's also delicious. Mike Robinson demonstrates a simple, rustic method in his video recipe for Roast pheasants with lemon and rosemary.

Pigeon, squab and woodpigeon are available all year and are the least expensive game birds. Pigeons are commonplace in the wild; squabs are farm-raised young pigeons; woodpigeons are the meatiest of the three. Allow at least one bird per person. They've got good flavour but will be tough if grilled or roasted past the pink stage. If you want to cook them slowly, then casserole or braise them.

Try Oliver Rowe's Pigeon breast with red wine gravy, roast leeks and wild mushrooms

or Neil Perry's Braised Iranian-style pigeon with rhubarb

or Neil Perry's Warm salad of wood pigeon, lardons, potatoes and walnut oil dressing

Wild quail is now protected, so you can only buy farmed quail in Britain. Although small, they're quite plump, with delicious meat; one quail would make a generous starter or light supper for one person. They're lean and good for roasting, grilling and casseroling.

Try Skye Gyngell's Grilled quail with sour cherries, toasted walnuts and ras-el-hanout

Mallard's the most common wild duck and one will serve 2-3 people. Ducks are at their best in late autumn and are delicious roasted.

Rabbit has firm, meaty flesh and wild rabbit has a good gamey flavour. Domestically reared rabbit bears more resemblance to chicken, and is very versatile. Rabbit's tender enough to roast and is excellent in casseroles and stews. It can be substituted for chicken (though has far less fat). Treat the saddle as breast meat and the legs as drumsticks. An average rabbit - about 1.2kg to 1.8kg (2lb 10oz to 4lb) will serve four comfortably.

Try Gennaro Contaldo's Rabbit with garlic and rosemary served with bruschetta

Hares have darker, richer meat than rabbit. They're best eaten young (a 'leveret' is a hare under one year old) and are at their peak from October to January. They're rather bloody to prepare, so if you're squeamish buy it jointed. Hare benefits from marinating. Best-known dishes include jugged hare (which incorporates the hare's blood) and roast saddle of hare.

Try Keith Floyd's Royal hare stew

The most common venison species are red deer, fallow deer and roe deer. There are three types: wild deer, park deer (reared in herds that roam parklands) and farmed deer (rearing varies from free-range to intensive). Farmed venison is more likely to be young meat with consistent flavour. Venison can be substituted for beef in most recipes. The most popular cuts are from the back: saddle, loin and fillet. The meat is lean with little fat, so needs careful cooking. Tougher cuts (shoulder, neck and shin) should be braised or stewed.

Mike Robinson's video recipe for Peppered loin of venison with red wine sauce is a must-see for anyone interested in cooking game.

'Wild' boar sold in Britain is actually farmed, although they have recently returned to the wild. The meat has little fat and resembles a darker, denser version of pork; it can be substituted for pork in most recipes and should always be served well cooked. Popular cuts are the saddle and loin chops.

Try Tony Tobin's Wild boar with orange glaze and wilted spinach

One disadvantage to wild game is that the meat can be quite tough and dry. To counteract this tendency, it's 'hung' after shooting to break down the tough fibres and help tenderise the meat. Most game (apart from pigeon, quail, farmed rabbit and wild duck) is hung before it's sold. Hanging also enables the development of 'gamey' flavours. The longer meat is hung, the more pronounced the flavour will become, but it usually ranges from two days (for rabbit) up to 12 days (for venison).

It's important that game is hung in a cool airy place, well out of the way of any cats, dogs, rats or foxes. If the atmosphere is too warm or moist, the meat will quickly decompose and go off.

In earlier times, birds would be hung by their heads until the body fell off, at which point they would be ready for cooking. This is probably a little too strong for today's palate but hanging for a short time is worthwhile. If game isn't allowed to develop its unique flavour, you may as well buy and cook farmed meat.

In general, young birds bought before Christmas are more tender than older ones, and so are best roasted or grilled. Older game is suited to slow methods of cooking such as braising. Furred game is usually jointed before being sold.

All game meat is lean, so take care it doesn't dry out during cooking. Pale game such as pheasant or partridge tends to be served well done, but grouse, venison, hare and wild duck are often served pink. Pink or rare meat hasn't been thoroughly cooked, so there's a risk of harmful bacteria being present.

Classic accompaniments with roast game include game chips, fried breadcrumbs, bread sauce, watercress, braised red cabbage, and dumplings - generally winter flavours. Polenta or cornmeal goes well with most saucy game dishes. Other ingredients that work well with game are juniper berries, blackberries, oranges, cherries, chocolate, chestnuts, cranberries, raisins, prunes, lentils, gin, strong wines and beers, mustard, garlic, bacon, cream and fragrant but hardy herbs such as thyme, rosemary and sage.