SEAL BROOK WOODLAND SCHOOL

This is a brand new course for 2027 and combines our passions for the countryside, wildlife and conservation through sustainable deer management, and celebrating natures bounty through making the very most of one of the UK's most secretive and majestic creatures.

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The course will run from our brand new indoor deer lardering facility at Seal Brook Wood and spaces are limited to 4 participants so everyone has adequate space to work independently on their own deer, at the conclusion of the course you are welcome to take home all the meat and products you have made from it. It is aimed at those interested in buying whole deer for personal consumption, or new or experienced deer stalkers who wish to make the most of their own deer.

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The aim of the course is to familiarise you with the entire process of taking a whole in-skin deer and turning it into a range of usable final products such as burgers, sausages, steaks, etc, understanding every step along the way that leads to the best quality product.

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At the conclusion of the course you should be completely comfortable with acquiring whole deer from different sources, assessing its quality and be confident in your own ability to process it at home using basic equipment. As part of the course you will be given your own boning knife to work with and this will be yours to keep and continue your journey with.

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The weekend will also cover making the most of every part of the deer and we will examine long term preservation techniques through curing and smoking, and we will also go through the process of turning a deer hide into tanned leather and working with bone and antler.

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The course will run from 9AM till 5PM on Saturday and 9AM till 1PM on Sunday to allow us the time to study each subject in adequate depth for a deep understanding, there is the option to camp on site Saturday night or you may wish to seek your own local accommodation.

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All deer are sustainably and ethically harvested locally as part of our deer management plan and are then inspected and tagged with cull information and a trained hunter number before being logged into the larder.

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The modules that will be taught over the weekend include:

 

• UK deer species, history and ecology 

• UK deer law, food hygiene and health and safety

• Deer pests and diseases 

• Deer gralloch, field inspection and tagging

• Carcasses handling, transport and storage

• The larder setup, equipment and at home considerations 

• Initial carcass preparation

• Skinning for a useable hide

• Primal cuts/jointing

• Boning and breaking down joints

• Sausage and burger making

• Preserving venison

• Knife sharpening and care

• Hide tanning

• Preparing skulls and bones

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As part of the conclusion of the course on the Sunday we will have a group BBQ and meal where you will have a chance to try the products you have made before you take them away with you.

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Venue: Seal Brook Wood, Nr Netherseal, South Derbyshire

Dates: 6-7th February 2027, 3-4th April 2027

Times: 9AM on the Saturday till 1PM on the Sunday

Ages: 18 years and above due to insurance restrictions

Cost: £300 per person, limited to 4 participants per course, to include the deer and all other consumables required.

Accommodation: Own sleeping system (tent, basha, hammock) on the Saturday night if you wish to stay on site.

Food: You will need to bring a packed lunch for the Saturday, For Sunday lunch we will cook and try a variety of the products you have made throughout the course.

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This is a practical 'hands on' course, all the subjects will be expertly explained and demonstrated after which participants will have a chance to have a go at everything.