Chef Galton Blackiston shares a tempting grouse recipe

For the grouse:

• 1 plucked grouse per person as a main course or 1 grouse for two people as an entrée
• Rapeseed oil
• A generous knob of butter

For the gravy:

• 1 small shallot, peeled and diced
• 150g button mushrooms, sliced
• A few good sprigs of thyme
• 2 tbsp madeira
• 2 tbsp red port
• 2 tbsp red wine
• 550 ml dark chicken stock
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

For the étuvée of cabbage:

• 2 heads of savoy cabbage
• 175g butter
• 1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

For the game chips:

• Vegetable oil for frying
• 3 large baking potatoes
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

For the bread sauce:

• 450ml milk
• 75g butter
• 1 bay leaf, crumbled
• 1 sprig of thyme
• 1 small onion
• 3 tbsp double cream
• 110g white breadcrumbs
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Method

For the grouse:

• Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C/Gas 4.
• Remove the legs from the grouse and reserve for either making stock or to confit.
• Heat a frying pan till hot, add a good splash of rapeseed oil and a good knob of butter, and seal off the grouse crowns turning to colour well all over. Transfer to a trivet in a roasting tin and place in the pre-heated oven to roast for 6 minutes.
• Remove the crowns from the oven, cut the breasts from the crown and set aside somewhere warm to rest.

For the gravy:

• Chop the roasted grouse bones and set aside.
• Heat a saucepan over a medium heat, add a good splash of rapeseed oil followed by the chopped shallot, button mushrooms and thyme, and sauté till the shallot is softened and lightly coloured.
• Add the chopped grouse bones and the Madeira, Port and red wine. Stir well to deglaze the pan.
• Add the dark chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer to reduce.
• When the gravy is reduced to the desired consistency and flavour, pass through a sieve into another saucepan, check the seasoning and keep warm.

For the cabbage:

• To prepare the cabbage; discard any damaged leaves, slice the cabbage in half and remove the centre core and then shred each half very finely. Bring a large pan of salted water to a rolling boil and blanch the cabbage for about 4 minutes. Refresh immediately under very cold running water and drain thoroughly.
• Heat a large pan; add the butter and then the cabbage. Cook gently over a low heat until the cabbage becomes very soft. Add the sage if using and check the seasoning before serving.

For the game chips:

• Peel the potatoes and slice very thinly using a mandolin.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a deep-sided heavy-bottomed saucepan.
• When the oil is hot enough that a small cube of bread sizzles and turns golden when dropped in, drop in the potato slices and deep fry for 1 – 2 minutes or until golden brown (you may need to do this in batches as it is important not to overcrowd the pan. If you do, bring the oil back up to temperature between each batch).
• Remove the game chips from the oil using a slotted spoon, set aside to drain on kitchen paper.
• Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

For the bread sauce:

• Make the bread sauce in advance. Heat the milk, butter, cloves, herbs and onion with some flakes of sea salt. Bring the mixture to simmering point and simmer extremely gently for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and leave to infuse.
• While the grouse are cooking, strain the infused milk for the bread sauce into a clean pan. Reheat gently with the cream and whisk in the breadcrumbs. Allow to thicken and adjust the seasoning, adding plenty of black pepper.

To finish:

• Preheat the grill to high.
• Flash the grouse breasts under the hot grill and serve immediately with the cabbage, bread sauce, game chips and hot gravy.

Enjoy!