Roast Grouse | Recipe

We treat our grouse with respect when we receive them, smoking them in the bell heather they grazed on, to return them to the land they came from. When we can serve it at Core, we do; when stocks are too low, and our serving it risks damaging the long-term survival of the grouse flock, we simply skip a year. We only work with what nature gives us.

Ingredients

Grouse preparation

• 2 whole grouse
• 100g bell heather
• 200g 10% herb brine

Grouse legs

• 500g duck fat
• 2 garlic cloves
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 2 white peppercorns
• 4 grouse legs (reserved from above)
• 20g salt

Red -wine pickled cabbage

• 250g red wine
• 250g ruby port
• 25g cabernet sauvignon vinegar
• 4 baby red cabbages
• salt and sugar, to taste

Grouse farce

• 25g chicken mousse – see page 126
• grouse legs
• 150g minced pork
• 20g confit shallots – see page 126
• 5 g brandy
• 5 g chervil
• 5g chives
• 4 chicken livers, trimmed and cleaned
• red-wine pickled cabbage
• grapeseed oil, for frying
• salt and pepper, to taste

Bread sauce

• 12g butter
• 100g onions, thinly sliced
• 1g clove, grated
• ground white pepper, to taste
• freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
• freshly ground Voatsperifery pepper, to taste
• 1 bay leaf
• 75g chicken stock 
• 75g whole milk
• 4 slices of white bread (pain de mie)
• salt, to taste

Serves: 4

Method

Grouse preparation

Remove both the wings and legs of the grouse, leaving as much skin as possible attached to the crown. Set the legs aside. Remove the wishbone. Turn the grouse over and remove the back by cutting in between the second and third ribs. Remove the innards, leaving a clean crown. Torch the skin lightly with a blowtorch. Place the heather in the cavity and set it on fire with the blowtorch, allowing it to smoke for 10 minutes. Put both grouse into a large sous vide bag with the herb brine, seal fully and marinate for 1 hour. Preheat a water bath to 65°C. Remove the grouse from the brine and place into a new sous vide bag and cook in the water bath for 45 minutes, then chill in an ice bath.

Grouse legs

Preheat the oven to 98°C (fan). Melt the duck fat in a deep oven tray, then add the garlic, thyme and peppercorns. Season the grouse legs with the salt and add to the oven tray, cover with parchment paper and cook for 4 hours until tender. Leave the grouse to cool in the duck fat, then pick the meat and reserve the fat.

Red -wine pickled cabbage

Bring the red wine and port to a boil in a saucepan over a medium heat and reduce by half. Add the vinegar and set aside to cool. Open the first three layers of leaves of each cabbage, keeping the root intact. With a small knife, remove the centre and separate the leaves to be pickled. Reserve the external leaves and root for the presentation later. Transfer the cabbage centre leaves to a container and pour over the wine and port reduction. Place the container inside a vacuum-pack machine and close on full pressure. Compress 4–5 times.

Grouse farce

Put all the ingredients, except the livers, red cabbage, oil and seasoning, into a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Portion the mixture into four 40-g balls and place in the fridge. Preheat a non-stick frying pan over a high heat with a dash of oil. Butterfly the livers and season them with salt and pepper, then sear in the pan until browned all over. Remove the livers from the pan and chill as quickly as possible. Lay out a square of cling film on a work surface, place 1 cabbage leaf in the centre, followed by the liver, then the grouse farce. Taking all four corners of the cling film, pull up to the centre. Close the cling film around the ball and tie a knot. Repeat to make four balls. Poach the balls in a saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes, then chill in an ice bath.

Bread sauce

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the onions and sweat (with no colour) until tender. Add the spices and bay leaf and cook for 30 seconds, then add the chicken stock and milk and bring the mixture to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, then season to taste and remove the pan from the heat. Pass the liquid through a fine chinois into a blender jug. Add the bread and blend on full power until completely smooth. Transfer to a squeeze bottle.

Bread crisps

Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan). Cut the frozen sourdough lengthways on a slicer to slices 2mm thick, then cut 4-cm discs