Roast grouse with game chips

Name: Roast grouse with game chips
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 4 grouse; 8 juniper berries, crushed; 8 sprigs of thyme; vegetable oil, or a little fat for roasting; salt; pepper; 400ml of skimmed milk; 1 white onion; 5 cloves; 4 slices of white bread, made into breadcrumbs; 1 pinch of ground mixed spice; salt; pepper; 1 white onion, roughly chopped; 2 carrots, roughly chopped; 1 leek, roughly chopped; 200ml of game stock, or chicken stock; sloe gin, or 100ml red wine; 1 Maris Piper potato, or other large frying potato; vegetable oil, for frying; salt; watercress

by The Jugged Hare

Item 1 of 1

Main
medium
4
50 minutes

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To mark The Glorious Twelfth, London gastropub The Jugged Hare hosts a special game dinner with grouse shot that very day. Their recipe for roast grouse is a classic dish that can easily be made at home.

First published in 2015

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It’s game on at The Jugged Hare as the start of the shooting season approaches. The London gastropub, part of award-winning ETM Group, is fast becoming an authority on game and will be plucking, trussing and cooking up a storm this game season right through to February next year.

For The Glorious Twelfth (12th August), ETM chefs and Ben Weatherall of Yorkshire Game ventured out onto the stunning Yorkshire heather moors at dawn to bag the first braces of the season to bring lucky customers at The Jugged Hare a dish that often doesn’t appear on menus until 13th or 14th August at the earliest.

Here The Jugged Hare has shared one of its most traditional recipes for this celebrated bird, a simple roast flavoured with juniper and thyme, served with creamy bread sauce and crispy game chips. If feeling adventurous you can use a fret-cutter or waffle-blade to get the fretwork potatoes pictured here, or just follow the recipe for delicious thin potatoes crisps.

According to the head chef, Stephen Englefield: 'Grouse is the king of the game birds and a traditional roast grouse with bread sauce is the best recipe there is for this sweet and tender meat. Our game meats and birds are supplied by Yorkshire Game, who work closely with estates in Scotland and northern England to provide the highest quality wild game and venison which is both sustainable and fully traceable.'

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Grouse

4 grouse
8 juniper berries, crushed
8 sprigs of thyme
vegetable oil, or a little fat for roasting
salt
pepper

Bread sauce

400ml of skimmed milk
1 white onion
5 cloves
4 slices of white bread, made into breadcrumbs
1 pinch of ground mixed spice
salt
pepper

Gravy

1 white onion, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 leek, roughly chopped
200ml of game stock, or chicken stock
sloe gin, or 100ml red wine

Game chips

1 Maris Piper potato, or other large frying potato
vegetable oil, for frying
salt

To serve

watercress

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Method

Preheat the oven to 200℃/gas mark 6

For each grouse, stuff the cavity with the crushed juniper berries and thyme, and season the skins well with salt and pepper

Warm a little oil in a large roasting tray, and seal the grouse evenly on all sides until the skin is golden brown. Transfer the tray to the oven and roast for 16 - 20 minutes (this will depend on the size of the grouse)

When cooked, remove from the tray and set aside to rest, covered in a tea towel to keep warm

For the gravy, place the roughly chopped vegetables into the roasting tray and add in a good splash of sloe or the red wine. You could also add any offal from the birds if you have it for extra flavour

Simmer the gravy for 5 minutes or until thickened slightly, then pass through a sieve into a clean pan to remove the vegetables and flavourings. Taste and correct the seasoning as needed

For the bread sauce, stud the onion with the whole cloves, then add to a pan with the milk and heat gently for 20 minutes to infuse. Remove the onion, then add in the breadcrumbs, mixed spice and some salt and pepper to taste. Continue to heat through until thickened and creamy

For the chips, slice the potato as thinly as possible with a mandoline or sharp knife. Rinse the slices in cold water a couple of times and pat dry with kitchen towel (this will help to remove the starch and make them crispier)

Deep-fry the potato slices for a couple of minutes until golden brown. Drain any excess oil on kitchen towel and season with salt. Warm through the gravy and sauce to serve

You can keep the grouse whole, or portion off the legs and breasts if preferred. Serve with the game chips, a few watercress leaves to garnish, and the warmed gravy and bread sauce on the side

First published in 2015

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The Jugged Hare

The Jugged Hare is London’s leading game restaurant.

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