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The relative size of the wing
feathers denotes the age of
the grouse |
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Grouse moors, 459 of them, cover almost three million acres of the British Isles. Shooting takes place only as far south as Derbyshire and parts of Wales but stretches as far north as the Scottish Highlands.
Every year, there's a flurry of interest at the start of the season when the birds are at their most expensive. Then the furore dies down and restaurants tend to forget about them, which is a pity because they are uniquely delicious.
Prepared and roasted to suit modern taste - in other words, rare - they bear no relation to the powerfully flavoured, gamey, often dry and tough birds that were popular with the gentry a few decades ago.
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As does the suppleness of the
skull bone when pressed |
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Trevor Brooks, head chef at Kinnaird House in Pitlochry, Perthshire, since 1998, still encounters guests who pine for the old-style roast dished up on the bone. But far more prefer eating the lean, tender, juicy breast accompanied by a sauce that tastes of grouse without the overpowering, musky smell of feathered game hung long past its sell-by date.
Making the most of the moor
Kinnaird is uniquely placed because it has own grouse moor and gamekeeper on the 9,000-acre estate. During the season, shooting parties often take over the hotel and the chefs find themselves plucking birds shot by guests. Not all these birds are good enough for roasting. Some may be heavily damaged by shot and some may be old and good enough only for salmis or soup. The best, though, are plump, tender and as large as a squab pigeon.
Brooks's approach to their preparation and cooking takes the variables out of the equation. Each bird is vetted for age and tenderness, be it plucked or bought ready for roasting. The bones that give his sauce the characteristic grouse taste are added in measured doses and allowed to infuse only until they've added the desired depth of flavour. Where Mrs Beeton's or Eliza Acton's dinner guests happily dealt with feathered game on the bone, Brooks is cooking for a public that does not want to deal with avian anatomy.
Buying grouse
The grouse season starts on 12 August and lasts until the middle of December, but that doesn't mean the quality is constant. As the year progresses, the birds get older, the meat becomes tougher and the flavour can be bitter to the point of being unpleasant.
Buying grouse young, and damaged as little as possible by shot, is crucial. It's easy to recognise a young bird before plucking - the third primary feather on the wing is shorter than the second. Also, the bone in the skull is supple when pressed. In the past, when game was plentiful, unscrupulous dealers broke the skulls of older birds to disguise their age.
Once the birds have been plucked and dressed, chefs have to rely on eye and touch. The meat over the breast should be plump but pliable, and a dark cherry red (or paler) rather than black. Smell can also be an indication of freshness and flavour. Grouse that feed on heather tend to be pleasantly gamey. When the heather dies down, they tend to feed on more resinous plant life such as pine. Then the aroma in the breast cavity turns stronger to the point of bitterness and the taste will reflect this change of diet.
Brooks has unlimited access to fresh grouse in prime condition. However, he argues that a young bird in peak condition, properly frozen and defrosted, is better value than a fresh, older one shot at the tail-end of the season.
Hanging
This is a function of both time and temperature. It is also controversial. Fifty years ago, grouse were roasted like chicken until they were cooked through. Today, chefs are almost certainly going to roast them rare or medium. Provided the grouse are young, the flesh on the breasts, where most of the meat is, will be tender with little or no hanging. Kinnaird aims for two to five days at cold-room temperatures.
If guests bring in their bag and ask to have it roasted for them at once, Brooks advises them to wait at least 24 hours. The shorter maturation means that gaminess will not be so pronounced. It takes 10 days' hanging at 10ºC to achieve the flavour so admired by past generations. Shorter hanging has implications for the leg-meat. On grouse, it contains sinews and can be tough. Boned, it makes an attractive garnish, but is not essential to the enjoyment of the dish.
Weight and portioning
Young grouse weigh about 450g dressed.
Shot damage
How much is acceptable? Shot in the legs or wings or even the back won't affect the quality of the dish. But more than the odd pellet in the breast will mar both taste and appearance.
Roast grouse
Game dealers supply feathered game dressed in a similar way to oven-ready poultry. Although modern cooking times are shorter than used to be the case, it is essential to start roasting the meat as soon as the order comes through to the kitchen.
Preparation stage one (par-roasting)
Sauce base
Preparation stage two
Assembly, presentation and vegetable garnishes
Photos © Alan Donaldson