News

Moorland Association Reveals Favourite Recipes

12th July 2006

GLORIOUS GROUSE FOR 12TH AUGUST - A TRULY WILD HARVEST
Moorland Association Reveals Favourite Recipes
Kindly sponsored by Mike Thomson and his firm:


The Moorland Association represents the owners of England's grouse moors - some 750,000 acres of rare and iconic heather landscapes - which look their most stunning at this time of year. The red grouse - the pinnacle of local, seasonal produce - is a completely wild bird and only found in Britain, where its habitat is managed by gamekeepers.

It is a gourmet's delight, featuring seasonally on the menus of many top restaurants, who annually vie to be the first to bring this unique bird to the table in August. However, red grouse are only shot if there are enough on the moors to ensure a viable future population and in a poor breeding year for grouse like last year, grouse moor owners are investing a great deal for little return.

The 150 year-old tradition of shooting grouse is internationally recognised as one of the world's most challenging countryside sports and people come to the moors of England from far and wide, injecting vital income into some of our most remote rural areas in the process. This income also helps fund the management of grouse moors, with gamekeepers keeping predators under control and carrying out rotational burning of the heather, in the process conserving the landscape and providing a last safe haven for many threatened bird species.

To celebrate the start of this year's grouse shooting season, Moorland Association members and their wives have opened their private recipe books to share some of their most favourite - and well tested - grouse recipes. From the Duchess of Devonshire's grouse with rice and horseradish cream sauce to Sir Anthony Milbank's special roast grouse and Lynn Bostock's paté to ways to deal with older birds and the Cannon's favourite accompaniments and Pip Vallance's useful tips - those in the know are keen to demystify the preparation and enjoyment of one of England's most delicious game birds.

RED GROUSE - THE FACTS

· With striking russet red plumage, the Red Grouse is smaller than its rare cousin, the Black Grouse

· The grouse shooting season starts on 12th August and continues until 10th December

· The Red Grouse is a completely wild bird and is only found in Britain

· Grouse shooting only takes place if there are enough birds on the moors to ensure a viable future population

· The rare heather habitat is managed by gamekeepers, who keep predators under control and manage the heather habitat by carrying out rotational burning

· Much of the Northern England's heather uplands are managed for grouse shooting and it is this management that also helps to protect a huge range of rare, ground-nesting birds


Prospects for this year's grouse shooting season will be available from 1st August. Recipes attached.
All recipes are © Moorland Association. Recipe images are © Moorland Association/Oliver Stothert and kindly sponsored by Arnold.Thomson - Lawyers for the Countryside.




Grouse Recipes
Special Roast Grouse by Sir Anthony Milbank Bart

Anthony has the beautiful Barningham moor in Upper Teesdale and, as well as being an ex-Chairman of the Moorland Association and RSPB Council member, he has restored many acres of his estate, creating new wetland areas for wading species.

1 dressed grouse
135 ml double cream
1 tablespoon Brandy
4 strips streaky bacon

Roast the grouse covered in bacon in a hot oven for 15 minutes. Remove bacon and roast for a further 5 minutes.
Cut them in half and trim out the bony back.
Set aside
Pour 135ml double cream per grouse into the roasting dish, mix with contents and bring to the boil.
Add the tablespoon of brandy and heat up again.
Pour contents over the set aside grouse.

(This recipe is for one grouse, which will feed one or two people, depending on how hungry they are - multiply up for larger numbers). Anthony, a keen cook, also sells young, oven-ready grouse in boxes of 10 delivered direct to your home. Email Milbank@teesdaleonline.co.uk, fax 01833 621202 or telephone 01833 621202. Deliveries are from Tuesdays to Thursdays from mid August to November depending on availability which cannot be guaranteed.

Lynn Bostock's Dallowgill Grouse Paté

Lynn is the wife of the Moorland Association's Chairman Simon Bostock and is deeply involved in organising the shooting days, on which their Yorkshire Estate relies for income.

1 brace grouse (for 1lb paté)
6oz pig's liver
4oz pig's fat
1 onion
1 cooking apple
whisky
salt & pepper
butter (approx 2 - 3 oz) Pre heat oven to gas mark 1, 275°F, 140°C

Remove the grouse breasts and add to other ingredients
Mince all the ingredients and then add 1 cup of water.
Place in an ovenproof dish. Place dish in a roasting pan filled with about one inch of boiling water.
Cook for approximately one hour until firm to touch.
Beat with sufficient melted butter to give a good consistency.
Add whisky and seasoning to taste.
Liquidise for a smooth paté.
Put prepared paté in the fridge to set until required.
Serve with melba toast.


Kate Kilgour's Excellent Recipe for Old Grouse

Young grouse have flexible beaks and claws - you'll know if you have an old one if these are hard and unyielding and if nails are missing from the claws. Kate says: "We can stomp around our moor all day in search of our quarry and are very happy to come back with a couple of brace per head and a rosy glow. My granny came from Cotherstone and this recipe was a regular on her table. She didn't believe in measuring anything and often substituted items for what was in the larder!

Brace of grouse trussed
3-4 oz butter
1 onion
4oz chestnut mushrooms
1- 2 stick of celery - diced
2 carrots or half a small turnip diced
2 - 3 tablespoons of whisky
10floz of chicken stock
1 tablespoon of redcurrant or rowan jelly

Put oven on at gas mark 4 or 180 °C
Heat the butter and brown grouse all over
Remove from pan and set aside
Add chopped and diced veg to remaining butter and cook until softened but not browned
Return grouse to pan and add whisky
Flame the spirit and when the flames have disappeared add the chicken stock
Bring up to heat and simmer for about 1 and quarter hours
When cooked remove grouse and using knife/shears cut each bird in half and set aside but keep hot
Strain the liquid into a saucepan and boil - as it thickens add rowan jelly and let it dissolve and then spoon over grouse and strained vegetables


The Duchess of Devonshire's Grouse with Rice & Horseradish Cream Sauce

The moors of Barden Fell and Bolton Abbey have long been a pleasure to visit, with beautifully managed moorland and Estate shops selling local produce.

3 grouse
1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 stick of celer, 1 bay leaf
Chicken stock
6 rashers of streaky bacon
Butter
6 to 8 shallots
Spring onions
Horseradish cream
Basmati rice and a handful of wild rice






The Duchess of Devonshire's Grouse with Rice & Horseradish Cream Sauce (contd)

Fillet the two breasts of each grouse and put to one side.
Sauté 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 stick of celery (chopped fine) and a bay leaf. When tinted at the edges add the carcasses and enough water to cover the birds. Homemade chicken stock would be preferable but a good chicken stock cube will do equally well.
Bring to the boil and simmer for about an hour, then sieve and return the liquid to the pan and boil rapidly until reduced by half. Put aside.
Wrap 2 rashers of streaky bacon around each fillet and sear in butter until brown both sides.
Take 6 to 8 shallots. Slice, and then brown in some butter in a deepish frying pan. When cooked add some stock, and carry on cooking until reduced slightly. Add the grouse breasts and keep turning in the liquid for approximately 4 minutes.
When cooked, take the breasts out and keep warm.
Add horseradish cream to your taste, and more stock as needed. Boil to slightly thicken it, pour over the grouse breasts and serve with the rices.


Grouse Wemmergill

Michael and Sally Cannon are both keen shots and recently purchased one of England's most famous grouse moors - Wemmergill in County Durham and, as with their other moor, have ambitious and far-reaching plans to regenerate large areas of heather moorland and ensure a sustainable future for the local community.

2 young grouse
4 oz black pudding
16 very thin rashers of organic, streaky dry cured bacon
Wooden cocktail sticks
A little flour
A paste made out of 4 tbs ricotta cheese and a good squeeze of tomato paste
A good handful of basil leaves
2 rashers chopped smoked bacon
Glass of red wine


Bone and skin the breasts and cut off legs and put aside
Simmer the carcass for stock (approx 2 hrs). Remove carcass and add smoked chopped bacon, chopped black pudding and a glass of red wine and thicken slightly to make a sauce for the following:

Put a spoon full of the paste mix on the underside of each breast
Wrap the four breasts with the rashers of dry cured bacon, ensuring that the breast is completely covered and use the cocktail sticks to secure
Seal in a frying pan (underside of breasts first) for 4-6 minutes per side, depending on how rare you like your game
Lightly flour the legs, season and fry for 2-4 minutes each side (depending on how rare you like your game)





Michael and Sally's Accompaniments to Grouse

Says Sally: "The Wemmergill Sauce is my absolute favourite because, in the wild, these berries can be found on the moor where the grouse live. If you like redcurrant jelly, this is ten times better!'

Wemmergill Sauce - Mix 75g of dried blueberries and 35g dried cranberries, put into a saucepan with a dessert spoon of brown sugar and two glasses of red wine. Bring to the boil and simmer until it is reduced by half. Stir in half a sachet of gelatine and leave to cool. Serve with your grouse.

Soufflé Baked Potatoes - Cook in the morning whole jacket potatoes, scoop out and set the skins aside. Mash the potato in the usual way, but adding some sour cream, grated cheddar cheese, salt and pepper to taste and some chopped chives or spring onions. Fold the mixture back into the skins. To reheat for dinner, pop them into a hot oven for 20 minutes. You will find the potato very light and different. (You could use a ramekin, if you want to be posh!). Fine thin green beans go well with this.

Roasted Butternut Squash - Cut off the skin, remove the seeds and cut into 1.5 - 2 inch chunks. Roll in hot oil, season lightly with coarsely ground black pepper and bake in a hot oven for 30 minutes.

Roasted Beetroot Segments - Cook the beetroot in water for half an hour and when cool remove the skins. Cut into large, orange-style segments. Roll in oil, lightly season and bake for 30 minutes in a hot oven.

.. And don't forget to serve a knock-out bread sauce!

And Finally - Bits on the Side

Pip Vallance is the wife of Martin Vallance, owner of Arkleside Moor, which he is currently regenerating with heather re-seeding and improved grazing management. The Vallances recently won a major conservation award for this work. Pip likes her grouse very young and straight off the moor to the pan - hanging them imparts a 'gamey' flavour to the meat which some connoisseurs adore, but others dislike.

Pip's Tips:

'If your grouse is a bit 'high' because you have left it for too long, and you want to take away the strong flavour, give the carcass a wash in Milton fluid (diluted in water as per the instructions on the bottle). It will remove the strong flavour altogether.'

'Grouse can be a little dry, so I cook mine in the bottom right hand oven of a four oven aga with a knob of butter and a piece of apple inside and lots of streaky bacon around it. I also put about half an inch of water in the bottom of the roasting pan and cover it with greaseproof paper and a lid - I cook it for between 45 minutes and an hour - longer than you would normally roast it uncovered at high heat. This 'semi-steaming' helps keep moisture in the bird.'