Traditional roast grouse with bread sauce and pate croutons
Serves 4
For the bread sauce
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
1 Add the milk to a pan and heat.
2 Stud the half onion with cloves and place in the milk pan. Add the bay leaves, nutmeg and black peppercorns. Bring to the boil and simmer for a couple of minutes.
3 Turn the heat off and leave for at least 20 minutes for flavours to infuse. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4 Pass through a sieve and discard the onion, bay leaves and whole peppercorns.
5 Add the bread crumbs and simmer over a low heat stirring occasionally. Add a little knob of butter and serve warm.
For the main dish
INGREDIENTS
4 oven-ready grouse
Grouse liver, if available.
Alternatively, use Brussels pate.
A small amount of butter
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
A handful of lardons or diced bacon
4 slices of white bread
2 tbsps red wine
200ml game or chicken stock Salt and pepper to season 4 sage leaves
METHOD
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2 Rub the grouse breasts with butter, season with salt and pepper, then place a knob of butter and a sage leaf into each cavity.
3 Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, basting twice. This will cook the birds to medium. Adjust the time as to how you prefer your meat cooked.
4 While the birds are roasting, melt a little butter in a pan and fry off the diced onions until cooked but not coloured. Add diced liver and cook on a high heat for a couple of minutes.
5 Once cooked, whizz in a food processor to a paste or pate.
6 Next, fry the bread on the hob until it is nicely browned. Cut into diamond shapes to make large croutons and spread with the liver pate.
7 Remove the grouse from the oven and transfer on to a warm plate to rest.
8 Reserve the roasting juices to make a wine gravy. Place a roasting tray, with the juices, over a medium heat and add the red wine to de-glaze the pan. Add bacon lardons for extra flavour.
9 Add the stock and leave it to bubble away for a few minutes. Add a little cornflour to thicken
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