Shaun Rankin, chef patron of Grantley Hall in the Yorkshire Dales, shares a truly special grouse recipe, with these birds having just come into season.
Shaun’s restaurant at Grantley Hall only opened last year, but was forced to close its doors in March due to coronavirus. Thankfully, it reopened at the start of this month, continuing its mission to showcase locally grown and sourced ingredients. Many of the herbs and vegetables are grown in the hotel’s own kitchen garden, while huge effort is made to source everything else from within a 30-mile radius wherever possible, and from sustainable partners and farmers.
This recipe, we’ll warn you right now, is a bit of a long one. But creating a dish worthy of a Michelin star-winning chef takes effort. So while we wouldn’t recommend what follows for a quick weekday dinner, it’s the sort of show-stopping main course which will really cause a bit of a stir at a socially-distanced dinner party. Enjoy.
Ingredients
For the grouse
- 2 Grouse – offal, wishbone, legs and head removed
- 1 litre chicken stock
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- Fresh thyme
For the celeriac puree
- 450g celeriac, thinly sliced
- 150g butter
- 300ml water
- 300ml milk
For the BBQ’d celeriac
- 1 whole small celeriac
For the pearl barley
- 200ml pearl barley
- 500ml chicken stock
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- Fresh thyme
For the pickled blackcurrants
- 100ml red wine vinegar
- 150ml cassis
- 100g blackcurrants
For the grouse sauce
- Grouse bones
- 1 litre chicken stock
- 200ml white wine
- 100ml brandy
- 1 carrot
- 1 leek
- 2 shallots
- 2 bay leaves,
- Fresh thyme
- 1 tsp juniper
- 1 tsp peppercorns
- 1 star anise
Method
For the grouse
- Preheat the oven at 180 degrees.
- Poach the whole grouse in seasoned chicken stock with the thyme, garlic and bay leaf for 3 minutes.
- Remove the grouse and roast in the oven for a further 6 minutes, then rest.
For the celeriac puree
- Put all of the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
- Reduce to a simmer and cook until the celeriac is soft.
- Remove from the pan and blitz in a food processor until a puree consistency.
For the BBQ’d celeriac
- Wash the celeriac and pat dry.
- Rub with olive oil and sea salt before wrapping in tin foil.
- Place on the BBQ, alternatively you can roast the celeriac in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 2 hours.
- Once roasted, remove from the tin foil and cut away the skin before cutting into wedges to serve.
For the pearl barley
- Put the pearl barley, chicken stock, garlic, thyme and bay leaf in a saucepan and bring to the boil before reducing to a simmer and covering with a lid.
- Check after 20 minutes to see if it’s cooked through, add more stock or water if required.
For the pickled blackcurrants
- Place the blackcurrants in the red wine vinegar and cassis and leave for a minimum of 3 hours.
- Drain from the liquid to serve.
For the grouse sauce
- Sweat down the mirepoix (carrot, leek, shallots, bay leaves, thyme, juniper, peppercorns and star anise).
- Meanwhile roast the grouse bones in butter until golden brown.
- Place the roasted bones into the pan with the mirepoix and mix well.
- Place the pan back on the heat and add the white and brandy.
- Reduce down until all the alcohol has evaporated.
- Add the chicken stock and bring to the boil before reducing to a simmer and then cook out.
For putting it all together
- Follow the picture at the top of the page — and good luck!
