With that in mind, here's how Simon Hopkinson cooks his roast grouse – and don't forget the game crumble and bread sauce either.
Roast grouse recipe: Serves 2
Ingredients
2 oven-ready grouse, together with their livers and hearts, if possible 2 wooden cocktail sticks About 75g butter, softened to room temperature Salt and pepper 2 thick slices of white bread cut from an oval, country loaf, say Watercress
Method
Firstly, tether the bird's legs by skewering a wooden toothpick through the thinnest part of each leg while holding them tightly together, then plunge the point deeply into one thigh; this neat trick saves all that trussing palaver-and is equally applicable to all small game birds during their subjection to high heat and sizzling fat.
Pre-heat the oven to 220˚C/gas mark 7. Smear a little of the given butter onto the base of a solid, preferably cast-iron, deep-sided frying pan or similar style stove-top dish that will also survive the heat from a hot oven. Lay the two grouse on the butter, season them and then rub the soft butter all over the breasts and legs of the grouse.
Slide the birds onto the top shelf of the oven and roast for 7 minutes. Remove, baste generously with the, by now, frothing butter, and return to the oven. Roast for another 7 minutes more, baste again and add the livers and hearts (if you have them) to the butter surrounding the birds. Finally, roast for a further 5 minutes and remove from the oven.
To check that they're done, use the thumb and forefinger and tweak the grouse breasts; they should have the bouncy spring of a shelled, hard-boiled egg and will result in perfectly pink flesh, once rested. Now, transfer the grouse to a plate, loosely cover with foil and keep warm.
Remove the hearts and livers from the roasting butter to a small bowl, mash together with a fork and spread onto the bread slices. Return these to the butter in the pan, mashed liver/heart side uppermost, and return to the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the underside of the bread has become golden-brown and crisp.
Remove to a plate lined with a double sheet of kitchen paper (to absorb excess fat) and keep warm with the grouse. Do not discard the roasting pan/dish.
In this state, the grouse are ready to be served. I used to think that some sort of gravy or some such was necessary, but now deem this to not be so. Correctly roasted and rested, the birds will exude their own juices onto the plate as you eat them.
The only other savoury accompaniments needed – and, for me, essential – are copious amounts of bread sauce and game crumbs. Some sprigs of well-washed watercress are the only other garnish one needs.
Recipe: Simon Hopkinson’s game crumble and bread sauce
The perfect accompaniment to roast grouse
Credit: Simon Hopkinson / Country Life
Simon Hopkinson's lamb cutlet recipe: Good enough for a Last Meal
Simon Hopkinson says that lamb cutlets would be his last meal. And here's how he'd like them cooked, thank you
The 10 best restaurants in Scotland
Country Life's choice of the very best restaurants and places to eat tin Scotland.
-
Name that hat! Country Life Quiz of the DayTuesday's quiz has a wartime property for sale, plus popes, linoleum and more.
-
Everything you need to know about the stealth red carpet tease and Breitling’s new Top Time B31 watch — as seen on Austin Butler’s wristIn the space of a month, Breitling has signed Austin Butler as a brand ambassador, launched a new collection and snapped up a dormant brand.
-
'For here is pure noodle nirvana': How to make Tom Parker Bowles's favourite Thai soupThe best bit about south-eat Asian-inspired soups is the fact that you can make them entirely your own, from mellow and comforting to blow-your-head-off hot.
-
Gill Meller's recipe for wild garlic pestoThe appearance of wild garlic is a sure sign that spring is on the way. Make the most of it with this quick and easy recipe for 'intense' pesto.
-
Sarson's malt vinegar is the best British condiment to pair with chips — and we won't hear otherwiseVibrant, tangy and laced with a depth of flavour, Sarson’s malt vinegar is hard to beat — even in its 230th year.
-
'We can grow in four acres what would require 800 to 1,000 acres in conventional farming'Vertical as opposed to horizontal cultivation of fruits and vegetables could be the future of food production — and the answer to Britain's food security problem. Jane Wheatley reports.
-
Kendal Mint Cake: The happy accident that fuelled the first ascent of EverestWhat started out as a happy accident, went on to become the world’s best-travelled confectionery.
-
How to make an ethereal-sounding seafood, spinach and asparagus puff-pastry cloudOur Kitchen Garden Cook's recipe for a stuffed puff-pastry cloud is easier to make than it is to say.
-
How to make a bay and vanilla crème brûlée custard tartElevate your everyday vanilla crème brûlée by infusing it with delicate bay.
-
'Mary Berry has an aversion to a soggy cake bottom and I have one to a flaccid croissant': London's best baked goods by the people in the knowFrom high-end to humble, Swedish cinnamon bun to Greggs steak bake, London is an undisputed pantheon to the pastry. Illustrations by Bryony Fripp.
