Grouse

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large shallow metal roasting pan, about 16 by 12 inches (40 by 30 cm)
• •Low roasting rack fitted to the pan
• •Instant-read digital thermometer
• •Kitchen twine and clean kitchen tweezers
• •12-inch (30 cm) skillet
• •Fine-mesh strainer and 1-quart (1 litre) saucepan

Instructions

1. 1

   Inspect the birds

   Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C) conventional or 410°F (210°C) fan, with a rack in the upper middle. Take the grouse from the cold twenty minutes before roasting. Remove any stray feathers with tweezers and inspect the shot channels carefully for visible pellets or bone fragments; never rinse the birds, which only spreads raw juices around the sink. Fresh grouse smells clean, mineral, and faintly wild. If a bird smells sour or ammoniacal, don't cook it.

2. 2

   Truss and bard

   Pat every bird thoroughly dry, including the cavities. Rub them inside and out with 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the softened butter, then season evenly with the salt and pepper. Tuck the wing tips underneath, draw the legs together, and tie each bird compactly with kitchen twine. Cover each breast with two bacon slices. This is bardage, protecting lean meat with a layer of fat, and it stays: wet skin will not brown, while an uncovered grouse breast can dry before the legs are properly hot.

   Keep the trussing firm but not strangling. A compact bird cooks evenly; twine pulled tight enough to cut the flesh merely leaves marks.
3. 3

   Begin the fond

   Set a large shallow roasting pan across two burners over medium-high heat. Melt 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter and, if the birds came with necks and hearts, brown them until well coloured, about four minutes. Pour in ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) of the stock and scrape up the browned glaze. Fit a low roasting rack into the pan and arrange the birds with space between them. The liquid underneath protects the first fond from scorching while the drippings join it.

4. 4

   Roast with attention

   Roast the barded grouse for 12 minutes. Lift off the bacon, lay it beside the birds to crisp, and baste each breast with the fat in the pan. Return the pan to the oven for 5 to 10 minutes, beginning temperature checks after five. Probe the coldest part of each breast and inner thigh without touching bone. For home service, every bird should reach 158°F (70°C) and remain there for two minutes; take birds for pregnant, elderly, immunocompromised, or otherwise vulnerable guests to 165°F (74°C). If the pan liquid threatens to scorch, add a small splash from the remaining stock at once. A black fond cannot make a good jus.

   If the meat reaches temperature while the skin remains pale, don't keep roasting. Remove the rack, place the birds about 6 inches (15 cm) beneath the broiler for 30 to 60 seconds, and watch without turning away. The home broiler is the honest equivalent of the salamander, and the colour will arrive quickly. Ça se rattrape.
5. 5

   Toast the croûtes

   While the birds roast, melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) butter in a broad skillet over medium heat. Fry the bread until deep gold on both sides, about two minutes per side, adding a little of the butter already in the pan if a dry patch appears. Set the croûtes on a warm platter. They should remain crisp at the edges so they can catch the grouse juices without collapsing into paste.

6. 6

   Rest the grouse

   Transfer each grouse to its croûte and rest for 10 minutes in a warm place, uncovered so the skin stays crisp. Remove the twine. Keep the crisp bacon beside the birds rather than draping it back over the skin. Pour every resting juice into the roasting pan; those few spoonfuls belong to the sauce.

7. 7

   Reduce the jus

   Remove the rack, necks, and hearts, then spoon off all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the roasting pan. Set the pan over medium heat, add the shallot, and cook for one minute without browning. Pour in the red wine and scrape until every dark patch of fond has dissolved. Reduce the wine by about two-thirds, add the remaining stock and the resting juices, then boil steadily until roughly ¾ cup (180 ml) remains and the flavour is concentrated but not salty. Strain into a small saucepan. Off the heat, monter au beurre, finish with cold butter, by whisking in the final 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) a piece at a time. If the jus separates, put 1 tablespoon (15 ml) cold stock in a clean bowl and whisk in the broken jus gradually. Ça se rattrape.

8. 8

   Serve without delay

   Arrange the watercress loosely around the croûtes and set the crisp bacon alongside each bird. Spoon the glossy jus around the bread, not over the bronzed skin, and bring the platter straight to the table. Remind guests that even a carefully inspected wild bird may conceal a small pellet. Grouse waits for no one. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Freshness decides this dish before technique gets a vote. Buy oven-ready grouse from a game dealer who can tell you when and how the birds were handled, then cook them within a day. Don't begin home-aging a bird intended for this recipe.
• •Ask whether non-lead ammunition was used. Inspect every shot channel even when the birds were dressed professionally, remove damaged tissue around it, and warn guests that a stray pellet can remain.
• •Grouse is truly seasonal. If fresh birds aren't available, roast young partridge by the same principle and adjust the cooking time to its size; it is the honest cousin, though its flesh is milder.
• •If the roasted birds later become a salmis, discard the skins and legs exactly as the classical entry directs. Their bitterness grows harsh in the reheated sauce; use the breast meat alone.
• •Pour a mature red Burgundy or an earthy Pinot Noir with the grouse. The wine should meet the bird's woodland depth without drowning its delicate bitterness.

Advance Preparation

• •The birds may be inspected, dried, trussed, and barded up to four hours ahead. Refrigerate them uncovered, then take them out twenty minutes before roasting.
• •Trim the croûtes, mince the shallot, and measure the wine and stock earlier in the day. Keep the stock cold until needed.
• •Roast the grouse only when the table is nearly ready. The birds can rest for ten minutes while the jus is reduced, but they should never be roasted and reheated.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 370g)