Marmalade Glazed Roast Grouse

For the Grouse

Set the Oven to 170°C (Fan)/ 190°C.

Prepare the grouse for cooking. First cut through between the leg and the breasts, this allows you to remove the undercarriage and legs in one, leaving just the crown for cooking. Ask a butcher to do this for you if unsure. Keep the legs for the jus.

Season the grouse inside and out with salt and stuff the cavity with half the thyme sprigs and half the butter.

Add the remaining butter and olive oil into a frying pan and place over a high heat. Once hot add the grouse, breast side down, along with the rest of the thyme and garlic. Once the breast has started to brown (approx.. 2 minutes) turn the grouse over and continue to brown, basting the grouse with the melted butter (for a further 10 minutes). Remove grouse and place in a roasting tray.

Add the marmalade to the frying pan and let that melt into the butter and juices from the grouse. Pour over the top of the birds and place in the oven for 8 – 10 minutes. The cooking time will vary slightly depending on the size of the bird and how pink you like the meat. Grouse should always be served pink.

Baste the birds halfway through the cooking time. Once cooked, remove the grouse from the oven, baste again then leave to rest for at least 10 minutes.

For the Jus

Brown off the legs (which have been removed from the crown) in a small saucepan with the olive oil over a high heat. Once they have started to take on a good colour add the shallot, sprigs of thyme, star anise and garlic cloves. Continue to cook until the onion has started to take on colour and soften.

Add the wine and reduce on simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the beef stock and continue to reduce by over two thirds. The jus will start to thicken.

Sieve the jus through a muslin cloth or fine sieve, into a clean saucepan.

Reduce further until you have the desired consistency and add the butter right at the end. Whisking in to make the sauce incredibly glossy.

TIP: I sometimes add malt extract to the jus to give a more intense savoury flavour.

For the Risotto

Split the leeks in half and chop into fine semi circles. Finely dice the pancetta. Add both to a large pan with the butter, olive oil and the thyme leaves. Leave to cook on a gentle heat for 15 mins until the leeks have softened. Stir occasionally to avoid them catching.

In the meantime warm the chicken stock in a separate pan on a low heat.

When the leeks have softened add the spelt to the pan and stir to coat in all the buttery juices. Add 2 ladles of the warm stock to the spelt and cook on a low heat adding more stock as needed. This doesn’t need continuous stirring like a traditional risotto but does need to be kept an eye on.

Once the pearl barley is cooked, it should be slightly al dente, add a final ladle of stock, the Chaource cheese and chopped parsley. Stir everything through, remove from the heat and leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving.

For the Vegetables

Peel the vegetables and cut into small cubes. 

Parboil the celeriac, butternut squash and carrots for 10 minutes. Strain and leave to steam dry.

Add all of the vegetables to a roasting tray, along with a bulb of garlic, the thyme, and a generous glug of olive oil to ensure all the veg is covered. Season, squeeze over the juice from a lemon, give everything another mix. And pop in the oven for 30 – 40 minutes until everything is cooked and starting to brown in places.

To Serve

Plate up the risotto and the vegetables, carve the grouse breasts off the crown and serve on top of the risotto. Drizzle some of the jus over the grouse and serve the rest separately in a jug. I also like to serve some fresh Hampshire watercress alongside.