Galton Blackiston's Roast Grouse
Galton Blackiston – Morston Hall
View Member ProfileGalton Blackiston’s Roast Grouse with Bread Sauce, Game Gravy & Potato Game Chips
Galton Blackiston has held a Michelin star for the past 18 years.
Morston Hall is a privately owned intimate country house hotel on the beautiful north Norfolk coastline. Dating back to the 17th century, the house has been transformed by owners Galton and Tracy Blackiston over the past 26 years. The Hall has 13 individually designed bedrooms, beautiful gardens and a Michelin-starred restaurant with a daily changing tasting menu. With miles of north Norfolk coastline to explore just a minute’s walk from the hotel, Morston Hall is a tranquil retreat from the hustle and bustle.
Galton is celebrating the start of the game season with his stunning roast grouse dish.
Ingredients
Allow one plucked grouse per person as a main course or one grouse for two people as a first course
- Rapeseed oil
- A good knob of butter
For the gravy
- 1 small shallot, peeled and finely chopped
- 150g button mushrooms, sliced
- A couple of good sprigs of thyme
- 2 good tablespoons each of Madeira, red port, and red wine
- 550ml game or dark chicken stock
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Game chips
- Vegetable Oil for frying
- 3 large baking potatoes
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bread Sauce
- 450ml milk
- 75g butter
- 12 cloves
- 1 bay leaf, crumbled
- 1 sprig thyme
- 1 small onion
- 3 tbsp double cream
- 110g fresh white breadcrumbs
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/Gas 4
Remove the legs from the grouse and reserve for either making stock or to confit.
Heat a frying pan till hot, add a good splash of rapeseed oil and a good knob of butter and seal off the grouse crowns turning to colour well all over. Transfer to a trivet in a roasting tin and place in the pre-heated oven to roast for 6 minutes.
Remove the crowns from the oven, cut the breasts from the crown and set aside somewhere warm to rest.
To make the gravy; chop the roasted grouse bones and set aside.
Heat a saucepan over a medium heat, add a good splash of rapeseed oil followed by the chopped shallot, button mushrooms and thyme, sauté till the shallot is softened and lightly coloured. Next add the chopped bones and the Madeira, Port and red wine. Stir well to deglaze the pan. Add the dark chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer to reduce.
Pre-heat the grill to high
When the gravy is reduced to the desired consistency and flavour, pass through a sieve into another saucepan, check the seasoning and keep warm.
Flash the grouse breasts under the hot grill and serve immediately with the cabbage, bread sauce, game chips and hot gravy.
Game Chips
Heat the vegetable oil in a deep sided heavy-bottomed saucepan.
Peel the potatoes and slice very thinly using a mandolin.
When the oil is hot enough that a small cube of bread sizzles and turns golden when dropped in drop in the potato slices and deep fry for 1 – 2 minutes or until golden brown (you may need to do this in batches as it is important not to overcrowd the pan and if so bring the oil back up to temperature between each batch)
Remove the game chips from the oil using a slotted spoon, set aside to drain on kitchen paper
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper
Bread Sauce
Begin the bread sauce in advance. Heat to-gether the milk and butter, cloves, herbs and onion to-gethet with some flakes of sea salt. Bring the mixture to simmering point and simmer extremely gently for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and leave to infuse.
While the grouse are cooking, strain the infused milk for the bread sauce into a clean pan. Re-heat gently with the cream and whisk in the breadcrumbs. Allow to thicken and adjust the seasoning, adding plenty of black pepper.
