Ingredients

• 4 young grouse
• 4 slices of pancetta or streaky bacon
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 12 juniper berries
• 4 cloves garlic
• 100g butter
• Maldon salt and freshly ground pepper

• 4 slices of thick white bread cut into rounds large enough to place the Grouse on
• 200g Duck liver or Game pate
• 50g butter

• 1 bunch of watercress

• 600g potato
• oil for deep frying
• Maldon salt

• 500ml game stock
• 100ml port
• 1 tbsp. redcurrant jelly

Method

1. Grouse: Season the grouse with salt and pepper. Place the rosemary, thyme and garlic in the cavity of the bird and truss it. Place on slice of pancetta or bacon over the breast of the grouse and secure it with string. Place some butter in a large oven proof frying pan over a moderately high heat. When the butter is melted and hot seal the grouse on all sides. Place the grouse in an oven heated to 220C and cook for 20-30minutes depending on size, basting them regularly. When cooked remove from the oven and pan, cover them with foil and allow the grouse to rest for 5 minutes before serving.
2. Game Chips: Peel the potatoes and slice them wafer thin with a mandolin, Japanese vegetable slicer *, or by hand. Place them in a bowl of water for 20 minutes (this is to remove the starch). Heat the oil in a deep fryer or wok to 190° C. Dry the potato slices thoroughly and fry them in the oil in batches for a couple of minutes each so that they are crisp and golden. Drain them on paper toweling and sprinkle a little salt over them. Keep warm until ready to serve. This can be done 30 minutes in advance.
3. Game Sauce: Place the game stock and port in a saucepan and bring to a strong simmer and leave until reduces down to a sticky sauce. Stir in the redcurrant jelly and keep warm until ready to serve.
4. Croutons: In the frying pan that the grouse were cooked add a little butter and over a moderate temperature fry the slices of bread for a minute on each side so that they are golden and crisp. Spread a little of the pate over each slice. Keep warm until ready to serve.
5. To Serve: Place the croutons on each plate. Remove the string from the grouse and place them on the croutons. Drizzle the sauce around the grouse. Place the chips on each plate and a handful of watercress. Serve

• Japanese slices are much cheaper than mandolins (at around £20 instead of £100) and for a domestic kitchen are a much more sensible purchase. You can purchase them from many kitchen equipment and department stores e.g. John Lewis.