][1]Tuesday was the 12th of August, also known as the Glorious Twelfth or the day that the game season kicked off.
The 5pm Dining blog was chuffed to have been invited to Number One at The Balmoral in Edinburgh to see how the restaurant prepared the first grouse of the season.
Head Chef Brian Grigor had just been down to the Borders to collect some of the season’s first grouse from his gamekeeper father.
Having returned to the kitchens of the Michelin-starred restaurant, he was going to demonstrate how he prepares the birds for that night’s menu.
Thanks to his Dad’s job, Brian grew up surrounded by game. He reckons that his family probably ate more pheasant than chicken.
British Game Chef of the Year
Given such a background, it might not be a surprise to learn that Brian was the inaugural winner of the British Game Chef of the Year competition and that he knows a lot about the best way to eat various game birds.
The grouse he had collected from the Borders had been shot that morning and were still warm when we saw them.
Brian explained that they were less than one year old. More mature than that and they taste too gamey for most people as well as being rather tough to eat.
Apparently, you can tell if they are young enough to eat by how soft their skulls are. The harder the skull, the older the bird.
][4]Wild food
Completely wild, grouse can’t be reared in the way that pheasants often are. They live off a diet of heather, wild berries, grass and small insects which all affect the flavour of the meat.
This year, like the previous two years, gamekeepers expect there to be lots of grouse. Mild winters and good summers mean that more birds survive the winter and there is plenty of food for those that do.
The grouse season is open until the 10th of December but most of the birds will be shot over the next six to eight weeks. Partridge and pheasants come into season as the grouse season runs down.
Obviously demand for grouse is highest at the very start of the season. According to Brian, suppliers were charging around £10 a bird on Tuesday but he expected the price to halve by tomorrow.
Taste of Scotland
‘We have lots of customers who book in to Number One to eat grouse on the 12th of August,’ he explained. ‘It is a real taste of Scotland and people look forward to the start of the season.
‘It is the same as the anticipation for the start of the Scottish asparagus season or wild salmon or Scottish strawberries. They are not available all year round and people want to eat them when they are at their best – when they are in season.’
At Number One, they are serving their Scottish grouse with salt baked celeriac; a truffle bramble sauce and bread sauce espuma.
As you might expect, it tastes fantastic. The grouse was tender with a mild gamey, almost smoky tang. Paired with the fruity brambles and a lush bread sauce, it underlined just how good Scottish food can be.
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