Grouse in a box: restaurant quality game dishes in your own home

COVID-19 has changed all of our lives, perhaps forever. Many are wondering why they ever went to the office in the first place, while others are wondering if they’ll ever be able to return. Among the changes that I for one welcome, and hope will be a lasting innovation, is the advent of the ‘Restaurant Kit’.

 

If you’re not familiar with the concept, it works a bit like services like HelloFresh, who deliver you a weekly box of carefully measured out ingredients allowing you to cook fresh meals at home without all the tedious menu planning and supermarket shopping. The principal differences are that in the case of restaurant kits there is no subscription to pay, and the recipes aren’t created by food scientists, but by your favourite restaurants. Necessity is the mother of invention, and these came about when enterprising restaurateurs were seeking to find some - any - source of income during lockdown.

 

But why, I hear you ask, am I writing about these kits? Well, the British Game Alliance have teamed up with restaurant chain and butcher Mac and Wild and the food delivery company Restaurant Kits to create a grouse recipe box. Now, I enjoy cooking, especially with game, but I’m by no means an expert, and, being a bloke, I’m a little allergic to recipes, not liking being told what to do. I was also a little sceptical - is it really possible to create restaurant-quality game dishes in a poky London flat? However, being a selfless, self-sacrificing sort of journalist, I volunteered to give one a try.

Not that it is a great hardship. Specialising in fare from the Highlands and Islands, Mac and Wild is my kind of restaurant. There’s no foams of this or melange of that on the menu, but what there is is plenty of meat - including venison - and a cracking whiskey list. My wife took me to Mac and Wild’s Fitzrovia restaurant a few years ago for my birthday, and I knew I would love it when I spotted that the door pull was fashioned from an old set of shotgun barrels. Side-by-side too.

 

 

My box was delivered on Tuesday afternoon, but it wasn’t until the evening that I would get the chance to open it up and inspect the contents. It just sat on the kitchen counter looking at me while I tried to concentrate on creating the weekly Game Card email and analyse the results of the Game Shooting Census.

 

When I eventually did get around to ‘unboxing’ it revealed a large bunch of spring onions, a pair of bright red sweet red peppers, a small pot of brown goo, a loaf of brioche and two vacuum packed grouse. This might shock you, dear reader, but up until that point I had never actually seen a grouse, in the feather or otherwise, so was quite surprised how small they were. Through the packaging the meat looked rich and dark. Unpackaged and laid out on the table it all looked rather appealing - almost a shame to risk ruining it by my laissez-faire attitude towards recipes and slapdash (some might say slapstick) cooking techniques.

This spoon was not required
 

Whereupon, it was time to feed and put my twins to bed, so I had to delay proceedings for about an hour while I did the parental duties. This done, I donned my apron and Marco Pierre White-style headband (well, you have to get into these spirit of things, don’t you?) and got to work, while my long-suffering wife performed photography duties and looked on with an expression of doubt mixed with quiet amusement.
 

 

The little leaflet that came with the box delivers very clear step-by-step instructions that even a pillock like me can understand. I begin by slicing the peppers lengthways and removing the seeds, then laying them and the spring onions in a roasting tin - the recipe calls for a baking sheet, but I either misread this or read it correctly and then forgot. A drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and then into the oven at 180 degrees with the timer set for 10 minutes.
 

Next I am instructed to cut two thick slices of brioche, butter them on both sides and put them in a frying pan. This also went into the oven, to bake for 5 minutes. When the timer goes off I decide that the peppers aren’t looking quite as well-cooked as the ones shown on the leaflet, so decide to leave them in for a bit longer. I need the frying pan for the next bit, so out this comes.
 

Having oiled and salted the grouse, I sear them in the pan over a high heat - the recipe card says for 20 seconds a side, but my pan may not have been hot enough, so I give them more like 45 seconds a side. This done, I remove them from the pan, return the brioche slices, then place the birds on top. This is already looking smart.

 

Phase two complete
 

The whole lot replaces the pan of peppers in the oven, with the temperature reduced to 80 degrees, where it is to remain for 20 minutes. I wasn’t quite sure about the 80 degrees bit; was it perhaps missing a one at the front? Deciding that they probably knew what they were doing, I resisted the urge to overrule the instructions.

I don't think they do this in professional kitchens
 

While the birds were in the oven I poured myself a beer and set about making the “dirty chicken jus”. This involved the simple process of scraping the brown goo mentioned above into a saucepan with 400ml of water and bringing it to the boil, then simmering it for a few minutes to thicken it up. I’m about halfway down the beer when the timer on the oven pips. Birds out and set aside to rest, peppers and spring onions back in to warm through again.

 

Finally, it's time to “plate up”, as I believe they say in the restaurant trade, and, to my slight surprise, and the absolute shock of my wife, it actually looks… pretty good! I’ve managed not to cock it up, visually at least. But, the proof is in the eating, as they say. “How come the meat is so tender?” my wife asked. It took all my willpower to not look smug. I may have failed. I am unreasonably pleased with myself. I am, I conclude, basically Tim Maddams reincarnate.

More of this sort of thing please! Mac and Wild also do a Venimoo (venison and beef) Burger kit, so that’s next on my list, but I hope to see recipe kits using more game as the season starts: let’s get some pheasant curry and venison ragu kits out there.

 

To order your Mac and Wild Glorious Roast Grouse Kit, visit www.restaurantkits.co.uk