The British game season begins with a bang on August 12, when the first shots fired on the Glorious Twelfth mark the arrival of red grouse on our plates. Usually, at least: this year, the season it is a decidely inglorious twelfth, with very few birds expected to be shot. Numbers are low this year partly because of this year’s wet spring, a beetle destroying the heather they eat, and an avian parasite.
As such, far fewer London restaurants than usual are this year are expected to serve it. But those that do will relish it. Grouse is the sort of ultra-seasonal, quintessentially British ingredient beloved by many chefs.
“Grouse to me is the best-tasting game bird,” says Mark Kempson, chef of Kitchen W8 in Kensington. “You can tell by the deep and aromatic flavour of the meat that it truly is a free-range bird, foraging on the spoils of North Yorkshire and Scotland ’s purple moors.” The young, first birds of the season are most highly prized for their sweet, succulent meat and delicate, gamey flavour.
The purist approach demands that grouse be served roasted whole, served pink and garnished with game chips, grouse liver pâté, bread sauce and braised red cabbage. Some chefs maintain that the flavour is improved with a couple of days’ ageing, which is partly why none of the restaurants below will be serving grouse on the Glorious Twelfth itself. Don’t wait too long, however: as the season develops, the older birds can become tough and strong-flavoured, which is.