The Game Act of 1831 defines game to include pheasants and partridges along with red and black grouse. Its prime legislative purpose was to create a closed season when the shooting of these birds was prohibited to ensure their population levels didn’t fall to extinction levels. The following closed season rules are taken from it:
- Game shooting must never take place on a Sunday or Christmas Day
- Red grouse hunting is prohibited from 10th December to 12th August the following year
- Shooting of black grouse in all areas except Somerset, Devon and the New Forest is prohibited between 10th December and 20th August the following year
- Shooting of black grouse in Somerset, Devon and the New Forest is prohibited between 10th December and 1st September the following year
- Pheasant cannot be shot between 1st February and 1st October in a year
The Glorious Twelfth and the Great Grouse Race
As can be seen from the above list, the first game bird to come out of the closed season is the red grouse. It is this date that has given rise to the phrase “the glorious twelfth” and which has traditionally created a stampede of Hooray Henrys and the like along with their ghillies (assistants used to flush out game), dogs and guns up to shooting parties on the Scottish moors.
It has also led to the Great Grouse Race where top London restaurants vie to be the first to serve the new season’s grouse at lunch. In 1980, a pub in Surrey won the race with the help of helicopters, fast cars and members of the Red Devils parachute team. In 1997, grouse were shot and immediately flown to New York on Concorde so they could be served up for dinner the same day.
Grouse Recipes
Two recipes are offered here. The first is suitable for birds that were shot early in the season and the second is better suited for older birds:
Traditional Roast Grouse
Ingredients (per person):
- 1 grouse
- Knob of butter
- Salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper
- 2 rashers bacon (streaky or lean)
Method:
- Pop a knob of button in the cavity and season well with salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper.
- Wrap the bird up in the bacon.
- Pop in the oven at gas mark 7/220 C for five minutes
- Reduce the heat to gas mark 4 or 180 C for a further thirty minutes or so until the juices run clear.
Cock a Leekie Soup
Ingredients:
- 1 grouse (or chicken, or any other fowl)
- Salt and pepper
- Knob of butter
- 4 or 5 leeks
- Sprig of thyme
- Sprig of parsley
- Handful of rice
Method:
- Joint the grouse and season well with salt and pepper
- Brown all over in the butter
- Add the finely chopped and washed leeks and cook for a few more minutes
- Pour in 5 pints of water and add the thyme and parsley
- Bring to the boil then simmer for a couple of hours.
- Remove the herbs and meat joints
- Strip the meat from the bones, chop and return to the pot with the handful of rice.
- Simmer for another hour.
Sources:
- Times Digital Archive
- New York Times Digital Archive
 |
