There is surely no more famous seasonal food date than the ‘Glorious Twelfth’ of August, the first day of the grouse-shooting season.
Red grouse are one of the few truly wild game birds left in this country and they live exclusively on the moors of Scotland, Wales and northern England – together, home to more than three quarters of the world’s remaining heather moorland habitat.
The shooting season for grouse kicks off every year on the twelfth (unless it falls on a Sunday, in which case it’s the following day), after chicks hatched in the spring have reached maturity. Once shot, the first birds of the season are plucked from the moors and rushed to the kitchens of high-end restaurants who race to serve them to diners that same evening.
The season continues until 10 December and, even after the initial rush, prices for the birds usually remain stubbornly high, simply because of the entirely non-intensive way in which they are reared.
Although grouse moors are carefully (and, I should acknowledge, controversially) managed, nature plays a huge part in the success of this iconic species. A late, cold winter or wet spring can quickly kill off young birds, whereas an early warm, dry spell means insects emerge exactly as the chicks hatch, providing plenty of food. So, whilst estates will have a rough idea of how many birds they hold, only when shooting starts will they really know how they have fared over the winter. It makes estimating the supply of birds very difficult and numbers vary considerably from year to year.
Grouse meat is tender, rich and full of flavour, with more than a hint of the heather that the birds grew up in. It’s a true delicacy that’s worthy of the eight-month wait between seasons.
Try: One-grouse starter for four (p. 189)