1. The bread sauce, celeriac puree, baby carrots, game chips and blackberry jus will need to be prepared in advance before the cooking of the grouse.
2. To make the bread sauce, bring the milk to the boil with the onion, spices and bay leaves, infuse for 15 minutes, then remove the onion and add the breadcrumbs, whisking and cooking out to a loose consistency that still holds. Season, set aside and keep warm.
3. Roast the celeriac off in foaming butter until it is golden brown and soft. Add the milk, cook and then using a hand blender, puree until smooth.
4. Peel and boil the baby carrots in lightly salted water until cooked, but they should still have some bite.
5. To make the game chips, peel the potato and slice very thinly on a mandolin. Wash the potato slices in cold water, bring to the boil and set to dry.
Deep-fry in the vegetable oil until golden brown, then season with sea salt.
6. For the blackberry jus, roast the shallot and garlic off in a little oil, add the port and reduce by half.
Add the red wine and reduce by half again, then add the stock and reduce to consistency of sauce.
Leave the blackberries to one side.
7. To cook the grouse, preheat the oven to 200°C. Season the grouse inside and out, stuff with thyme and fold two rashers of streaky bacon over the crown of each grouse.
8. Colour the grouse in a roasting tray with the duck fat. Once seared and lightly coloured all over, roast for approximately 17 minutes.
Remove from the oven, take out a baking tray and set aside somewhere warm, lightly covering the grouse in tin foil and resting it for 15 minutes.
Add the reduced sauce to the baking tray and deglaze, simmer and strain, then add the blackberries.
9. Once rested, take the grouse breast and leg off the bone. To serve, warm the celeriac puree and spread it onto the middle of the plate.
Build up the breast, leg and baby carrot, garnish with game chips and watercress, and spoon over the port wine and blackberry jus.
Serve the bread sauce warm on the side in a sauce jug.
• For this recipe and more like it check out www.gleneagles.com
