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Grouse sausage rolls with wild mushrooms and chestnuts
Tom Kitchin folds wild mushrooms, Parma ham and chestnuts through a grouse and sausage meat filling to make eight generous sausage rolls. They are as good cold from a game bag as they are hot out of the oven
Grouse is at its best plainly roasted, but a good season fills the freezer faster than the appetite empties it, and this is one of the better answers to the question of what to do with the rest. Tom Kitchin takes 200g of grouse breast, mixes it with good sausage meat, and lifts the whole thing with wild mushrooms, Parma ham, chestnuts and quince.
“I don’t know anyone who doesn’t enjoy a sausage roll, but this is really a great and easy way to make it even better by adding grouse to the filling,” writes Kitchin. “I’ve noticed this is also a really popular dish with the kids. It’s really important you buy good-quality sausage meat to mix with the grouse. These are great with the red cabbage salad.”
Ingredients
- 200g grouse breasts, skinned and finely chopped
- 200g sausage meat
- Vegetable oil
- 30g wild mushrooms, such as girolles, ceps or oysters, trimmed and wiped
- 50g Parma ham, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped cooked chestnuts
- 1 tablespoon peeled and finely diced quince
- 1 teaspoon thyme leaves
- 400g puff pastry, thawed if frozen
- Plain flour for dusting and rolling
- 1 free-range egg yolk, beaten
- Watercress sprigs, to serve (optional)
- 1 green apple, to serve (optional)
- Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
How to make grouse sausage rolls – step by step
- Step 1. Mix the grouse meat and sausage meat together in a bowl, then set aside.
- Step 2. Heat a well-seasoned sauté or frying pan over a medium-high heat, then add a splash of oil. When it is hot, add the mushrooms with a pinch of salt and sauté until they are tender and have absorbed the liquid they give off. Tip them out of the pan and finely chop. When they are cool, add them to the bowl with the grouse meat.
- Step 3. Heat a little more oil in the same pan over a high heat. Add the Parma ham and sauté for one minute. Add the shallots, chestnuts, quince and thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Sauté everything together, then set aside to cool.
- Step 4. Once the ingredients have cooled, add them to the meats and mix well by hand. Fry a small amount in a well-seasoned pan to taste, and adjust the salt and pepper if necessary.
- Step 5. Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 40 x 30cm rectangle, then transfer it to a floured baking sheet that will fit in your fridge. Lightly flour your hands and shape the sausage meat mixture into a long, even roll, then place it along one long side of the pastry, about 1cm from the edge. Brush the edges with egg, then gently lift the remaining pastry over the sausage roll and press the edges together, using the floured tines of a fork to seal. Transfer to the fridge for at least 20 minutes before baking.
- Step 6. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C/gas mark 7 and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.
- Step 7. Brush the long roll with the egg wash, then cut it into eight equal portions and place them on the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Serve hot or at room temperature.
What to serve with grouse sausage rolls
Kitchin serves these with a watercress and apple salad, and notes that they also go well with pickled red cabbage. Both bring the sharpness a rich, pastry-wrapped filling wants, and both travel as well as the sausage rolls do. The recipe first appeared on Fieldsports Journal.
Tips for the best grouse sausage rolls
The filling is only half grouse, so the sausage meat matters. Kitchin is emphatic that it should be good quality, and a coarse, well-seasoned butcher’s Cumberland or plain pork mix will carry the bird far better than a supermarket economy pack.
Cook the mushrooms properly before they go near the meat. Sautéing them until they have taken back the liquid they give off is what keeps the filling from steaming inside the pastry, and the same goes for letting the ham, shallot, chestnut and quince mixture cool completely before it is mixed in.
Fry off a teaspoon of the finished mixture and taste it before you commit. It is the only way to know whether the salt and pepper are right, and it costs nothing.
These can be made ahead. The rolls can be assembled up to a day before baking, but do not brush the surface with the egg wash until just before they go in the oven.
About the chef: Tom Kitchin
Tom Kitchin is Scotland’s youngest Michelin-starred chef-proprietor, having taken the accolade at just 29. Alongside his wife Michaela, he has established The Kitchin in Leith as one of the finest dining destinations in the country. His culinary philosophy, “from nature to plate”, reflects his Scottish heritage and his passion for the best seasonal produce, much of it sourced daily from Scotland’s natural larder.
His career began at the Gleneagles Hotel before he honed his craft under some of the world’s greatest chefs, including Pierre Koffmann at La Tante Claire in London, Guy Savoy in Paris, and Alain Ducasse at Le Louis XV in Monte Carlo. Those formative years instilled a discipline and a respect for ingredients that continue to define his cooking today.
The restaurant, housed in a converted whisky bonded warehouse, blends modern British cuisine with French technique, offering guests an intimate dining experience with theatre and precision. Beyond the kitchen, Kitchin is a familiar face on programmes such as Saturday Kitchen, Great British Menu and MasterChef, and in 2012 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from Edinburgh Napier University for his contribution to Scottish food culture.
Frequently asked questions
How much grouse do I need for these sausage rolls?
200g of skinned grouse breast, finely chopped, mixed with an equal 200g of sausage meat. That makes one long roll, which is cut into eight portions before baking.
Can I use a different gamebird instead of grouse?
The recipe is Tom Kitchin’s and is written for grouse, whose strong, heathery flavour holds its own against the sausage meat, Parma ham and chestnuts. Pigeon breast is the closest match in the same 200g quantity; a milder bird such as pheasant or partridge will work but gives a gentler result.
Can I make grouse sausage rolls in advance?
Yes. They can be assembled up to a day before baking, but do not brush the surface with the egg wash until just before they go in the oven.
How do I stop the filling making the pastry soggy?
Sauté the mushrooms until they are tender and have absorbed the liquid they give off, and let both the mushrooms and the ham, shallot, chestnut and quince mixture cool completely before mixing them into the meat. Chilling the assembled roll for at least 20 minutes before it goes in the oven also helps the pastry hold.
About the author
Tom Kitchin
An Edinburgh chef and restaurateur, Tom became Scotland's youngest Michelin-starred chef proprietor at 29 when The Kitchin, which he opened with his wife Michaela on Leith's waterfront in June 2006, won its star just six months after opening; it has held it ever since. Born in Edinburgh and educated at Dollar Academy, he studied catering at Perth College before an apprenticeship at Gleneagles and went on to train in some of Europe's leading kitchens, with Pierre Koffmann at La Tante Claire in London, Guy Savoy in Paris and Alain Ducasse at Le Louis XV in Monaco. His cooking pairs fresh Scottish produce with French technique, and his game recipes have appeared in charity collections supporting the Moorland Communities Trust and the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust.
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