- Location
- North Yorkshire
Well, in Northern England generally speaking, there is an abundance of birds on some moors, and very few on others. The reasons primarily appear to flow from the self-restraint of this season's successful moors, which stopped shooting in one or both of the weird 2020 and 2021 seasons, when heather beetle widely devastated some estates. But some of the best moors on the West Pennines and in County Durham are still suffering terribly from the beetle, and will shoot very few days or none at all this season. At the other end of the spectrum, parts of the North York Moors, Northumberland, and the East Pennines, are perhaps the brightest spots. Overall, there won't be a shortage this year, and the more fortunate estates will be sending plump young grouse to the game dealers well into November.
Culinarily, IMHO it is hard to beat a spatchcocked young bird cooked on the barbecue. Although we country bumpkins perhaps lack the skills of those fine London chefs. But that is not to decry the delightful dishes which they create from our most loved and exciting bird. Nothing matches the thrill of trying to shoot a mature grouse sliding wildly on the wing in a gale in October or November.
Culinarily, IMHO it is hard to beat a spatchcocked young bird cooked on the barbecue. Although we country bumpkins perhaps lack the skills of those fine London chefs. But that is not to decry the delightful dishes which they create from our most loved and exciting bird. Nothing matches the thrill of trying to shoot a mature grouse sliding wildly on the wing in a gale in October or November.