Hotelier, stalker and chef Neil McGown of Scottish countrysports hotel of the year East Haugh House in Perthshire specialises in turning stags into delicious feasts for his guests
A perfect day’s stalking begins as soon as I get up to the woods and the smell of chanterelles is in abundance. It is a good opportunity to pick some for the pot – there is nothing better than sautéed deer liver with chanterelles – the combination of the sweet apricot aroma of the mushrooms with the richness of the liver can’t be beaten.
My stalk begins as soon as I shut the door.
Living on the doorstep of this outstanding highland scenery is a privilege and one I never take for granted. As soon as I turn my back on the hotel, I’m already looking up the hill to check out wind direction which is a crucial factor.
I immediately stalk through a wood, passing mature hardwood then onto birch. As soon as I get out of the woodland, I’m on heather cover and able to look down at the hotel from 1,000ft up – an amazing sight.
My wife Lesley and I returned to Scotland in 1989 and bought East Haugh House (we call it EHH). Due to our love of fishing, shooting and stalking and experience in the hotel and catering business, it was always our intention to turn EHH into a top sporting hotel with exceptional food. And after some 20 years, I think we have achieved just that – a haven for likeminded sporting guests with a passion for their sport and a love of good food. With the additition of our own house beat in 2009, Dalmarnock on the Tay, we now offer the best that Scotland has in country sports. Our efforts over the years were rewarded in 2005 and 2007 with the accolade of Scottish Country Sports hotel of the year, and were runner up in 2006 and 2008.
We arrange all the sport for our guests including fishing, shooting and stalking, and the position of EHH in the heart of sporting highland Perthshire was one of the initial main attractions for a sporting hotel. We are surrounded by some of the best red, roe and fallow stalking in Scotland, all here right on our door step.
Ideal conditions are a clear, sunny day as the deer are also likely to be out of cover, enjoying the warm sun on their backs.
My main aim is to maintain a healthy herd of deer on the hill. The first things I’m looking for are body weight, age and general condition.
The advantage with roe deer is that the does and bucks are usually equally good for the table.
Carcasses are hung for at least two-three weeks to develop the flavour and tenderise the meat.
One of the many advantages of being here in beautiful highland Perthshire is the wonderful natural larder we have access to. The Two Sisters restaurant in East Haugh House is the perfect platform for the fresh and exceptional quality local produce – the freshest of wild game, organically produced beef and lamb from the local farms up the hill and fish and shell fish from west coast waters. The better the produce, the more delicious the cooking – we never cut corners with ingredients in our kitchens.
Stalking is essentially a sport undertaken on very much a one-to-one basis – the stalker and the client. I love stalking on my own but a couple of times a year my friend Nicholas Dalton visits from Sussex and we tramp the hills together. Nick taught me to stalk 20 years ago when we owned a restaurant in Lewes in Sussex. He’s a conservationist and has a knowledge of the countryside that’s second-to-none. We share the same sense of humour and passion for the sport and have spent many happy days stalking together.
Recipe
White Hare and Pancetta Ballotine with a Haricot Blanc and Morel Casseulet and a Juniper Game Jus – serves four
Ingredients
4 saddles of white mountain hare
1 chicken breast
1 egg white
500ml dbl cream
2 carrots
2 cloves of garlic
2 sticks of celery
2 large leaves of leek, washed
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
2 cups of Haricot Blanc beans soaked in water/white wine for 24 hours
Fresh or dried (soaked) morels (to taste)
30g of diced spiced sausage, eg chorizo, or salami
Fresh or dried (soaked) juniper berries
2 packets of sliced and smoked pancetta
1/2 bottle of white wine
Stock cube, or fresh beef or chicken stock
Method
- Bone out the hare trying to keep the flesh and skin all as one piece. Put the bones in a roasting tray with half a carrot, half a stick of celery, half a leek, some fresh herbs and a shallot, all cut roughly, and place in a hot oven to roast dry. Put the chicken breast and egg white in a cold food processor bowl, and blitz with a little Maldon salt.
- Add the cream slowly while mixing until the mousse is pale yet still thick in texture, then chill.
- Finely dice the vegetables into brunoise, and sauté off half of them with a little butter and the chopped rosemary, keeping the other half for the cassoulet.
- Once cool add the veg to the mousse and stir in.
- Line up some pancetta slices vertically on double ply, matte-side up, greased and seasoned tin foil, just a little bigger than an A4 sheet. Then, place the hare skin-side-down on to that.
- Spread a quarter of the mousse onto the hare, season if necessary, and roll up tightly, trying not to leave any air in the roulade. Repeat for the other three saddles.
- Twist the ends of the ballotines like sweet wrappers, and tighten into perfect cylindrical shapes.
- For the casseulet: In a deep pan, sauté off the remaining vegetables with the sausage, morels and beans. Braise with the white wine until most of the liquid reduces down, and then add boiling stock slowly, to allow the beans to cook through and absorb the flavours. Add a bay leaf and other herbs if wanted.
- Once the beans are cooked through, add 100ml of cream and simmer gently with a knob of butter until reduced to a rich consistency, then season.
- For the jus: Put the roasting tray with the bones and vegetables on the hob and heat, pour in a glass of red wine and scrape up all the flavoursome bits on the tray.
- Pour the content of the tray into a large saucepan and fill the pan with water and/or stock. Reduce down to almost 300ml and pass through a fine sieve, or muslin, into another saucepan and add a little bit of redcurrant jam, or any other sweet preserve to cancel out any bitter tastes.
- Dissolve the jam and add the junipers. Simmer until of a sauce-like consistency.
- Roast the ballotines in a medium heat oven for around 20-30 mins and remove from the tin foil, making sure the chicken mousse is cooked through before serving.
