How to Catch
a Gannet...
On a mild Autumn Sunday, drive to the coast with a small boat, a fresh mackerel, 500m of twine and a foot of plank, to the underside of which attach a leaden keel heavy enough to hold both plank and fish under the surface of a full bath, a depth of 10cm.
On an outward tide, take to the sea releasing the plank with the mackerel tied to the upper side, and cast your eyes to the sky.
A gannet will spot the fish and plummet in a 120kmh nosedive breaking its neck on impact.
Collect your gannet.
Gannets must be plucked and drawn, as you would a goose or a peacock.
The legs may be prepared as a confit - that is, cooked very slowly in duck fat.
The breast meat however, is best panfried whole, so that the outside is nicely seared and the inside is still slightly pink and moist. The cooked breast can then be thinly sliced and served - ideally with a sorrel/cream sauce, sautéed potatoes and blanched samphire.
A mature bird will comfortably feed eight people.