In response to numerous requests from our guests for suggestions on how to prepare pheasants harvested on our preserve, I asked my Mother in Law, Nancy, for some suggestions. Nancy is amply qualified for the task because she is not only a great cook; she is English and for many years taught Home Economics in her home town of Whitby in Yorkshire England. As we know, the English know their way around pheasants.
The following are Nancy’s selected recipes and methods, enjoy!
Steve,
As promised – I have done a bit of research about cooking pheasants so here goes. The season here is October 1st to Feb 1st and most books say hens should be hung 8-10 days and cocks a couple of days longer. A young bird will be plump and in good condition with pliable beak and short blunt spurs (the talon on its feet). An older bird will have a thin protruding breast bone and both beak and spurs are harder, longer and sharper. A particularly fat hen or large cock with a really magnificent tail is bound to be an older bird. Young birds can be roasted but older ones (of more than a year) should be casseroled. Hanging makes the meat more tender but as you know, the temperature is important as you need to keep checking it by sniffing!! A badly damaged bird, particularly one whose breast skin is torn or whose gut is penetrated, will spoil much more quickly than one that remains whole and intact.
Most recipes for a roasted pheasant have bacon on the breast to baste the meat as it can be quite dry.
Roast Pheasant Serves 4
2 streaky bacon rashes
salt and pepper
1 x 3lb pheasant
1/4pt red wine (English measure!)
2oz butter
Method - Oven 425 degrees
1. Melt butter in a roasting tin and fry
pheasant on all sides until a nice color. Season and put bacon on
breast.
2. Bake in oven
for 1 hour, 20 minutes, but baste with wine after 1 hour.
3. Rest for 15 minutes.
Normandy Pheasant Serves 6-8
1oz butter
1 tsp oil
2 pheasants (cut into serving pieces)
1 onion, sliced
2 cooking apples, quartered, cored and sliced
4 celery stalks, sliced
1 tablespoon flour
½ pint chicken or game stock
¼ pint dry white wine
¼ pint cream
salt and pepper
Method - Oven 350 degrees
1. Melt Butter with oil in a
flame proof casserole. Add pheasant and cook until browned. Lift and
drain.
2. Lower the heat; add apples,
celery and onions. Cook for 5-6 minutes until soft.
3. Add flour; stir than add
stock and wine. Season and bring to a boil, stirring until lightly
thickened.
4. Return the pheasant and spoon
the sauce over. Bring back to boil, cover with greaseproof paper and casserole
lid and put in oven for 1-1 ½ hours until tender. Remove pheasant from casserole
and keep warm.
5. Strain sauce into a saucepan. Whisk in the cream and reheat gently. Serve – good with fried apple rings.
Pheasant with Chestnuts Serves 4
1oz butter
1 tablespoon oil
2 oven ready pheasants, jointed
2 onions sliced
8oz peeled chestnuts
3 tablespoons wholemeal flour
¾ pint chicken stock
¼ pint red wine
Grated rind and juice of ½ orange
2 tablespoons redcurrant jelly
Bouquet garni
Method - Oven 350 degrees
1. Heat butter and oil and fry pheasant until browned. Remove from pan and put in an ovenproof casserole.
2. Fry onions and chestnuts until brown and add to
pheasant.
3. Stir in flour , than add stock and wine. Boil until thickened.
Add orange rind and juice, redcurrant jelly and bouquet garni. Pour over
pheasant.
4. Cover casserole and cook in oven for 1 hour until tender.
Pheasant Pot Serves 4
2 plump hen pheasants (they have more breast meat and are more tender)
2 Bay leaves
salt and pepper
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
4 celery sticks, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
6 medium waxy potatoes, peeled
Method
1. Put pheasants in casserole dish and just cover with water. Add Bay leaves, salt and pepper, onion and garlic. Cover, bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes.
2. Add celery, carrots and potatoes, making sure potatoes are
submerged. Replace lid and simmer for further 20 minutes until vegetables are
cooked.
Pheasant Stew Serves 6-8
2 tablespoons oil
2 pheasants (cut into serving pieces)
12oz shallots
4oz smoked streaky bacon, cut into pieces
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon flour
1 pint game or chicken stock
1/2 pint red wine
1 head celery, sliced
8oz button mushrooms
1 tablespoon tomato puree
salt and pepper
Method – Oven 325 degrees
1. Heat oil in large flameproof casserole. Add pheasant pieces
and cook over a high heat until browned. Lift out and drain.
2. Add shallots and bacon – cook 5 minutes. Add garlic and flour,
stir. Add stock and wine. Bring to boil. Add celery, mushrooms and tomato puree.
Season and simmer 5 minutes.
3. Add pheasant. Bring back to boil. Cover and cook in oven for 2
hours.
Pheasant Parmesan
6– 8 pheasant breasts in good shape
Large plastic baggie
1 – cup of bread crumbs I use plain , add pepper, oregano,
parmesan cheese and season salt (not too much salt)
Olive oil / + small amount of butter so olive oil doesn’t burn.
4 - slices of hard salami
4 – slice provolone cheese
1 – lb Mozzarella cheese
Favorite tomato sauce I use my own marinara
Method - Oven 350 degrees
1. Slice all breast length ways in half so they are not thick. Toss
into baggie filed with seasoned bread crumbs. Heat fry pan, add oil and butter,
and fry breasts until browned, place meat into glass baking tray.
2. Add a little tomato sauce + 2 slices of hard salami and provolone, more fried meat, other slices of salami and provolone more sauce. Then into a heated 350F oven for 1 hour, all gets bubbly and tender remove and cover with grated mozzarella, shakes of oregano, back into oven until melted and browning on cheese. This will be a very rich meaty meal, so plate it with some spaghetti and a good red wine.
The following are Nancy’s selected recipes and methods, enjoy!
Steve,
As promised – I have done a bit of research about cooking pheasants so here goes. The season here is October 1st to Feb 1st and most books say hens should be hung 8-10 days and cocks a couple of days longer. A young bird will be plump and in good condition with pliable beak and short blunt spurs (the talon on its feet). An older bird will have a thin protruding breast bone and both beak and spurs are harder, longer and sharper. A particularly fat hen or large cock with a really magnificent tail is bound to be an older bird. Young birds can be roasted but older ones (of more than a year) should be casseroled. Hanging makes the meat more tender but as you know, the temperature is important as you need to keep checking it by sniffing!! A badly damaged bird, particularly one whose breast skin is torn or whose gut is penetrated, will spoil much more quickly than one that remains whole and intact.
Most recipes for a roasted pheasant have bacon on the breast to baste the meat as it can be quite dry.
Roast Pheasant Serves 4
2 streaky bacon rashes
salt and pepper
1 x 3lb pheasant
1/4pt red wine (English measure!)
2oz butter
Method - Oven 425 degrees
1. Melt butter in a roasting tin and fry
pheasant on all sides until a nice color. Season and put bacon on
breast.
2. Bake in oven
for 1 hour, 20 minutes, but baste with wine after 1 hour.
3. Rest for 15 minutes.
Normandy Pheasant Serves 6-8
1oz butter
1 tsp oil
2 pheasants (cut into serving pieces)
1 onion, sliced
2 cooking apples, quartered, cored and sliced
4 celery stalks, sliced
1 tablespoon flour
½ pint chicken or game stock
¼ pint dry white wine
¼ pint cream
salt and pepper
Method - Oven 350 degrees
1. Melt Butter with oil in a
flame proof casserole. Add pheasant and cook until browned. Lift and
drain.
2. Lower the heat; add apples,
celery and onions. Cook for 5-6 minutes until soft.
3. Add flour; stir than add
stock and wine. Season and bring to a boil, stirring until lightly
thickened.
4. Return the pheasant and spoon
the sauce over. Bring back to boil, cover with greaseproof paper and casserole
lid and put in oven for 1-1 ½ hours until tender. Remove pheasant from casserole
and keep warm.
5. Strain sauce into a saucepan. Whisk in the cream and reheat gently. Serve – good with fried apple rings.
Pheasant with Chestnuts Serves 4
1oz butter
1 tablespoon oil
2 oven ready pheasants, jointed
2 onions sliced
8oz peeled chestnuts
3 tablespoons wholemeal flour
¾ pint chicken stock
¼ pint red wine
Grated rind and juice of ½ orange
2 tablespoons redcurrant jelly
Bouquet garni
Method - Oven 350 degrees
1. Heat butter and oil and fry pheasant until browned. Remove from pan and put in an ovenproof casserole.
2. Fry onions and chestnuts until brown and add to
pheasant.
3. Stir in flour , than add stock and wine. Boil until thickened.
Add orange rind and juice, redcurrant jelly and bouquet garni. Pour over
pheasant.
4. Cover casserole and cook in oven for 1 hour until tender.
Pheasant Pot Serves 4
2 plump hen pheasants (they have more breast meat and are more tender)
2 Bay leaves
salt and pepper
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
4 celery sticks, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
6 medium waxy potatoes, peeled
Method
1. Put pheasants in casserole dish and just cover with water. Add Bay leaves, salt and pepper, onion and garlic. Cover, bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes.
2. Add celery, carrots and potatoes, making sure potatoes are
submerged. Replace lid and simmer for further 20 minutes until vegetables are
cooked.
Pheasant Stew Serves 6-8
2 tablespoons oil
2 pheasants (cut into serving pieces)
12oz shallots
4oz smoked streaky bacon, cut into pieces
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon flour
1 pint game or chicken stock
1/2 pint red wine
1 head celery, sliced
8oz button mushrooms
1 tablespoon tomato puree
salt and pepper
Method – Oven 325 degrees
1. Heat oil in large flameproof casserole. Add pheasant pieces
and cook over a high heat until browned. Lift out and drain.
2. Add shallots and bacon – cook 5 minutes. Add garlic and flour,
stir. Add stock and wine. Bring to boil. Add celery, mushrooms and tomato puree.
Season and simmer 5 minutes.
3. Add pheasant. Bring back to boil. Cover and cook in oven for 2
hours.
Pheasant Parmesan
6– 8 pheasant breasts in good shape
Large plastic baggie
1 – cup of bread crumbs I use plain , add pepper, oregano,
parmesan cheese and season salt (not too much salt)
Olive oil / + small amount of butter so olive oil doesn’t burn.
4 - slices of hard salami
4 – slice provolone cheese
1 – lb Mozzarella cheese
Favorite tomato sauce I use my own marinara
Method - Oven 350 degrees
1. Slice all breast length ways in half so they are not thick. Toss
into baggie filed with seasoned bread crumbs. Heat fry pan, add oil and butter,
and fry breasts until browned, place meat into glass baking tray.
2. Add a little tomato sauce + 2 slices of hard salami and provolone, more fried meat, other slices of salami and provolone more sauce. Then into a heated 350F oven for 1 hour, all gets bubbly and tender remove and cover with grated mozzarella, shakes of oregano, back into oven until melted and browning on cheese. This will be a very rich meaty meal, so plate it with some spaghetti and a good red wine.