Rick <
[email protected]> wrote:
> I am "about" to cook (and taste) pheasant for the first time. Can any of the subscribers offer me
> a "simple" method of cooking such a dish please.
Here is a very nice recipe for pheasant braised with celery. Braising with added fat is a good way
to deal with meat that is often on the dry side. There are quite a few steps to follow, but they are
simple and straightforward. The recipe appeared in The Spectator, in 1995. It is by the late
Jennifer Patterson.
Victor
Pheasant with celery
1 young, tender roasting pheasant 2 oz streaky salt pork or unsmoked bacon 3 oz butter 4 fluid oz
dry white wine 1 large head of celery 2 tablespoons of olive oil small glass of brandy, Armagnac
or Calvados
To cook the pheasant it is best to have an oval casserole in which the bird just fits. Melt 1
ounce of the butter in the pot, add the diced pork or bacon and start to sweat them. Work the
second ounce of butter with a little salt and freshly ground pepper and place it within the
pheasant. When the fat from the pork starts melting, put the bird in on its side and let it cook
gently until golden brown, before turning it over and adding the heated wine. Let the wine bubble
for a few seconds, then turn the heat down very low, cover the pot and cook gently for 40 to 45
minutes, turning the bird over at half time. Scrape the cleansed celery (try to get some good
celery with taste, usually the dirtier the better), removing the strings from the outer stalks,
trim off the leaves and cut into 1/2-inch chunks. Melt the third ounce of butter and the olive
oil in a large, heavy frying-pan. Put in the celery and stir it around to coat with the fat,
sprinkle a little salt over it, cover and let it simmer gently for ten minutes. Take a tablespoon
of the juices from the bird and stir into the celery, then cook for another five minutes.
Transfer to fine, hot serving dish, large enough the hold the pheasant as well. Place the bird in
the centre and, if convenient, carve for serving at this stage. Surround with the little bits of
pork or bacon. Keep the dish warm and covered while you reduce the juices in the pot by boiling
rapidly for a minute or two. Add the brandy or whatever and cook a minute longer. Transfer to a
hot sauce-boat and serve with the pheasant. Celery goes very well with game birds and this makes
a handsome dish needing but a few little potatoes to accompany it.