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Classic Roast Pheasant
When it comes down to it, there's little to beat absolutely straight           

       

roast pheasant with its small host of traditional accompaniments.
Make a couple of concessions to modernity: pancetta makes a
better protective jacket, we find, that bacon with its domineering
flavor, and slipping a creamy Petit Suisse, or a little fromage frais
into each pheasant helps to keep it moist from inside out.
Don't dare tamper with an institution like bread sauce, and the
contrasting crispness of the fried crumbs is another old-hat stroke
of genius. Don't ignore the watercress, thinking that it's just a cute
garnish - the fresh, peppery taste of its leaves lightens and highlights 
all the other flavours and textures. Best served with a classic
bread sauce and a homemade gravy using the lovely pheasant juices.
Ingredients Method
  • 2 pheasant
  • either 6 to 8 rashers streaky bacon , or pancetta
  • 2 petits suisses , or 2tbsp full fat fromage frais
  • 2 good sprigs of thyme
  • 2 small sprigs of rosemary
  • 2 sprigs parsley
  • a knob of butter
  • salt and pepper
  • a handful of watercress sprigs
  • redcurrant jelly to serve

    for the gravy:
  • 1tbsp plain flour
  • 1 pint to 1.5 pints game stock or chicken stock
  • 1 small glass Madeira, or port

    for the bread sauce:
  • 300ml full cream milk
  • 1 small onion, skinned
  • 2 cloves
  • 50g fresh white breadcrumbs
  • a little grated nutmeg
  • 30g butter
  • cayenne pepper

    for the game crumbs:
  • 60g fresh or slightly stale white breadcrumbs
  • 30g butter

Put the milk in a heavy-based saucepan. Push the cloves into the whole onion and add that too. Bring very slowly up to scalding point, then draw off the heat, cover and leave to infuse for half an hour. Take out the onion and stir in the breadcrumbs, beating well so that they absorb all the milk. Season with nutmeg and salt, and stir in the butter. Reheat when needed and just before serving dust lightly with cayenne pepper.

Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC (Gas Mark 6). Now for those pheasant; loosen the trussing strings, and push a petit suisse (divested of its papery jacket) or a generous tablespoonful of fromage frais into the stomach cavity of each bird, along with a sprig of thyme, rosemary and parsley. Ease the strings back into place. Season the skin of the pheasants generously with pepper, and rub a little butter all over the skin of each one. Next drape the bacon or pancetta over the breasts of the birds, and tie securely in place with kitchen string.

Place them in a roasting tin, laying drunkenly on one side. Roast for 15 minutes, then turn onto the other side and roast for a further 15 minutes. Next sit them breast side up, and roast for a final 20 minutes until just cooked through (test like a chicken - if the juices run pink and bloody, give them another 5 to 10 minutes). Each time you turn the birds, baste them with the pan juices. Towards the end of the cooking time, take the bacon off the birds, so that they take on a little color.

Whilst the pheasant are sizzling away in the oven, fry up the game crumbs - just melt the butter in a heavy pan, and fry the crumbs over a moderate heat, stirring constantly so that they cook evenly. When they are crisp and golden brown, tip into a bowl lined with kitchen paper. Once the pheasant are cooked, lift them onto a warm serving dish. Put the roasting tin over a low-medium heat and stir in the flour. Gradually, mix in the stock and bring up to the boil, whisking lightly to smooth out any unwelcome clumps of flour. Now add the Madeira or port, and simmer for another 2 to 3 minutes (or longer if you like your gravy thicker. Season to taste, then strain into a warmed gravy boat or bowl. Tuck the sprigs of watercress around the pheasant just before serving, not forgetting to pop the crisp bacon on the dish as well, then serve straightaway with the bread sauce, gravy, game crumbs and a pot of red currant jelly.

Serves: 6
Pheasant Pasties with Ginger, Caper and Raisin Butter
Pheasant fillets take little cooking,  indeed too much can toughen them - but plenty of lubricating if they are not to be dry. Wrapped up snugly in a jacket of light puff pastry, they can be prepared well in advance, and they get a generous dose of buttery basting as they cook. The sweetness of raisins and the tartness of capers preserved in vinegar, with a touch of ginger (increase the quantities if you like a stronger hit) balances the mild gaminess. You'll end up with more of the flavoured butter than you need for this recipe, but the remainder will keep for a week or so in the fridge, or can be frozen for another day. Try a knob or two on baked cubes of winter squash, or turn it into a buttery sauce for grilled or steamed fish or even a cheese soufflé, by heating it with a squeeze or two of anchovy paste.
Ingredients Method
  • 4 pheasant fillets, skinned
  • 1tbsp sunflower oil
  • 340g puff pastry
  • 1 egg yolk

 (for the butter)

  • 60g raisins
  • 30g capers
  • 15g peeled and grated fresh ginger root
  • 100g unsalted or lightly salted butter
  • salt and plenty of freshly ground pepper

 First make the butter. Soak the raisins in cold water for 30 minutes to 1 hour, until tender and plump. Drain thoroughly. Process the raisins together with all the remaining butter ingredients to form a smooth paste with just the odd knobble in it. If you don't have a processor, chop the raisins and capers finely, then mash into the softened butter, with the ginger, salt and pepper. While the raisins are soaking, heat a heavy frying pan over a high heat for a few minutes. Add the oil and swirl it about to coat the base. Sear the pheasant fillets quickly, for 30 to 60 seconds on each side, until lightly browned. Lift out and allow to cool until tepid. Beat the egg yolk with 1tbsp cold water to make an egg wash. Divide the pastry into four, and roll each piece out thinly. Cut an 18cm to 20cm circle out of each one, using a plate to cut around. Lay a fillet on each circle, and then smear each fillet thickly with a good dessert spoonful of the flavoured butter. Brush the edges of the pastry with a little of the egg wash, then bring them up over pheasant, firmly crimping them together, sealing the meat inside, to make a parcel with a distinct resemblance to a Cornish pasty. The pasties can be prepared in advance to this point, then covered loosely and kept in the fridge until about half an hour before cooking. Bring them back to room temperature before baking. Pre-heat the oven to 220ºC (Gas Mark 7). Just before cooking, brush the pasties with egg wash. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 190ºC (Gas Mark 5) and bake for a further 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Serves: 4