Roast Pheasant Recipe
Today’s pheasant recipes dictate that we cook the bird at around 180º C (350 F), but this recipe follows the old traditional method, using a gentler ‘low & slow’ approach to get the most out of your game birds.
The trick here is to maintain as much moisture as possible during the cooking, using a very modern roasting bag. We realize that it is a whole new way of looking at game birds, but we guarantee you will be very pleased with the succulent results.
Adding a little water and reduced port also means you will have a delicious ready-made sauce for your pheasant, killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. Enjoy!
Roast Pheasant
Ingredients
- 4 grams game seasoning see recipe below
- 700 g hen pheasant (1kg for cock pheasant)
- 25 grams butter
- roasting bag
- 50 milliliters water
- 50 milliliters port reduced by half
- 1 sprig thyme fresh
- roasting tin
GAME SEASONING
- 20 grams sea salt coarse
- 2 grams black peppercorns coarse, ground
- 8 juniper berries
- 1/4 star anise
- 1 piece cinnamon stick 1 cm
- 1 bay leaf dried
- 1/4 clove garlic fresh, peeled
Instructions
Seasoning
- Blend all the ingredients in a food processor for around 2 minutes.
- Transfer to a container with a lid.
- Will keep fresh for several weeks refrigerated.
Pheasant in Bag
- Preheat a convection oven to 75º C (165° F).
- In a heavy-bottomed frying pan over a low heat, very gently brown the bird all over in foaming butter. Approx 5 minutes or until golden.
- Sprinkle the bird with the game seasoning.
- Place the pheasant in the roasting bag, and the bag onto the roasting tin.
- Add the water, reduced port and the sprig of thyme.
- Seal the bag with the tie.
- Cook the hen pheasant ( approx 700g (~1 ½lb) ) for 3 hours at 75ºC/165° F. Allow 4 hours for a 1kg (2.2 lb) cock pheasant.
- Remove the tie and strain any juices through a fine chinoise or muslin-lined sieve. You should have around 130ml (1/2 cup).
- Reduce the cooking juices by half to leave a perfect jus for the bird.
- Remove the meat from the bird and decorate with roast winter vegetables.
- Pour over the jus and serve immediately.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!