Pot Roast Pheasant Recipes

POT-ROAST PHEASANT

Steps:

• Start with the potatoes. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Trim the wider side off the potato and cut into 2 thick slices, so each side sits flat in the pan. Heat the oil in an ovenproof frying pan and fry the bacon for 2 mins until crisp. Push the bacon aside; then, over a very high heat, brown the potato slices really well for about 3 mins on each side.
• Add the thyme, splash in the stock and place in the oven while you cook the pheasant.
• Season the pheasant really well. Heat the oil in a casserole dish and add the pheasant pieces. Spend about 10 mins making sure the meat is well coloured on all sides, using tongs to turn the pieces when needed.
• Remove the meat from the dish and add a splash more oil. Sizzle the bacon for 1 min, then add all the vegetables and the thyme. Turn up the heat and brown the vegetables really well. Nestle the legs amongst the vegetables and sit the breast on top. Place in the oven, uncovered, to roast for 25 mins.
• Remove the dish from oven, lift out the breast and leave somewhere warm to rest. Pour the chicken stock over the legs and return to the oven for 20 mins to braise. Meanwhile, gently reheat the carrot purée in a pan, stirring in a touch of butter.
• Remove the legs from the dish and set aside. Use a potato masher to squash the veg into the sauce to thicken. Season well and strain the sauce into a bowl. Remove the potatoes from the oven, and finely chop the bacon from the potato pan into small bits - you are now ready to carve the pheasant and plate up.
• Neatly cut each breast away from the carcass. Slice into 2 and cut each leg through the joint into 2 pieces. Cut each potato in half on an angle. Smear a large spoonful of carrot purée along one side of the plate. Lean the pheasant pieces against each other and lay a piece of potato alongside. Scatter the pheasant breast with the chopped bacon, spoon over the sauce and serve.

POT-ROASTED PHEASANT

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Dust the pheasants with the flour, then heat the oil in a large flameproof dish. Brown the pheasants all over, then remove from the dish.
• In the same dish, fry the bacon, vegetables, garlic and herbs with 1 tbsp of the dusting flour for 5 mins, until the vegetables start to colour. Put the pheasants and any resting juices back in the dish, pour on the Marsala, wine and stock, add the sugar, then cover and cook for 1 hr 30 mins - 1 hr 50 mins or until the leg meat easily comes away from the bone. Serve with bread sauce.

ROAST PHEASANT

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a large zip-top plastic bag, combine wine (or water), vinegar, shallots, olive oil, sugar, garlic, dry mustard, oregano, basil, marjoram, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper until well mixed.
• Sprinkle salt in the inside cavity of the pheasant, if desired. Place the whole bird in the marinade, moving it around so the marinade reaches all parts of the bird. Refrigerate it for 30 minutes.
• Heat the oven to 325 F.
• Remove the pheasant from marinade, but do not rinse it off.
• Place bird in a lidded roasting pan that is just slightly bigger than the bird. Place bird, breast-side up in the roasting pan. Place the halved onion in the cavity of the bird. Cover and roast for 30 minutes.
• Remove the lid, baste bird and let it continue to roast for approximately 30 more minutes without the lid so it will brown. The pheasant is done when the thighs move easily and the juices run clear.
• Remove the pheasant and allow the meat to rest for at least 5 minutes before carving and serving.

POT-ROASTED PHEASANT WITH PORT AND CHESTNUTS

Steps:

• Start off by melting half the butter and olive oil in a medium-sized casserole. Season the pheasants with salt and pepper, then when the butter begins to sizzle add one of the pheasants to the casserole then brown it all over, using a spoon and fork to manoeuvre it so that all sides get a nice golden-brown. Then transfer it to a plate and repeat with the other pheasant, removing that too to a plate when it is browned. Now add the rest of the butter and oil to the casserole and when that's hot add the shallots and bacon and toss them around till nicely browned, then transfer them to a plate. Return the pheasants to the casserole, arranging them side by side (breast side up), then return the shallots and bacon, add the mushrooms and garlic, and tuck the bay leaves and sprigs of thyme in amongst them. Season well with salt and pepper at this stage, then pour in the port and wine. Bring it all up to simmering point, then reduce the heat to a very gentle simmer (but make sure it actually is simmering with faint bubbles coming to the surface), cover with a lid and let it cook for 30 minutes. After that time add the chestnuts, bring it back to simmering point, cover and cook for a further 30 minutes When the pheasants are cooked, remove them to a carving board. Mix the flour and 1 rounded tablespoon butter together then add this mixture to the other ingredients in half-teaspoon sized lumps. Whisk the sauce back up to simmering point to thicken slightly. Carve and serve half a pheasant per person, garnished with the chestnuts, bacon, shallots and mushrooms and a generous amount of sauce. Some baby sprouts and mashed potato go very well with this.

HOW TO COOK PHEASANT IN A SLOW COOKER

Steps:

• Spray the inside of your slow cooker with cooking spray. Get out a slow cooker that's at least 4 quarts (3.8 liters) in size. Spray the inside of the slow cooker with a vegetable oil cooking spray. The cooking spray will prevent the pheasant and vegetables from sticking to the slow cooker.
• Cut 1 onion, 2 carrots, and 2 parsnips. Peel the vegetables and then use a sharp knife to cut the onion into 1/2 in (1.3 cm) slices. Then chop the carrots and parsnips into rough pieces that aren't smaller than 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm). Cut the parsnips and carrots into pieces that are the same size so they cook evenly.
• Place the vegetables and pheasant into the slow cooker. Spread the sliced onions and chopped carrots and parsnips evenly across the bottom of the greased slow cooker. Then arrange 2 to 3 pounds (0.9 to 1.3 kg) of pheasant on top of the vegetables. You can use pheasant breasts or any pieces of pheasant you have.
• Put the bacon, broth, and sherry into the slow cooker. Lay 4 slices of bacon over the pieces of pheasant so the bacon is in a single layer. Then pour 1⁄4 cup (59 ml) of chicken broth and 1⁄4 cup (59 ml) of sherry over the pheasant and vegetables. If you don't have bacon, you can leave it out of the recipe, but the pheasants won't have a rich, smoky flavor.
• Season the pheasant with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Sprinkle salt and pepper according to your taste over the pheasant and vegetables. You'll also need to scatter 1/4 teaspoon (0.6 g) of garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon (0.6 g) of onion powder over the mixture.
• Cover and cook the pheasant for 8 to 10 hours on LOW. Turn the slow cooker on and cook the pheasant and vegetables until the pheasant is completely cooked. If you prefer to cook the dish faster, turn your slow cooker to HIGH and cook the pheasant for 3 to 4 hours. If you're cooking whole pheasants, they should reach 180 °F (82 °C) with an instant-read meat thermometer. If you're cooking pieces, they should reach 165 °F (74 °C).
• Serve the pheasant with vegetables. Turn off the slow cooker and serve the hot pheasant with the tender vegetables. Consider serving them with warm, crusty bread, steamed rice, or noodles. Refrigerate the leftover pheasant with vegetables in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 days.

EMERIL'S FAVORITE ROAST PHEASANT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F and position the oven rack in the bottom third of the oven.
• Season the cavities and the outside of each pheasant liberally with salt and pepper. Divide the chopped onion and carrot equally among the cavities of the pheasants. Squeeze the juice from both halves of the orange and set aside. Cut 1 of the squeezed halves into 3 pieces, and tuck inside of the cavities along with the veggies. Insert 1sprig of thyme into the cavity of each pheasant.
• Arrange the pheasants in a large roasting pan, breast sides up. Lay 2 strips of bacon over the top of each pheasant, cutting the bacon into pieces if necessary to cover as much of the pheasant as possible. Roast for 15 minutes, then remove the bacon strips and continue roasting for approximately 30 to 40 minutes, or until the juices run clear. (It is important to not overcook the pheasants, as they are very lean birds.) Remove the pheasants from the oven and transfer to a serving platter, loosely tented, while you make the sauce.
• Using a spoon, carefully remove as much extra fat from the pan as possible. Place the roasting pan over high heat and, when hot, deglaze with the reserved orange juice and Madeira, using a wooden spoon to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. When the orange juice and Madeira have reduced by half, add the chicken stock and continue to cook until sauce has reduced enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 to 4 minutes. Swirl in the butter and remove from the heat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
• Remove the back bone from each pheasant, then cut along the breast bone to divide the birds into two halves. Serve 1/2 pheasant per person, napped with some of the sauce and with some of the Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding.
• Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over high heat. Add the onions and cook until golden brown and tender, 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon of the garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the Essence, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and 3/4 teaspoon of the pepper, and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are tender and have given off their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the beer and cook, stirring, to deglaze the pan and until the mixture is almost dry, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
• In a large bowl, combine the eggs, cream, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of Essence, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and whisk well to combine. Add the mushroom mixture and cheeses and stir well. Add the bread cubes and let sit until the bread has absorbed the liquid, 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with the butter. Add the bread crumbs, shaking to cover the bottom evenly. Pour the bread pudding mixture into the prepared pan and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour and uncover. Continue baking until risen and firm in the center, and golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly before serving.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.
• Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

ROAST PHEASANT

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
• Stir the chopped rosemary and thyme into the olive oil and set aside. Rub the pheasant inside and out with salt and pepper. Place into a close-fitting roasting pan. Pour the herb oil over top.
• Bake the pheasant in the preheated oven for 1 hour, then cover with aluminum foil, and continue baking an additional hour, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone reads 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). Remove from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area for 10 minutes before slicing. Baste the pheasant with the hot oil and juices from the pan every 30 minutes while cooking.