help..pheasant preparation

chilledout

howdy all ..got a pheasant yesterday from a lad in work.. where do i start? do i let it hang first? how do i cook? do i roast like a chicken? any info much appreciated.ta :cool:

The Hill Billy

Firstly, you should hang the bird by the neck for four or five days in a cool, dry place. You'll then need to pluck & draw (remove the innards) the bird. Do a google for instructions on this. Someone around here recommended the River Cottage site for this some time ago.

If this is your first time doing pheasant - you may prefer to skin the bird rather than pluck it. It is a lot easier, but it may limit your range of recipes without the skin.

Here's a quick recipe that I tried recently:
1 Pheasant, skinned & jointed
2 Eating apples, peeled, cored & sliced 1cm thick (cooking apples tend to disintegrate)
1 Pint of cider (I used some gorgeous organic stuff from my local supermarket that I can't remember the name of)
Bayleaf
Thyme
Black peppercorns (rough crushed)
Salt
Seasoned flour
Olive Oil
Butter
Cream

Method:
Preheat oven to 160C.
Wash the pheasant pieces & pat dry with paper towels.
Toss peices in seasoned flour & remove excess.
On a medium heat fry the pieces in a pan using a few knobs of butter & a splash of olive oil until browned.
Remove & place in a casserole or oven-proof dish with bayleaf, peppercorns & thyme.
Lower heat & gently fry apple slices until coloured.
Place on top of pheasant pieces in dish.
Bring up heat in pan & add 1/4 pint of cider to deglaze.
Scrape up all bits off the bottom of the pan.
Pour mixture over apples & pheasant in dish.
Add remaining cider, then season with salt.
Cook in oven for 35-40 mins.
Before serving - add a splash of cream to the sauce.

chilledout

nice one hill billy, will give that recipie a go . cheers.:cool: