Many, many years ago, I worked at Waitrose in East Sheen, home to many TV celebrities. One of my colleagues at the time, Mark, the branch’s meat specialist, gave me a couple of pheasant recipes after I told him that a friend brought home some pheasants from one of his recent shoots.
Being a pheasant virgin, I dutifully followed the cooking instructions, having no idea how this would turn out. I took the advice of cooking chips as a side, and by this I mean chips. Not game chips. Just bog standard chips.
The birds were moist and flavourful (after hanging in our shed for about 5 days), the chips were perfect to soak up the gravy. By the way, you really don’t need to hang the birds for a long time if the gaminess puts you off (a couple of days is fine!). Butchers normally sell them quite fresh.
The secret lies in four elements:
1. Roast the birds early in the season. Older birds are best left for stews .
2. Place a piece of onion or a quarter of an apple inside the cavity. This will diffuse moisture whilst it is cooking.
3. Don’t cook the birds to death! I am well aware of the risks associated with under-cooking and I am 100% sure Mark would have never attempted the murder of any of his customers. For hens, count 40 minutes, add another 10 minutes for cocks at 200 degrees Celsius.
4. Baste often with the water at the bottom of the pan.
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| Pheasant and chips! |
Being a pheasant virgin, I dutifully followed the cooking instructions, having no idea how this would turn out. I took the advice of cooking chips as a side, and by this I mean chips. Not game chips. Just bog standard chips.
The birds were moist and flavourful (after hanging in our shed for about 5 days), the chips were perfect to soak up the gravy. By the way, you really don’t need to hang the birds for a long time if the gaminess puts you off (a couple of days is fine!). Butchers normally sell them quite fresh.
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| Prepare the birds: place a piece of apple or onion inside the cavity, Season inside, smear butter on the birds and add bacon over the breasts. Pour 0.5 cm water into the pan. Above: ingredients for the gravy. |
The secret lies in four elements:
1. Roast the birds early in the season. Older birds are best left for stews .
2. Place a piece of onion or a quarter of an apple inside the cavity. This will diffuse moisture whilst it is cooking.
3. Don’t cook the birds to death! I am well aware of the risks associated with under-cooking and I am 100% sure Mark would have never attempted the murder of any of his customers. For hens, count 40 minutes, add another 10 minutes for cocks at 200 degrees Celsius.
4. Baste often with the water at the bottom of the pan.
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| Here is the original recipe by Mark Szarek. |
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