Pheasants

[Hyacinth]

This year, just like last 4, I'll be given a brace of pheasants (thingy & hen), already hung for over a week. Every other year I've skinned them & come up with a variety of recipes..no probs. there.

This year, tho, I'll be collecting them morning Xmas Eve to take to Wales with me 24th Dec-01st Jan.....

Want to know.........can I take them as they come, to be re-hung & dealt with as-and-when???

Although, as I've written, I usually go the 'easy' route & skin them before cooking, anyone got ideas for cooking skin-on, ie plucked, birds? Gonna be enough peeps around....

(Well, it's gotta be better than Monopoly.......)

Thanks......

[derbex]

Be carefull with unplucked birds in your boot -my brother got given a brace (Xmas Eve again) took them to my parents to be plucked, a few days later he stayed at a friends for New Years Eve. a few days after that friends parents (pretty posh) stayed with their son and started scratching The fleas seem to have made their way from the pheasants to his boot, to his sleeping bag to friends flat.

As for cooking -why not roast them? You can make a casserole from the leftovers and stock from the carcasses.

Jeremy

[Hyacinth]

Many thanks for the timely warning!! Won't be the boot of MY car, tho.........but can imagine the conversation......."bet you're just ITCHING to taste these??"!!

Usually, when I've roasted the skinned breasts (keeping the legs & carcase for a casserole/soup), I've wrapped them with bacon, and that's how I've always eaten them........question is........have I been losing out on flavour, etc. in skinning them? Would you recommend giving the plucked carcases a go - superior taste & 'natural' basting? Just dunno.....

[Derekthefox]

I have not transported game, but I have transported freshly caught seafish ...

I would suggest you wrap them in two or three dustbin bags, each one sealed before putting into the next one ...

Derekthefox

[derbex]

I've only ever roasted them whole -they still want a couple of rashers of streaky though.

They taste good, though you need to be carefull of the pin bones in the legs when you eat them.

Jeremy

[Derekthefox]

We just find it impossible to keep from blathering about food dont we? Not that I mind, but I can't see us acquiring any pheasants in the near future ...

Derekthefox

[derbex]

There's one that hangs around my plot that you can acquire any time you like

The pharmers market yesterday was phull of them -but we went for Bambi and Thumper instead

Jeremy

[Lazybones]

I can highly recommend the Rick Stein chinese casserole too.  I am very lazy but know someone who likes plucking and drawing them - in exchange for 2 of them that is, so I am currently waiting for 2 to be returned which I will have on boxing day.  Yum!!!  The only thing I ever think you need to beware of is the shot!

[derbex]

Still on the exotic note -I did have curried quails in the last cheap Indian on Brick Lane. Very nice too  Curried phaesant would probably be good if you have a light hand with the spices.

This recipe is everywhere -I like the idea of disjointing 

http://rubymurray.com/curry/DisplayRecipe.asp?Name=Pheasant+Curry

[derbex]

...and there's more.....

www.justgamerecipes.com

[Derekthefox]

That last link is awesome !!!

Derekthefox

[Looby Loo]

I was brought up eating game totally love the stuff. Low in fat but full of flavour the higher the better for me, although I can understand that folk find the strength of well aged bird* a tad off putting.

I love them just simply roasted for about 35 minutes and then left to rest covered breast side down for 5-6 minutes to let the juices flow back into the breast, lovely.

Saying that here’s one of my favourite ways of cooking pheasant, it includes apple and really works well.

Serves 2 greedies.


1 oz butter

1 tbsp (maybe slightly less) sunflower oil

1 pheasant, jointed

1 large cooking apple, peeled cored and sliced.

2 celery stalks finely sliced

1 onion, finely sliced

1 tbsp (maybe slightly less) plain flour 

¾ pint of good chicken stock

¼ pint dry white wine (or half a pint of strong dry cider reduced by half)

¼ pint of double cream (maybe less, mostly I use crème fraiche I must admit)

Melt the butter and oil in a heavy casserole dish, when the butter starts to foam add the pheasant pieces, cook for about 5 mins or so until nicely browned. Lift the pieces out, drain them of oil etc. and keep them warm.

Reduce the heat, add the onion, celery and apple. Cook gently until soft, about 5 mins.

Add the flour and cook stirring for a minute. Pour in the wine wait a sec and then add in the stock. Bring to the boil until thickened a touch, taste and season.

Return the pheasant, spoon the sauce over the bird, bring back to the boil and cover with a cloche of greaseproof paper (this is important, it really helps to keep the flesh moist) Cover with a tight fitting lid and cook at 180c (GM 4) for about 1 ¼ hours.

Remove the bird from the casserole and keep warm. Strain the sauce into a clean pan, whisk in the cream check the seasoning and well that’s about it.

 I normally add a clove of garlic when I’m softening the onion, celery and apple and a couple of finely sliced sage leaves just before I cloche the bird.




*I really didn't mean that to come out the way it did

LL's OH.

[Mrs Ava]

I have a brace of pheasants, a slab of venison, a couple of rabbits, and a wild duck in the freezer and they will be cooked up into game pie for the day after boxing day and the days after....that, and the ham I will be roasting Christmas eve should pretty much see us meat wise over the break. 

[Derekthefox]

No game round here , being the centre of Coventry !!! Not even bloody pigeons !!!

Derekthefox

[Obbelix]

We get pheasants too and they are so stupid.  They fly into the garden and strut about then get rounded up by a hopeful cat and it's only when I stick my head out of the window and shout at them that they remember they have wings and can fly out of trouble!

As for recipes - Josceline Dimbleby has a very good recipe for spiced whole pheasant in the old Sainsbury's Christmas book and the Two Fat Ladies have a very good one for Georgian pheasant also cooked whole with skin on and I seem to remembre Delia did one too in one of her books.   Must be worth googling around..

[katynewbie]

Lived in Norfolk for a while and my dad used to speed up when he saw pheasants on the road. Apparently there is still an obscure bylaw which says that if you "inadvertently hit a pheasant with your cart" you can keep it.
Dad had a Morris Minor traveller, the closest thing to a motorised cart!!
He tried for years and never managed to hit one, inadvertently or otherwise!!

But I still love them..even if I have to pay!!

[Mrs Ava]

Interesting Katy, my mum always told me that if you hit the bird, you couldn't pick it up, but the car behind could!  SOme wierd laws out there!

[Derekthefox]

I would be willing to take the risk, claiming another car hit it ! Not that I have been that lucky.

Derekthefox

[Hyacinth]

Well, many thanks all........problem solved!!

 I met Barry in the pub lunchtime yesterday,  Xmas Eve, who handed over the usual swag...2 pheasants tied together round their necks with string.......slung them over the back of my chair.......Baz left, other friends arrived (as they do!)..then hell broke loose.......phone rang & friend I was going with to Wales with was, at the time of phone call, being transported, sirens blazing, to hospital adjacent to pub........I was there before the ambulance arrived!  Pheasants, however, still in the pub.......checked today, pheasants nowhere to be found........

[cleo]

Lishka!!(my old mate so don`t look while I send her a couple of xxxx )

I did a brace like this the other day.

Brown them in butter together with a few shallots. Then casserole in apple juice until nearly `done` Take some of the cooking liquor to make a sauce with a roux,brandy(calvados if you have it) and cream.

Drool