Lemon and Garlic Roasted Pheasant

I finally managed to get to the 104 Street market last saturday instead of the Starthcona Market. There's less selection, but also less people, and you can still get great produce straight from the people who grow it. The other huge bonus is the game bird stall run by "Dirt Willy". I've been wondering about cooking pheasant for some time now, and Cakes and I have occasionally talked about getting hunting licenses (for game birds, not deer or anything cute), so when I saw the pheasants for sale I decided to jump in without checking the price. Which is good. because I'f I'd known that a 3 pound bird was going to cost me almost $30, I probably wouldn't have bought it! As it was, I was in shock when the man told me the price and absentmindedly forked over the money and went home with the bird.

Now I can say I've tasted pheasant and I know I like it just fine. Not enough to pay $10 a pound for it, but give me some reasonably priced (or better yet, free!) pheasants and I'd be more than happy to repeat the experience.

Pheasant meat is a lot denser than chicken. My roast chickens generally have a mouthwatering, meltingly soft flesh, so the density of this meat came as a huge surprise to me. Not unpleasant, but a surprise nonetheless. It's not overly gamey tasting either. There's very little fat on the bird, which presents its own problems, but because the skin was so thin, it got very crispy all over and didn't have that disspointing flabby skin towards the sides and bottom that you usually get on a roast chook.

The flavour combo I used - lemon & garlic - worked beautifully with this bird. Also critical is the brining. I imagine the meat would have been much denser and less tender but for the brine. If you happen to get your hands on a pheasant, give this a go. Otherwise, it'd work beautifully for a chicken or game hens as well.

• 1 - 3 lb Pheasant, cleaned
• 1.5 litre (6 cups) water
• 2 Tablespoons good quality sea salt
• rind of 1/2 lemon in biggish pieces
• 2 cloves garlic smashed
• 1/3 cup soft butter
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• rind of 1/2 lemon minced fine
• 2 cloves garlic minced fine
• 1 lemon in quarters
• 1 cup white wine
• canola spray oil

Pop the pheasant into a large ziploc bag with the water, salt, large rind pieces and smashed garlic. Seal well and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Preheat overn to 425F

Drain pheasant and pat dry. use your hand to loosen the skin from the pheasant's breast. mix together soft butter, honey, minced garlic and minced lemon. Using your hands, transfer the butter mixture to the breast under the loosened skin. Pull the skin back over to cover and use your fingers to gently spread the butter under the skin evenly.

Place the lemon quarters up the chicken's bum. Chuck an extra clove of garlic up there too if you like. Tie the chook's legs together with cooking twine. Pop the chook on a rack inside a roasting pan. Spray oil lightly over the surface of the whole chicken. Roast in oven for 15 minutes at 425 and then reduce the heat to 350F. Roast for 30 minute more until doen (juices should run clear when you pierce the bird in the thick flesh where the thigh joins the body). Don't rely on the old "wiggle the drumstick test" as the dense pheasant flesh will not wiggle as loosely as a chicken's.

Remove from oven and tent with foil. Deglaze the roasting pan with wine. Reduce the jus to approximately 1/3 cup and serve with the sliced pheasant.

This serves up beautifully with a simple salad of greens, toasted pecans, apple slices, dried cranberries, goats cheese and a lemon dressing.

Comments

[Tanna]

Awesome picture! I've never had phesant so I guess I'm over due.