With the advent of “oven ready” birds, it is sometimes hard to tell which ones are young and which are old. Early young pheasants are perfect for just using the breasts in elegant game recipes. If a bird is in the feather obviously, look at the spurs on the legs. Otherwise, a good indicator for plucked birds is to press the breastbone. If it has a bit of give, it is a sign that the bird is relatively young; if it is hard and unyielding, it is probably an older bird, which is best relegated to the casserole dish. As with all birds, getting hands on is always a good idea!
Early Autumn Breast of Pheasant with spiced Plums
You can start the plums the day before for this dish.
6 Pheasant breasts, skin on, seasoned with salt.
300ml homemade game stock
2 small onions, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
About 1 tbsp Clarified butter
2 tbsp plum brandy or brandy
For the Plums:
6 ripe plums, cut in half and stone removed
1 tsp honey
1 whole star anise
1 cinnamon stick
6 bruised cardamom pods
100ml water
A small pinch of saffron strands
Bring the water, honey and spices up to the boil add the plum halves and simmer for 5 minutes or until the plums are softish. Using a slotted spoon, separate the plums for the liquor and set both aside.
Pre heat the oven to 180c
Start the plums.
Heat up a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the clarified butter. When the butter is sizzling, add the pheasant breasts skin side down. Brown for a minute or so then turn over and brown the other side. Do not overcrowd the pan so you may have to do this in batches adding more clarified butter if necessary. Remove the breasts to a roasting tin and cook in the oven for 10 minutes or until cooked.
While they are cooking, make the sauce. In the same frying pan add a little more butter and cook the onions until they start to brown. Deglaze with the plum brandy and add the stock and spiced plum liquor. Bring to a boil and reduce the sauce for about 3-5 minutes. Check the sauce for seasoning. Strain the sauce through a sieve.
Remove the pheasant breasts from the oven to a warm plate, cover with foil and rest for 5 minutes. When you are ready to serve, add the reserved plums back into the hot sauce to warm them through. Place a pheasant breast on to a warmed plate, top with a plum half and spoon over the sauce.
Top Tip:
“Full English” (Ebury Press) by Tom Parker Bowles is a great read. I love Amazon too, but do try and support local book shops, they are so important to our High Streets.
This article by Amy Willcock appears in The
Shooting Gazette October 2009, and is reproduced here with permission.
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