Pheasant With Apples Recipes

PHEASANT AND APPLE CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt and pepper.
• Cut the pheasant into serving pieces and thoroughly coat each piece with the flour mixture.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet, add the pheasant and brown on both sides.
• Remove pieces to a 3 quart baking dish or casserole and sprinkle with the salt, pepper and thyme.
• Stir in the apple slices, mix the cider and vinegar and pour over the pheasant and apples.
• Cover and bake 1 1/4 hours.

PHEASANT NORMANDY

Steps:

• Salt the pheasant legs and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a Dutch oven or another large, oven-proof pan over medium heat. Add the apple slices and sauté until they turn a little brown around the edges, turning occasionally. Sprinkle the apple slices with a little salt. Set aside on paper towels.
• Dust the pheasant in flour and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan. Brown the pheasant for 3 to 5 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside.
• Add the onion and increase the heat to medium-high. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until they just begin to brown, about 5 to 8 minutes.
• Take the pan off the heat and pour in the brandy. Put the pan back on the heat and, using a wooden spoon, scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Let the brandy boil until it has reduced by about half. Add the cider and bring it to a boil. Add the thyme. Lay the pheasant legs in the pan, cover and simmer gently until tender, anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 1/2 hours.
• Fish out the pheasant legs and strip the meat off the bones if you want to. Turn the heat to high, add the apples and boil down the sauce by half. When the sauce gets a little syrupy, turn off the heat and add the cream. Add salt to taste. Serve by spooning some apples and onions on everyone's plate and topping it with the pheasant.

PHEASANT BRAISED WITH LEEKS, CIDER & APPLES

Steps:

• For the pickled apples, put the salt, sugar, vinegar and berries in a small pan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, add the apple cubes and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed, high-sided casserole and season the pheasant joints with salt. Brown them all over, rendering out some of the yellow fat into the pan. Remove to a plate and season with pepper. Add the leeks, bacon and thyme to the pan along with a pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper, and fry until the leeks have softened - about 8 mins. Add the apple slices and cook until starting to colour on both sides.
• Spoon in the brandy and cook until evaporated, add the cider and simmer for a few more mins to cook off the alcohol. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer and add the pheasant joints back to the pan, covering with a circle of baking parchment.
• After 15 mins, remove the breasts from the pan to a plate and return the circle of baking parchment to the pan. Cook gently for a further 20 mins, then remove all the pheasant pieces from the pan to a plate and turn the heat up to reduce the sauce. Boil hard for a few min until reduced, then stir in the cream and mace and turn off the heat. Return the pheasant pieces to the sauce - the residual heat will warm it perfectly.
• Divide the pheasant between plates and spoon over the sauce. Garnish with the pickled apples and hazelnuts. Serve with our celeriac colcannon.

PHEASANT BREAST STUFFED WITH APPLES IN A CIDER VINEGAR AND PRUNE SAUCE

Steps:

• Place the apples into a small saucepan with the water, thyme, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the apples have softened and cooked down to a chunky applesauce, about 15 minutes. Remove the applesauce from the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Prepare the pheasant breasts to be stuffed by cutting a pocket horizontally into each breast. Spoon the apple and bread crumb stuffing into each breast. Wrap each breast with two strips of bacon and place them into a baking dish with the chopped onion. Pour the chicken stock over the pheasant breasts and season with salt and pepper.
• Roast the pheasant breasts in the preheated oven until well done and the juices from the meat run clear, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Remove the breasts from the baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Pour the juices from the baking dish into a small saucepan with the cider vinegar and prunes; bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the cream and continue to boil until thickened.
• Slice the breasts diagonally and fan out on the serving platter, spoon the prune sauce over the slices to serve.