One of the best ways to cook pheasant. Try something a little different with our pot-roasted dish. The bird is cooked with white wine, bacon lardons and sauerkraut and served alongside creamy mash or bread.
Ingredients
- 2 oven-ready pheasants (about 600g each; see Kay’s tip)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 25g unsalted butter
- 100g bacon lardons
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 1 celery stick, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 350ml riesling (see tips)
- 650g (drained weight from a jar) sauerkraut, rinsed in a sieve and squeezed to get rid of excess liquid
- Bouquet garni (1 bay leaf tied with 2 sprigs each parsley and tarragon)
- 350ml good quality chicken stock
- ½ tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley to garnish
- Mashed potato or crusty bread to serve
You’ll also need…
- Large flameproof lidded casserole
Method
- Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Season the pheasants inside and out with salt and pepper. Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan, then brown the birds all over. Set aside on a baking tray. In the same pan, fry the lardons until crisp, then transfer to the casserole.
- Add the onion, carrot and celery to the pan and fry gently until softened. Add the garlic and fry, stirring, for
2 minutes more until fragrant. Add the vegetables to the casserole, then pour the white wine into the frying pan and bubble for 2 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the pan. - Meanwhile, add the sauerkraut and bouquet garni to the casserole, then nestle the pheasants on top (see tips). Pour in the stock, the wine from the frying pan and any resting juices from the birds. Season with salt and black pepper, bring to the boil, then cover and transfer to the oven for 1½ hours until tender.
- Rest the birds on a platter for 5 minutes, then carve. Discard the bouquet garni and serve with the sauerkraut and juices from the pot, garnished with the chopped parsley. Serve with buttery mash or bread.
Nutrition
- 489kcals Calories
- 25.9g (9.5g saturated) Fat
- 46.1g Protein
- 6.4g (5.7g sugars) Carbs
- 4.6g Fibre
- 2.5g Salt
For 6 servings
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Reviews
Really great flavours, I was worried 650g of sauerkraut would be overpowering but the long braising time took away the intensity of the sourness. The pheasant was slightly overdone so I’d check the temp at around 1h15 next time. Definitely a keeper of a recipe.
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