Game Day

Yes, surprisingly, I’m not referring to the Superbowl.

Thinking game birds and not pig skins, I invited our long time friend and foodie, Lynne over for dinner.
We’ve been trying to consume as wild and locally as possible so finding a pheasant in our little grocers was nothing short of serendipitous.

I’d never cooked a pheasant before, or any game bird for that matter. I remember stories and pictures of my Grandfather in and around the Rat Pack era with ventures of Pheasants and Wild Turkey from his forested property. Stories which were prompted by the discovery of odd prints and ashtrays decorated with the birds distinctive plumage. Having found a photo or two, I’d heard about weekend escapades with old friends, now gone like the flock of birds drawn in groups from their grassy clearings.

At home with my bird, I searched for ways to do it justice. Surprisingly, of the extravagant number of those long tailed ashtrays I’d seen in my lifetime and the countless ads for hunting excursions, I had only uncovered a handful of recipe suggestions. With the first being from “Shooting Times”, I opted for guidance from our Fair Lady, Julia Child and a variation from a 2001 edition of Parade Magazine.

Pheasants, like most other wild birds, are quite lean and can dry out quickly. Many of the recipes I’d discovered suggested all out braising or wrapping the bird in bacon to roast it. Although bacon is known to be good enough to lure a vegetarian, I wanted to taste as much of the flavour the pheasant was prepared to offer us without masking it in that smoky, salted fat. In the end, I opted for olive oil, a little stock and frequent basting, while stuffing the cavity with tangerines, garlic, onion, rosemary and bay, delivering me the best part of a turkey dinner in every bite.

Served with roasted vegetables and a dish of sautéed brussel sprouts with crumbled blue cheese.

ROASTED WILD PHEASANT

1 pheasant, 3 – 4 pounds
1 Head of Garlic
2 Tangerines, halved and juiced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 shallots, minced
1 teaspoon Dried Rosemary, broken
2 Bay Leaves
1 Onion, peeled and cut into eighths
2 Carrots, peeled, halved and sliced into 2-inch lengths
6 New Potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
1/2 Buttercup Squash, seeded and sliced into crescents
1/4 cup Vegetable or Chicken Broth

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Juice the tangerines into a pour able measuring cup, reserving the halved rinds.
Mince two cloves of the garlic.
Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, minced garlic and shallot, rosemary and bay leaves. Combine well and set aside.
Peel the remaining garlic, crushing four cloves slightly, leaving them in the center of the tangerine rinds.
After rinsing the pheasant cavity well, intermittently stuff it with a prepared tangerine rind and chopped onion; tying legs together with kitchen string, if necessary.
Toss the chopped carrots, potatoes, squash and remaining garlic cloves and onion into the bottom of a roasting pan; pouring the broth over top.
Carefully loosen breast skin of the pheasant; pour half of the tangerine juice and rosemary basting liquid underneath each side of the breast. Replace the skin neatly.
Place the pheasant, breast side up, on top of the vegetables and rub the skin with the remaining olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Cover the pheasant with aluminum foil.
Roast in the center of the oven for 1 hour, basting 2 or 3 times with the remaining tangerine juice and rosemary basting liquid.
Remove the foil and continue to roast until the breast is brown and the pheasant is cooked through, about 20 to 30 minutes longer. The legs should be loose and the juices should run clear.
Remove the pheasant and the vegetables from the pan.
Let pheasant rest 10 minutes before carving.