Feathered Game

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy shallow roasting pan large enough for two pheasants
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Tongs or two sturdy wooden spoons for turning
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Small saucepan
• •Sharp carving knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Inspect the pheasants

   Confirm that the pheasants are young, legally sourced, oven-ready, and professionally matured if they are wild. Do not begin faisandage at home; without a known handling history and precisely controlled cold storage, hanging is not a home-kitchen procedure. Run your fingers carefully over wild birds to find stray shot, remove any pinfeathers, and trim away badly bruised tissue. Dry the cavities and skin thoroughly.

   If the legs feel heavily muscled, the breastbone is rigid, and the supplier cannot confirm that the bird is young, don't roast it. An old pheasant belongs in game stock or forcemeat, exactly as the source directs.
2. 2

   Season and heat

   Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C) with a rack in the middle. Combine the salt and pepper, reserving a small pinch for the jus, then season each pheasant inside and out. Leave the birds for 20 minutes while the oven heats, then tie the legs loosely together. Tight trussing slows the thighs; the twine should hold the shape without binding it like a parcel.

3. 3

   Turn through the roast

   Scatter the onion, carrot, thyme, and bay leaf around a shallow heavy roasting pan. Rub the pheasants all over with the 3 tablespoons of melted butter and set them on one side. Roast for 10 minutes, baste, then turn onto the other side and roast for another 10 minutes. Turn them breast-side up, lower the oven to 400°F (200°C), baste again, and roast for 10 to 18 minutes more, until the thickest part of both breast and inner thigh reaches 165°F (74°C) without touching bone. If the breast becomes deeply bronze before the meat is ready, cover it loosely with a small piece of foil. If the fond threatens to blacken, pour a tablespoon or two of the measured water around the vegetables, never over the birds. Ça se rattrape while the fond is dark brown; once it burns, bitterness stays.

   Do not prick the flesh to baste it and do not insert strips of fat. Butter on the surface promotes browning without muffling the pheasant's own flavor.
4. 4

   Rest and deglaze

   Transfer the pheasants to a warm platter, cover them loosely, and rest for 15 minutes. Spoon off excess fat from the roasting pan, leaving about 1 tablespoon with the mahogany fond. Set the pan over medium heat, add the wine, and scrape up the brown deposits while leaving any blackened specks behind. Reduce the wine to about ¼ cup, then add 1¼ cups of the stock and any juices collected beneath the birds. Simmer until roughly ¾ cup remains and the flavor is concentrated but not salty.

5. 5

   Finish the jus

   Strain the jus into a small saucepan, pressing the softened vegetables only if the fond remained clean. Taste it. If it is too strong or salty, add some of the reserved ¼ cup stock; if it is thin, reduce it a little longer. Take the pan off the heat and monter au beurre, whisking in the 2 tablespoons of cold butter a small piece at a time until the jus gleams and lightly coats a spoon. If it separates into greasy beads, whisk in 1 teaspoon of cold water. Ça se rattrape. Season with the reserved salt and pepper only if needed.

6. 6

   Carve and serve

   Remove the twine. Cut the legs cleanly through their joints, then follow the breastbone with a sharp knife and lift each breast away in one long piece. Give each guest one breast and one leg, spooning the glossy jus over the meat and allowing a little to pool beneath it. Serve at once. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The ten classes in the source are: pheasants, grey and red partridges, and Tetras Californias; hazel-hen, grouse, prairie fowl, ganga, and sand-grouse; wild ducks and teal; woodcock and snipe; plovers, lapwings, sandpipers, water-rails, and water-hens; quail, land-rails, and Virginia quail; thrushes and Corsican blackbirds; larks; warblers; and ortolans. This is a culinary taxonomy, not a shopping list. Many named birds are protected or cannot legally be sold, so cook only game permitted by local law and obtained through a reputable supplier.
• •The maturation rule attaches to the first and fourth classes as groups, not only to pheasant and woodcock. The remaining birds should be fresh rather than high, especially aquatic species, whose flavor deteriorates under the same treatment.
• •Larder, to thread narrow strips of fat through flesh with a larding needle, is the discarded technique here. It compromises a young pheasant's flavor, while an old bird remains old beneath the fat. Butter on the skin and disciplined roasting are enough.
• •A fresh or frozen farm-raised pheasant is the practical choice when legally sold wild game is unavailable. Its flavor will be milder because it lacks the source entry's controlled maturation, but it should still be young, carefully roasted, and never larded.
• •Do not exchange duck or teal for pheasant in this formula. Their heavier fat and fresh-game handling call for a different roasting method. With the pheasant, pour a red Burgundy or a cru Beaujolais and keep the accompaniments quiet enough to let the bird speak.

Advance Preparation

• •Arrange professional maturation with the game supplier before purchase. Do not treat home hanging as advance preparation.
• •The pheasants may be seasoned and refrigerated uncovered for up to 12 hours. This dries the surface for stronger browning; take them from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before roasting.
• •The vegetables can be cut and the stock measured earlier in the day. Build the jus from the fresh roasting fond while the birds rest, because that pan flavor is the foundation and should not be postponed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 225g)