Chef Juliette
Selle de Chevreuil et Cuissot
Selle de Chevreuil et Cuissot teaches the discipline of game: strip every tendon, skip marinade for a young, well-hung joint, roast in butter, and stop before leanness turns to dryness.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Faisan en Casserole
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1832, Faisan en Casserole, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
A whole pheasant poêlé gently in butter, bronzed uncovered, and finished with brandy and game gravy: lean game kept succulent by basting, a snug casserole, and exact timing.
Main Dishes
French
Dinner Party
Comfort Food
20 min
Active Time
50 min cook•1 hr 20 min total
Yield4 servings
Faisan en casserole (pheasant butter-roasted in a covered casserole) teaches the true purpose of poêlé cooking: protect a lean bird with butter and gentle enclosed heat, then give it colour only at the end. The one true thing to know before touching a pan is that pheasant has very little fat and no patience for careless timing. Butter protects it, but cannot rescue it once roasted dry.
The original expected a saucier within calling distance, concentrated game gravy beside a stockpot that never left the fire, and a salamander ready if the colour lagged. At home, one snug flameproof casserole, a measured spoonful of prepared game gravy, an instant-read thermometer, and a final uncovered burst in an ordinary oven do the work. The entry was already built around one bird, so its proper home scale remains one pheasant for four when served with generous accompaniments. One cook, one stove, one evening.
The general Poëlings (No. 250), butter-roasting, could involve matignon, fat wrapping, paper, and a separate sauceboat for larger poultry. In this special en casserole formula, those are brigade scaffolding and come out by design. Cooking in butter alone and swilling the casserole with brandy and game gravy are the dish, so they stay. Watch the thermometer, not the clock. That is the step deciding whether the pheasant reaches the table succulent and burning hot.
Faisan en casserole belongs to the Parisian classical dining room and the bourgeois game table, where a whole pheasant could be cooked and presented in the same handsome vessel. In classical practice, en casserole meant a butter poêling without the vegetable garnish generally associated with en cocotte. Despite its English rendering, this is not a wet stew: the bird roasts without added liquid, and its scant jus is built only after cooking.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
oven-ready young pheasant
Quantity
1 (about 2½ to 3 pounds / 1.1 to 1.4 kg)
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g)
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g)
unsalted butter
Quantity
6 tablespoons (90 ml / 85 g), divided, for Poëlings (No. 250)
brandy
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g)
concentrated game gravy
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g), preferably unsalted
Alternatively, reduce ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) low-sodium chicken stock to 1 tablespoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| oven-ready young pheasant | 1 (about 2½ to 3 pounds / 1.1 to 1.4 kg) |
| fine sea salt | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) |
| freshly ground black pepper | ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g) |
| unsalted butter | 6 tablespoons (90 ml / 85 g), divided, for Poëlings (No. 250) |
| brandy | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) |
| concentrated game gravyAlternatively, reduce ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) low-sodium chicken stock to 1 tablespoon | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g), preferably unsalted |
Equipment Needed
- •Snug 4-quart flameproof casserole with lid
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Kitchen twine
- •Small saucepan if reducing stock
- •Basting spoon
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the bird
Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C), with a rack in the centre. If using the chicken-stock alternative, boil it in a small saucepan until exactly 1 tablespoon remains, then reserve it. Check the pheasant cavity, pat the bird thoroughly dry, tuck the wing tips underneath, and tie the legs together without pulling them tightly against the breast. Season inside and out with the salt and pepper, then rub 1 tablespoon of the butter over the skin.
A wild bird may contain shot. Inspect the cavity and flesh carefully, and ask the supplier how it was taken before cooking. - 2
Begin covered poêling
Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over gentle heat in a heavy flameproof casserole just large enough to hold the pheasant. Set the bird breast-side up in the butter and spoon the melted butter over it. Cover tightly and place it in the oven for 20 minutes, then uncover briefly, baste every exposed surface, cover again, and cook for another 15 minutes. This is the pheasant's application of Poëlings (No. 250): butter is the cooking medium, and no stock, wine, or vegetables go into the casserole while the bird roasts.
If the butter freckles deep brown before the bird is nearly cooked, lower the oven by 25°F (15°C) and add the reserved tablespoon of fresh butter. If it turns black or smells bitter, lift out the bird, discard the scorched butter, wipe the casserole safely, and continue with fresh butter. Ça se rattrape. - 3
Brown and judge
After about 35 minutes, insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and the inner thigh without touching bone. Once the breast is near 150°F (66°C), baste again, uncover the casserole, and raise the oven to 425°F (220°C). Roast for 8 to 12 minutes, basting once, until the skin is a deep butter-gold and both test points reach 165°F (74°C). Most birds of this size need 45 to 55 minutes in all, but the thermometer governs. If the bird is cooked before it has enough colour, brush it with butter and place it under a fully heated broiler for 30 to 60 seconds, watching without looking away. That is your salamander; don't dry the pheasant merely to improve its complexion.
- 4
Swill with brandy
Lift the pheasant onto a warm plate while you finish the jus. Pour the excess butter into a heatproof bowl, leaving about 1 tablespoon and every browned cooking deposit in the casserole. Take the casserole off the heat before adding the brandy, then return it to medium heat and swill it around the base, scraping gently for 20 to 30 seconds until its sharp alcoholic smell softens. Add brandy from a measured spoon, never directly from the bottle.
- 5
Finish the casserole
Add the concentrated game gravy and swill it through the butter and fond, simmering for only 1 to 2 minutes. This is a short, intense jus, not a moat of sauce. If it looks greasy, tilt the casserole and spoon away the clear butter floating at the edge while preserving the glossy sheen; if it tightens before the fond releases, loosen it with 1 teaspoon of water. Return the pheasant and its resting juices to the casserole, spoon the jus over it, cover, and warm over the lowest heat for 1 minute without boiling. Carry the covered casserole straight to the table. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose a young pheasant between 2½ and 3 pounds. A hen is often plumper through the breast, while a wild bird will usually be leaner and may finish sooner. Technique first, always: begin checking early.
- •Prepared game gravy should be deeply flavoured, unsalted or lightly salted, and concentrated enough that one spoonful matters. Reduced chicken stock is the honest home equivalent, but its flavour will be gentler and less distinctly gamey.
- •Don't add bacon, aromatic vegetables, herbs, or cream. They can make good pheasant dishes, but this entry is deliberately severe: pheasant, butter, brandy, and game gravy. Its restraint is the point.
- •Serve with purée de pommes de terre, buttered noodles, or plainly glazed root vegetables to receive the scant jus. A red Burgundy or a supple cru Beaujolais has enough freshness for the bird without bullying it.
Advance Preparation
- •The concentrated game gravy can be prepared up to three days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator, or frozen in tablespoon portions.
- •The pheasant can be dried and trussed up to six hours ahead. Refrigerate it uncovered, then season it just before cooking.
- •Do not roast the bird in advance. Pheasant reheats reluctantly and loses moisture quickly; prepare the gravy and accompaniments ahead, then cook the bird shortly before the meal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 150g)
Calories
420 calories
Total Fat
28 g
Saturated Fat
12 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
14 g
Cholesterol
145 mg
Sodium
700 mg
Total Carbohydrates
0 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
0 g
Protein
42 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Poultry (Volaille) - Venison and Ground Game
Browse the full collection
Chef Juliette
Selle de Chevreuil à l’Allemande
A three-day marinade perfumes this lean saddle, but the roast lives or dies by its rosy center; the tray fond, cream, meat glaze, and one juniper berry make the sauce.
Chef Juliette
Selle de Chevreuil à la Baden-Baden
A butter-poêled venison saddle, carved rosy and flanked by unsweetened pears scented with cinnamon and lemon, with clear game jus and redcurrant jelly at the table.
Chef Juliette
Selle de Chevreuil aux Cerises
Verjuice perfumes rather than pickles this saddle, while a thermometer protects its rosy centre. Poivrade and red-currant jelly meet in strict equality, with semi-candied cherries folded through for the generous game table.