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.
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Faisan en Chartreuse
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1834, Faisan en Chartreuse, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
A tender pheasant, only just poêlé, disappears inside savory braised cabbage, then emerges as a burnished chartreuse with pheasant-scented demi-glace alongside. The lesson is timing: deep flavor outside, delicacy protected within.
Main Dishes
French
Comfort Food
Dinner Party
Holiday
45 min
Active Time
2 hr 45 min cook•3 hr 30 min total
Yield4 servings
Faisan en Chartreuse (pheasant in a braised cabbage mould) teaches a discipline before it teaches a shape: two pheasants enter the kitchen, and they have entirely different jobs. The mature bird braises with the cabbage until it has surrendered its flavor, then it is discarded. The tender bird is cooked separately, only just done, and protected inside that savory cabbage shell. Confuse the two and the dish makes no sense.
The brigade version assumed an old game bird to spare, a saucier tending excellent half-glaze, stock never off the fire, and an oval chartreuse mould built for the purpose. A salamander contributes nothing here. At home, one good prepared demi-glace, pheasant fumet, and a deep heatproof bowl do the work, scaled for four people and sequenced for one cook, one stove, one evening. Decorative rows of turned vegetables, forcemeat linings, and repeated strainings belong to the scaffolding of other chartreuses, not this entry. The two-bird logic, the separate Poëlings, the pressed cabbage, and the fumet-scented sauce must stay.
Drain and press the cabbage properly before you line the mould. It must be supple and moist, never dripping; excess liquor loosens the shell and steals the clean turn-out. That is the step that decides the chartreuse.
Faisan en Chartreuse belongs to the codified grand-kitchen repertoire of Paris, where chartreuse named a moulded construction of vegetables around a rich center. Other chartreuses displayed precise rows of carrot, turnip, peas, and beans, while the cabbage branch became a natural casing for pigeon and feathered game at bourgeois tables. Despite the name, this preparation contains no Chartreuse liqueur; its distinctive rule is the two-bird discipline, with a mature pheasant flavoring the cabbage and a tender one reserved for serving.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
mature stewing pheasant
Quantity
1 bird for the Braised Cabbage (No. 2100), 2½ to 3 pounds (1.1 to 1.4 kg)
oven-browned and discarded after braising
braised cabbage
Quantity
1 home-scale batch Braised Cabbage (No. 2100), about 6 cups (1.4 L / 1 kg)
prepared from 2½ pounds (1.1 kg) raw cabbage, kept warm and thoroughly drained
tender young pheasant
Quantity
1 bird prepared by Poëlings (No. 250), 2 to 2½ pounds (900 g to 1.1 kg)
kept whole and cooked only just through
unsalted butter
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g)
divided
excellent veal or game demi-glace, the half-glaze
Quantity
1½ cups (360 ml / 360 g)
pheasant fumet
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 120 g)
2 tablespoons reserved for adjustment
fine sea salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g)
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| mature stewing pheasantoven-browned and discarded after braising | 1 bird for the Braised Cabbage (No. 2100), 2½ to 3 pounds (1.1 to 1.4 kg) |
| braised cabbageprepared from 2½ pounds (1.1 kg) raw cabbage, kept warm and thoroughly drained | 1 home-scale batch Braised Cabbage (No. 2100), about 6 cups (1.4 L / 1 kg) |
| tender young pheasantkept whole and cooked only just through | 1 bird prepared by Poëlings (No. 250), 2 to 2½ pounds (900 g to 1.1 kg) |
| unsalted butterdivided | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) |
| excellent veal or game demi-glace, the half-glaze | 1½ cups (360 ml / 360 g) |
| pheasant fumet2 tablespoons reserved for adjustment | ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) |
| fine sea salt | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) |
| freshly ground black pepper | ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Large heavy cocotte for Braised Cabbage (No. 2100)
- •Rimmed roasting pan
- •3-quart (2.8 L) deep oval heatproof bowl or chartreuse mould
- •Large colander
- •Small heavy saucepan
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Warmed oval serving platter
- •Sauceboat
Instructions
- 1
Brown the mature bird
Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Dry the mature pheasant, season it with half the salt and pepper, and rub it with 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) of the butter. Roast until deeply browned on every side, about 25 to 30 minutes; complete tenderness does not matter because this bird is giving its flavor to the cabbage, not going to the table.
Ask a game dealer for a mature cock or stewing pheasant. Label the two birds before you begin. The tender one is too valuable to lose in the cabbage braise, and the mature one cannot become tender enough for the mould. - 2
Flavor the cabbage
Prepare the Braised Cabbage (No. 2100) as its own finished component, adding the browned mature pheasant at the beginning of its braise so the bird sits among the cabbage and its liquor. After the prescribed gentle cooking, lift out the pheasant and discard it as the entry directs. Drain the cabbage for 15 minutes, then press it lightly in the colander until no free liquor runs. If it remains wet, spread it in a wide pan over low heat and turn it gently for several minutes. Ça se rattrape. Keep it covered and warm.
- 3
Cook the tender bird
Time the tender pheasant so it finishes as the cabbage drains. Season it with the remaining salt and pepper, then prepare it whole by Poëlings (No. 250), keeping the heat gentle and browning it only after the flesh is nearly cooked. Withdraw it when the breast reaches 160°F (71°C) and the inner thigh reaches at least 165°F (74°C), then rest it for 10 minutes; carryover heat finishes the breast without drying it. If the breast is ready before the thighs, shield the breast with foil and continue only until the thigh is safe.
- 4
Reduce the half-glaze
Put the demi-glace and all but the reserved 2 tablespoons of pheasant fumet into a small saucepan. Simmer gently until reduced to about 1½ cups (360 ml / 360 g), glossy enough to nappe, or coat, the back of a spoon. Strain it into a warmed sauceboat. If it tightens while waiting, loosen it with the reserved fumet; if it is thin, return it to the pan for another brief reduction. Do not boil it hard once the body is right.
- 5
Line the mould
Fill a 3-quart (2.8 L) deep oval heatproof bowl or chartreuse mould with very hot water for 5 minutes, then empty and dry it. Coat the interior thinly with the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) butter. Press about two-thirds of the warm Braised Cabbage (No. 2100) over the bottom and sides in an even layer about ½ inch (1.25 cm) thick, closing every gap without crushing the cabbage into paste.
Pigeonneaux en Chartreuse (No. 1778) supplies the book's alternate construction for cut birds, but this version follows the whole-pheasant route. Chartreuse de Ris de Veau (No. 1220) explains the decorative vegetable and forcemeat architecture of another chartreuse; those elements are scaffolding here and are not added to this pheasant entry. - 6
Enclose the pheasant
Set the whole tender pheasant prepared by Poëlings (No. 250) into the mould breast downward, tucking the legs close to the body. Pack warm cabbage gently around the sides so no hollow pockets remain, then cover the back of the bird completely with the remaining cabbage. Press only enough to join the layers. The cabbage is a close envelope, not mortar.
- 7
Rest and unmould
Let the filled mould stand for 5 minutes so the cabbage settles around the bird. Place a warmed oval platter over it, hold platter and mould firmly together, and invert in one confident movement. Lift the mould straight up. If it clings, set the mould back down and lay a hot damp towel over it for 20 seconds before trying again. If a patch of cabbage tears, press it back with the back of a warm spoon. Ça se rattrape, and sauce has excellent manners.
- 8
Serve with the sauce
Bring the chartreuse to the table whole, with the pheasant fumet half-glaze in its sauceboat. Cut through the cabbage shell, carve the pheasant beneath, and give each person both tender bird and a generous spoonful of cabbage. Pass the sauce separately, exactly as the dish intends. À table!
Chef Tips
- •This recipe truly needs two pheasants. The mature bird perfumes the Braised Cabbage (No. 2100) and is discarded; the tender bird prepared by Poëlings (No. 250) is the one your guests eat. Using one bird for both jobs abandons the central logic of the entry.
- •A deep 3-quart (2.8 L) stainless-steel mixing bowl is the honest home equivalent of an oval chartreuse mould. Choose one with gently sloping sides and no interior ridge, or the cabbage will catch when inverted.
- •Fumet means a concentrated essence. Reduce unsalted pheasant stock until its aroma is pronounced before measuring it, or ask the game dealer for pheasant frames and prepare the fumet ahead. Ordinary thin stock will dilute the demi-glace instead of flavoring it.
- •The cabbage must be drained without being wrung dry. You want pliable leaves carrying the mature bird's savor, but no loose liquid that can gather beneath the mould.
- •Serve a red Burgundy or another restrained Pinot Noir. The wine needs enough earth and acidity for cabbage and game, not so much weight that it buries the tender pheasant.
Advance Preparation
- •The Braised Cabbage (No. 2100) may be prepared with the mature pheasant one day ahead. Discard the spent bird, cool the cabbage promptly in a shallow container, cover, and refrigerate. Reheat it gently and drain it again before lining the mould.
- •The demi-glace and pheasant fumet may be combined and reduced one day ahead. Chill it covered, then reheat at a bare simmer and adjust with a spoonful of fumet if it has set too firmly.
- •Cook the tender pheasant by Poëlings (No. 250) on the day of serving. Pre-cooking and reheating it would defeat the instruction that the serving bird remain tender and only just cooked.
- •Do not assemble the mould hours ahead. Warm cabbage and a freshly rested pheasant give the cleanest shape without prolonged reheating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 440g)
Calories
470 calories
Total Fat
23 g
Saturated Fat
9 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
14 g
Cholesterol
120 mg
Sodium
1250 mg
Total Carbohydrates
18 g
Dietary Fiber
7 g
Sugars
7 g
Protein
48 g
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