Faisan à la Choucroûte

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6-quart (4.7 to 5.7 L) heavy lidded cocotte
• •3 to 4-quart (2.8 to 3.8 L) saucepan with lid
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Long heatproof serving platter
• •Small warmed sauceboat

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the preparations

   Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Let the pheasant lose its refrigerator chill for 20 minutes, then dry it again. Bring the finished Sauerkraut (Choucroûte) (No. 2097) and the one-bird preparation of Poëlings (No. 250) to the stove. Keep the eight bacon rectangles from the choucroûte apart for the border; they are already cooked and need only warming.

2. 2

   Heat and drain choucroûte

   Warm the Sauerkraut (Choucroûte) (No. 2097) gently in a covered saucepan for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring from the bottom, until the strands glisten with foie-gras fat and are hot throughout. Drain it thoroughly in a colander, then return it to the warm pan off the heat. If it still sheds liquid when pressed with a spoon, set it uncovered over low heat for two minutes and turn it gently. Ça se rattrape. The platter needs a succulent bed, not a puddle.

3. 3

   Cook by poëling

   Season the pheasant inside and out with the salt and pepper, then apply Poëlings (No. 250) at one-bird scale in the snug cocotte. Begin checking after 25 minutes; a young bird commonly needs 30 to 40 minutes, but the thermometer governs. Remove it when the thigh reaches at least 165°F (74°C) and the thickest breast reaches 160 to 162°F (71 to 72°C), then rest it loosely covered for 10 minutes and verify that the breast reaches 165°F (74°C). If the breast is ready while the thighs lag, remove the breast halves and return the legs to the oven. Better a neatly reassembled bird than dry meat kept whole for ceremony.

   Pheasant carries little protective fat. Check in more than one place without touching bone, and never rely on the clock alone.
4. 4

   Finish the poëling liquor

   At the liquor-finishing stage of Poëlings (No. 250), combine the poëling liquor with the game fumet. Let them simmer gently together for 10 minutes so the fumet draws the pheasant and vegetable savor from the cooking fat, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a warm sauceboat. Skim only any large, standing pool of fat. The liquor should remain glossy and somewhat greasy, exactly as the dish requires. If it reduces too fiercely or tastes too salty, loosen it one tablespoon of hot water at a time; the sauce is concentrated, not punitive.

5. 5

   Build the platter

   Spread the well-drained Sauerkraut (Choucroûte) (No. 2097) along a warmed long platter. Set the rested pheasant on top and surround the cabbage with the warmed bacon rectangles, making a generous border rather than a fussy pattern. If the breasts were removed to protect them, slice them thickly and arrange them over the cabbage with the legs alongside. Send the poëling liquor apart so each person can spoon on its full, game-scented richness. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Buy a young, tender pheasant of modest size, preferably farmed, with plump breasts and supple legs. An older wild bird wants a long braise; forcing it through this quick poëling gives tough legs before the breast has any hope of staying juicy.
• •The source calls for foie-gras fat, not slices of foie gras hidden in the cabbage. Buy rendered fat or save it from cooking foie gras trimmings. Duck fat will make good choucroûte, but it changes this particular preparation and should be named as a compromise.
• •Game fumet means a concentrated game essence. A properly reduced pheasant or other feathered-game stock is ideal. If none is available, reduce unsalted brown chicken stock by half; the liquor will be gentler and less distinctly gamey, but still sound.
• •Do not polish the poëling liquor into a lean jus. Its butter and game fat have carried the flavor through the cooking, and the recipe asks for some of that fat to reach the sauceboat. Frankly greasy means gleaming and aromatic, not a deep slick.
• •Pour a dry Alsatian Riesling or Pinot Gris with this. The wine needs enough acidity for the cabbage and enough body for the pheasant and foie-gras fat.
• •Refrigerate leftover pheasant and choucroûte separately within two hours and use within three days. Reheat the cabbage gently; warm sliced pheasant covered with a spoonful of liquor so it does not dry.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the Sauerkraut (Choucroûte) (No. 2097) with foie-gras fat up to two days ahead. Reserve its cooked bacon rectangles separately, chill everything promptly, and reheat gently before draining.
• •Assemble the ingredients required for Poëlings (No. 250) earlier in the day, scaled for one pheasant. Keep its butter and other perishable elements cold until cooking.
• •The game fumet can be made several days ahead or frozen in 1/2-cup (120 ml / 120 g) portions. Reduce it before freezing so it is ready for the sauceboat.
• •The stated preparation and cooking times begin with both referenced preparations ready. Once the pheasant enters the cocotte, keep the rest of the meal simple and give the bird your attention.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 485g)