Faisan Demidoff

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6 quart (4.7 to 5.7 liter) heavy lidded cocotte
• •12-inch (30 cm) wide skillet with lid
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •1-inch and ½-inch round cutters
• •Channel knife or small sharp paring knife
• •Kitchen twine
• •Shallow skimming spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Shape the garnish

   Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Pat the pheasant dry inside and out, season it with most of the salt and all the pepper, and truss it loosely so the wings and legs sit close to the body. Form the carrots and turnip into pieces about 1 inch (2.5 cm) across. Cut six shallow lengthwise grooves with a channel knife or the point of a paring knife, slice them ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick, then remove an offset smaller round from each slice to make crescents. Cut the onions into equally thin roundels and slice the celery. Weigh the vegetables after trimming, because their 8:5:5:5 proportion belongs to the formula.

   Nested 1-inch and ½-inch round cutters replace the brigade's shaped cutters neatly. If you have only a paring knife, cut simple even crescents and keep going; precise size matters for even cooking, while ornamental perfection is merely scaffolding.
2. 2

   Étuver the vegetables

   Melt 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 43 g) of the butter in a wide skillet over low heat. Add the carrot and turnip crescents with the reserved pinch of salt, cover, and étuver (stew gently in butter without browning) for 5 minutes. Add the onion roundels and celery, cover again, and cook for another 7 to 10 minutes, stirring carefully once or twice, until everything is supple but still holds its exact shape. If the butter threatens to color before the vegetables soften, lower the heat and add 1 teaspoon of water. Ça se rattrape, and the water will evaporate.

3. 3

   Poêler the pheasant

   Following the Poularde Demidoff (No. 1464) preparation, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) butter in a heavy cocotte over medium heat. Add the pheasant and color it gently on every side for 6 to 8 minutes, turning without tearing the skin. The butter should foam and the bird should become pale bronze, not acquire a hard roast crust. Set the pheasant breast-side up, cover the cocotte, and place it in the oven. Baste after 10 minutes, then again after another 10 minutes, drawing the butter and roasting juices over the breast. Those browned juices form the fond, the concentrated base of the final liquor.

4. 4

   Join bird and garnish

   After 20 to 25 minutes in the oven, check the thickest part of the breast without touching bone. When it reaches about 135°F (57°C), the pheasant is roughly three-quarters cooked. Scrape the prepared vegetables and every drop of their butter into the cocotte, arranging them around the bird rather than over its skin. Cover and return the cocotte to the oven for 12 to 18 minutes, basting once, until the breast and innermost thigh each reach 165°F (74°C). If the vegetables still resist when the bird reaches temperature, lift the pheasant to a warm platter, cover it loosely, and cook the garnish alone for another 5 minutes. Never dry the bird merely to satisfy the turnip.

5. 5

   Finish the short jus

   Lift the pheasant to a warm platter and let it rest for 8 to 10 minutes. Put the uncovered cocotte over medium heat, add the truffle crescents and chicken stock, and scrape the fond from the bottom without breaking the vegetables. Hold the liquor at a bare simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, just long enough for the truffle to perfume it and the stock to gather the roasting juices. Tip the cocotte slightly, wait a few seconds for the clear fat to rise, then skim it away with a shallow spoon. Leave the glossy cooking liquor behind. If it remains watery, simmer it for another minute; if it tightens too far, loosen it with a spoonful of stock.

6. 6

   Serve from the cocotte

   Return the rested pheasant to the cocotte and spoon the crescent garnish, onion roundels, celery, and truffle around it so their shapes remain visible. Pour any resting juices into the short jus, taste for salt, and carry the cocotte directly to the table. Carve the pheasant there, giving each serving both breast or leg meat and a generous spoonful of the butter-glossed garnish. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose a plump farmed hen pheasant if you can; it has enough flesh for four and cooks more evenly than a small, very lean wild bird. If wild pheasant is what you have, trust the thermometer and begin checking ten minutes earlier. Technique first, always.
• •Fresh black truffle is splendid in season, but whole preserved black truffle is the classical pantry's honest answer when it isn't. Drain it well and cut it like the vegetables. Truffle oil has no place here; the visible crescents and their quiet perfume are part of the preparation.
• •The stock must carry weight because only ¼ cup enters the cocotte. If your chicken stock does not set softly when cold, simmer ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) down to ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g), then measure it for the recipe.
• •Serve with pommes purée or a restrained rice pilaf, something willing to receive the jus without competing with the truffle. A supple red Burgundy suits the pheasant, though the dish itself makes no Burgundian claim.

Advance Preparation

• •The vegetables may be shaped and étuvés up to 4 hours ahead. Cool them promptly, cover, and refrigerate; let them lose their chill while the pheasant begins cooking.
• •Weak chicken stock may be reduced a day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Measure it only after reduction.
• •The pheasant may be dried, seasoned, and trussed up to 2 hours before cooking. Keep it refrigerated, then remove it 30 minutes before it meets the butter.
• •Cut the truffle crescents shortly before cooking and keep them covered. Do not add them to the garnish early, because prolonged heat spends the aroma before the cocotte reaches the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 280g)