Faisan à la Georgienne

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6-quart (4.7 to 5.7 L) oval Dutch oven or covered casserole that holds the pheasant snugly
• •Fine-mesh sieve and damp cheesecloth
• •Food processor or potato masher for crushing the grapes
• •Large wire rack and rimmed roasting tray
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •12-inch (30 cm) wide sauté pan for reducing the sauce
• •Warmed oval serving platter and sauceboat

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare fruit and walnuts

   Blanch all 42 walnut halves in boiling water for 1 minute, drain them, and rub away the thin brown skins while they are still warm. Use a small knife for any stubborn patches, keeping 30 halves for the poach and 12 intact halves for the garnish. Pulse the grapes just until crushed, then press them through a fine sieve to obtain about 2½ cups (600 ml) juice. Juice the oranges and strain out the pulp. Brew the green tea strongly for 4 minutes, then remove the bags and cool it.

   The walnut skins are tannic, and the tea supplies enough tannin already. If a half breaks while you peel it, put it among the 30 for the poaching liquid and save the handsome ones for the platter.
2. 2

   Set the poach

   Tuck the wing tips beneath the pheasant and tie the legs together so the bird cooks compactly. Pat it dry, then season the cavity and skin with 1 teaspoon of the salt and half the pepper. Set it breast-side up in a snug 5 to 6-quart (4.7 to 5.7 L) oval pot. Add the 30 peeled walnut halves, grape juice, orange juice, Malmsey, green tea, and all but 1 teaspoon of the butter. The liquid should reach at least halfway up the bird; if it does not, use a smaller pot rather than diluting the carefully held proportions.

3. 3

   Poach at a tremble

   Bring the liquid slowly to the barest tremble, cover the pot, and lower the heat. Poach for about 30 minutes, turning the pheasant carefully after 15 minutes and basting the exposed side several times. Begin checking early: the bird is ready for colouring when the breast registers 150°F (66°C) and the inner thigh about 155°F (68°C). If the liquid begins to boil, pull the pot from the heat for a minute and resume over a lower flame. A hard boil tightens the meat and drives bitterness from the walnuts and tea, but ça se rattrape if you catch it promptly.

4. 4

   Colour under fierce heat

   Heat the broiler fully with a rack about 6 inches (15 cm) below the element. Lift the pheasant onto a wire rack set over a roasting tray and blot every part of its skin completely dry. Melt the reserved teaspoon of butter and brush it over the bird. Broil for 5 to 8 minutes, turning the tray and rotating the bird as needed, until the skin is evenly bronzed and the thickest parts of both breast and thigh reach 165°F (74°C). If one patch darkens too quickly, shield it with a small piece of foil and continue colouring the rest. Rest the bird loosely tented for 15 minutes while you finish the sauce.

5. 5

   Strain the liquor

   While the pheasant colours, pour its cooking liquor through a fine sieve lined with damp cheesecloth into a bowl. Do not press the cooked walnuts, which would cloud the sauce and force out their bitterness. Discard the solids and skim away any broad pools of fat, leaving the smaller beads of butter that give the sauce its sheen. Pour the clarified liquor into a wide sauté pan.

6. 6

   Reduce the sauce

   Add the prepared game Espagnole to the strained cooking liquor and note the liquid's starting depth in the pan. Bring it to a lively but controlled simmer and reduce it to precisely half its volume, about 15 to 25 minutes in a wide pan, until it lightly naps the back of a spoon. Stir more often as it concentrates because the fruit sugars can catch at the edges. Taste only after reducing, then add the remaining salt and pepper as needed. If the sauce goes syrupy or tastes too concentrated, whisk in hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until it returns to the half-volume mark. Ça se rattrape.

7. 7

   Dish and coat

   Set the rested pheasant on a warmed oval platter and arrange the 12 peeled fresh walnut halves around it. Spoon over just enough sauce to glaze the breast, legs, and walnuts while leaving the bronze skin visible. Pour the remaining sauce into a warmed sauceboat and carve the pheasant at the table, giving each guest some breast or leg, walnuts, and plenty of sauce. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose a plump farmed pheasant between 2½ and 3 lb (1.1 and 1.4 kg). Wild birds can be leaner and smaller, so begin checking their temperature after 20 minutes. A properly thawed frozen bird is an honest choice when pheasant is out of season.
• •Freshly shelled walnuts are ideal, but good raw vacuum-packed halves serve well. Smell them before cooking. Any trace of stale oil or paint means rancidity, and the reduction will make that flavour louder.
• •Malmsey is the richest, sweetest style of Madeira, and its sweetness balances the orange, grape, tea, and game. A dry Madeira changes the architecture of the sauce, so keep the Malmsey.
• •Have the game Espagnole completely prepared before the pheasant enters the pot. It is a finished classical component here, not an ingredient to improvise while the bird waits.
• •Serve a mature, gently tannic red Burgundy or a dry Loire Chenin Blanc. Powerful young red wine bullies the fruit and walnut sauce when the dish needs companionship.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the game Espagnole up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate it in a covered container, or freeze it in a measured 190 ml portion. Bring it to a simmer before adding it to the strained cooking liquor.
• •The walnuts may be blanched and peeled one day ahead. Dry them well, separate the poaching and garnish portions, and refrigerate them tightly covered.
• •Press the grape juice and orange juice up to 4 hours ahead and keep them cold. Brew and cool the green tea at the same time.
• •Poach and colour the pheasant close to serving. Reheating a finished bird dries its breast, while the sauce and all the preparatory work wait quite happily.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 315g)