Faisan Rôti

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •16 by 12-inch (41 by 30 cm) flameproof roasting pan with low rack
• •Instant-read probe thermometer
• •Kitchen twine
• •Mortar and pestle or small food processor
• •2-quart (2-liter) heavy saucepan
• •Mandoline with hand guard
• •5-quart (4.7-liter) heavy pot for frying
• •Deep-fry thermometer and wire skimmer
• •Fine-mesh strainer

Instructions

1. 1

   Start the accompaniments

   Take the pheasants from the refrigerator 30 minutes before roasting. Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C) with a rack in the center. Stud the onion with the cloves and place it in a saucepan with the milk, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Bring the milk only to the first tremble, remove it from the heat, cover, and infuse for 20 minutes. Slice the potatoes crosswise about 1⁄16 inch (1.5 mm) thick with a mandoline, rinse until the water runs clear, and hold them in fresh cold water.

2. 2

   Pound the interior fat

   Pound the pork fat in a mortar until it becomes a cohesive paste, then work in the truffle peelings. A small food processor can do the brigade's pounding, but pulse only until smooth enough to hold together. If using butter, mash it with the truffle peelings instead. No truffle available? Use the fat or butter plain, exactly as the source permits. Divide the mixture into two compact pieces and chill them for 10 minutes.

3. 3

   Fill and bard

   Remove any giblets and pinfeathers, then dry the pheasants thoroughly inside and out. Season the cavities and skin with 2 teaspoons of the salt and all the black pepper. Put one piece of the prepared fat inside each cavity without packing it tightly, then tie the legs together. Lay the bacon slices in overlapping rows across the breasts and upper thighs, securing loose ends with kitchen twine. Set the birds breast-side up on the rack of a flameproof roasting pan.

4. 4

   Roast to temperature

   Roast for 15 minutes, then lower the oven to 375°F (190°C). Continue roasting and begin checking the deepest part of each breast after another 15 minutes. When the breasts reach 155°F (68°C), lift away the bacon and place it on a small metal tray to crisp, then spoon a little rendered fat over the exposed birds. Return everything to the oven until the breasts and innermost thighs reach 165°F (74°C), usually 5 to 12 minutes more. If the skin remains pale near 160°F (71°C), place the birds briefly under the broiler and watch without blinking. If the breasts reach 165°F before the thighs, cut the legs free and return only those to the oven. Ça se rattrape, and the breast needn't pay for the thigh's delay.

   Pheasants vary more than chickens, so the thermometer governs. The clock merely tells you when to begin looking.
5. 5

   Finish the bread sauce

   While the birds roast, strain the infused milk and reserve ½ cup (120 ml / 125 g). Return the remaining milk to the saucepan, whisk in the breadcrumbs, and cook at the gentlest simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce is thick but still falls softly from the spoon. Stir in the cream, butter, white pepper, and ½ teaspoon of salt. If the sauce becomes a paste, whisk in the reserved milk a spoonful at a time; if it is loose, simmer it for another minute or two. Hold it covered off the heat.

6. 6

   Rest and build gravy

   Transfer the pheasants and crisped bacon to a warm platter and rest them for 15 to 25 minutes. Leave about 2 tablespoons of roasting fat in the pan and spoon away only the excess. Set the pan over medium heat, add the stock, and scrape up every bronze speck of fond without disturbing anything burned black. Simmer until reduced to about ¾ cup (180 ml / 180 g), glossy and concentrated but still pourable. Strain into a sauceboat and leave fine beads of fat in the gravy, as the source intends. Taste before adding salt because the bacon has already spoken. If the gravy is too salty, loosen it with additional unsalted stock; if it is weak, reduce it a little further.

7. 7

   Fry the pommes chips

   Drain the sliced potatoes and dry them with great attention. Heat the oil in a deep heavy pot to 350°F (175°C). Fry the potatoes in small batches, stirring gently so the slices stay separate, until crisp and evenly golden, about 2 to 4 minutes per batch. Drain on a wire rack and season with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. If a batch is pale and greasy, let the oil recover fully and fry it again for 30 seconds; if it browns before becoming crisp, lower the heat slightly for the next batch.

   Dry potatoes and a pot no more than half full are matters of safety, not fuss. Keep a metal lid nearby, and never put water near hot frying oil.
8. 8

   Carve and serve

   Remove the twine. Cut away the legs, then lift each breast lobe cleanly from the carcass so every guest receives one breast portion and one leg. Lay the crisp bacon over the breast meat. Halve the lemons and trim a thin slice from each base so the halves sit steadily on the platter. Send the gravy, sauce au pain, and pommes chips separately, allowing everyone to take as generously as they please. Never apologize at your own table. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask for young pheasants no heavier than 2 pounds (900 g) each. A properly frozen bird, thawed slowly in the refrigerator, is better than fresh game held too long. Let the supplier handle faisandage; technique begins with safely handled meat.
• •Fresh pork back fat gives the bird a particularly succulent, faintly savory interior. Ask a butcher for unsalted back fat, not rendered lard. Equal-weight butter is the source's own alternative, and it works beautifully.
• •Use fresh truffle peelings or preserved peelings made with actual truffle. If neither is available, leave them out. Strongly perfumed truffle oil overwhelms the bird, while plain butter keeps the original intent intact.
• •A supple red Burgundy or Loire Cabernet Franc has enough earth and fruit for pheasant without flattening it. Avoid a heavily tannic wine, which makes lean game seem drier.
• •Refrigerate leftover pheasant within 2 hours and use it within 3 days. Reheat sliced meat gently under a spoonful of gravy, or serve it cold with mustard and cornichons.

Advance Preparation

• •The milk for the sauce au pain can be infused a day ahead, strained, cooled promptly, and refrigerated. Add the breadcrumbs, cream, and butter while the pheasants roast.
• •The truffled pork fat or butter can be pounded and refrigerated one day ahead. Fill and bard the pheasants up to 4 hours before roasting, keep them refrigerated, then take them out 30 minutes before they enter the oven.
• •The potatoes can be sliced and held under cold water in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours. Drain and dry them completely only when the frying oil is nearly ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 510g)