My wife picked up a pheasant at the supermarket for our Christmas night dinner, a small bird of about three pounds, and of course it was up to me to cook this guy. I never made pheasant before, so I referred to my trusty La Rousse Gastronomique for help and found this really simple recipe that I altered a bit by adding red potatoes to make it a one dish meal. I found it came out really nicely, and thought that you could replace the pheasant with any bird of similar size, and it will work perfectly, so I decided to share the recipe with you. A side of sautéed asparagus will go well with this. This recipe works for two to three people.
1 whole pheasant 3 lbs
4 red delicious apples, peeled, cored and cut into cubes
1 pound baby red potatoes, cut into quarters
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
1/4 apple or cherry brandy
A 4Q stove and oven proof pot
- Preheat oven to 425F
- Season pheasant with salt and pepper
- Add two tablespoons butter to pot and heat
- Add pheasant and brown on all sides
- Remove pheasant and set aside.
- Add potatoes to pot and brown, stirring constantly
- Add apples and brown lightly
- Carefully add brandy
- Return pheasant to pot, breast side down
- Cover pot and place in heated oven for 45 mins
- Remove pot and add sour over pheasant and let sit for 5 mins
- Check pheasant for doneness.
- Carve and serve with potatoes and apples.
Written by Basil Rene © 2015 All Rights Reserved
