Pan-fried Pheasant Breast
Using good local pheasant and if possible the best of local produce this is an ideal dinner party dish.
Using good local pheasant and if possible the best of local produce this is an ideal dinner party dish.
- 2 pheasant, breast boned
- 2 slices streaky bacon
- 6 ounces button mushrooms we really like to use chestnut button mushrooms
- 6 shallots peeled and finely chopped
- 1/4 pint chicken stock (i have tried the knorr jellied stock and it was very ok)
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves only
- 2 teaspoon rowan jelly (you can use redcurrant jelly), see note
- 1 tablespoon vintage port make sure that you use a good one
- -- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste -
- Carbohydrate 20.2758 g
- Cholesterol 231.96 mg
- Fat 25.54352 g
- Fiber 0.896 g
- Protein 98.33464 g
- Saturated Fat 8.447928 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (626g)
- Sodium 454.196 mg
- Sugar 19.3798 g
- Trans Fat 3.64139999999999 g
- Calories 718 calories
Step-by-step
- saute the bacon until crisp, then add the mushrooms and shallots, cook for one minute to 2 minutes or until the mushrooms are softened and then set to one side, now cook the pheasant for a couple of minutes on each side.
- Add the Rowan jelly and thyme and deglaze with the port add the stock, mushrooms, bacon and shallots. Cook for about three to 5 minutes until the sauce is reduced and coating the pheasant.
- We like this dish served with green vegetables and roasted potatoes.
- Note; Rowan Jelly is a traditional British jelly (clear jam) made with that classic hedgerow fruit, the rowanberry.
Cooking lean wild game requires careful fat management because pheasant breast lacks the internal marbling found in domestic poultry. Wrapping each boned breast in a single slice of streaky bacon compensates for this lack of natural fat, rendering lipids into the pan as the meat cooks. When rendering bacon, maintain a moderate medium heat to prevent the proteins from burning before the fat fully melts out. Chestnut mushrooms provide a denser, earthier baseline than standard white buttons, yielding a more savory fond when caramelized alongside finely chopped shallots.
Substitutions alter the final sauce consistency significantly when reducing liquids on the stovetop. If rowan jelly is unavailable, standard redcurrant jelly functions as a direct one-to-one replacement, though it lacks the slight bitterness characteristic of wild rowanberries. Deglazing the skillet with vintage port lifts the browned bits stuck to the pan floor, dissolving them into the chicken stock to form a glossy glaze. Reducing this mixture over medium-high heat for exactly four minutes thickens the sauce sufficiently to coat the back of a spoon without overcooking the delicate game meat.
British hedgerow cooking traditionally pairs game birds with tart preserves and foraged berries to balance the rich, ferrous notes of the meat. Substituting regular chicken stock with a concentrated jellied stock pod delivers higher gelatin content, which helps emulsify the pan juices into a cohesive sauce rather than a watery broth. Always season the pheasant breasts with freshly ground black pepper just before searing, as pre-salting too far in advance can draw out moisture and tighten the muscle fibers.
