Game birds can be hard to find but when you can get them it is a real treat. I recently found a farm nearby that raises quail, pheasants, and chickens. Unfortunately the flavor of the farmed bird is not the same as the wild caught version and technically they are not game if they are not wild caught. BUT nonetheless they can be very tasty and if you think you dont like overly gamey meat then this could be a good in between for you. Personally I perfer a little gameyness. Pheasants originally come from Africa and are a close relative of the guinea hen. At any rate, many different types of fruit go well with game, typically dried fruit such as figs and wild boar, currants and quail, dried cherries with duck, blueberries and venison, etc. In fact, not to be overly fruity but I've found that you can find a fruit that pairs well with pretty much any type of meat - roasted pears go suprisingly well with steak, brown butter dates with pork, raisins with chicken - try it some time. Here I paired the grapes with the bird but the grapes were a bit tart so I dehydrated them a little in the oven at a low temp overnight to make "graisins"! The result was that the sugars caramelized and got more concentrated in the fruit and the end result was slightly sweeter and still juicy.
The parsnip puree lends a creamy slightly starchy element to the dish and helps hold some of that delicious sauce. Then the beet greens lend some color and earthyness.
Pheasant does have a tendancy to dry out if not prepared properly so be wary of that. Here I brined the bird to help it retain moisture and not dry out. Alternatively you could bard the bird by wraping it in bacon, reguardless you want to make sure not to overcook the poor thing and I would suggest serving it a mite pink just to make sure. Pheasants are generally the size of a small chicken and dont have quite as much meat. I'd say one is generally enough to feed two people.
For the Pheasant :
Brine :
3cups water
1/4 cup sea salt
2 T succanat or organic brown sugar
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs of thyme
2 cloves garlic
ice to bring volume to 5 cups liquid
bring to a boil and simmer for 5 min, then cool with enough ice to bring volume to 5 cups. Brine overnight and then remove bird to a rack and place in the fridge to let the skin dry overnight. I truss the bird before roasting which entails tying the wings in and the legs together because I think it helps the bird cook more evenly, but this isnt entirely necessary. To roast the bird preheat the oven to 425. Let the bird sit out of the fridge for 20-30 min to come up to temp. Rub the skin with olive oil, sea salt, and fresh cracked pepper. Stuff a few garlic cloves and thyme sprigs in the cavity, then pop it into the hot oven and let it sizzle for 20 min, then turn the oven down to 325 and cook for about another 30 min or until the juices run clear or until the temp reaches 150. Let rest for 20 min and carve.
For the Parsnip Puree:
3 Large parsnips peeled and chopped
Milk to cover
Place the parsnips in a sauce pot and barely cover with milk. Cover almost all the way with a lid and simmer until the parsnips are tender. Remove the parsnips to a blender leaving some of the liquid behind. Puree until smooth, you may need to add all of the milk.
For the beet greens
1/2 lb baby beet greens washed well
1 t olive oil
sea salt and cracker pepper to taste
Simply get the olive oil hot and saute the greens until wilted, about 2-3 min.
For the sauce:
3/4 cups grapes partially dehydrated ( left overnight in the oven at the lowest setting)
splash of white wine to deglaze the pan the pheasant was cooked in
brown bits and juices from the pan the pheasant was cooked in
1 cup chicken stock
1 T butter
Once the Pheasant is out of the oven you have about 20 min to get together your sauce while the bird is resting. Deglaze the pan with the wine and scrape up to brown bits, then transfer the juices to another pot so its easier to work with. Add the chicken stock and grapes and reduce by half, then whisk in the butter until incorporated and the sauce thickened slightly.
MMM, a nice change-up from the traditional roast chicken with mash potatoes and gravy (which of course is fantastic in its own right). The grapes plump back up a bit while simmering in the sauce making each one a savory/sweet gusher upon bursting. enjoy.
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