Pheasant Roasted with Orange & Cumin
Pheasant tastes like very, very good chicken. I like to roast the exotic bird with orange and cumin in a scorching oven for a short moment until barely cooked. It will have retained the gloriously sweet juices when cooked like this, making it a delight to eat. The breast will be sweet and moist. The legs however will be a little on the tough side. Unfortunately that’s the nature of the beast. Chefs like to remove the sinews in the leg. I haven’t worked out how to do this so I simply leave them as nature intended.
Don’t worry too much if the pheasant hasn’t browned in the short amount of time required to cook. In this example, taste is far more important than appearance. Overdone pheasant is an offense against heaven.
I know the amount of butter stipulated may alarm those on low fat diets. However keep in mind that pheasant like most game birds is lean, and needs a generous amount of fat to remain moist and succulent.
Ingredients
1 pheasant, backbone removed and spatchcocked
100g cultured unsalted butter
Juice of 2 oranges
Zest of 1 orange, finely julienned
1 tsp ground cumin
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
1 fresh bay leaf, finely chopped
100ml dry sherry or other fortified wine
1-2 ladles pheasant stock
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
Method
Pat the pheasant dry with paper towels (the marinade will not adhere otherwise).
Melt the butter and combine it with the juice of 1 orange, the zest, cumin, garlic, rosemary, bay, salt and pepper.
Pour the mixture onto the pheasant; making sure to coat the bird completely. I do this part in the roasting tray so that none of the precious marinade is lost; it will form part of the sauce at the end.
Allow to marinade in the fridge for up 24hrs or at room temperature for a few hours.
When you are ready to roast the bird, turn your oven to the highest setting. The oven needs to be really hot- about 250c. Make sure the bird is at room temperature before roasting.
Roast the bird skin side down first, for 10 minutes. Turn over and roast for another 10 minutes.
Remove the bird from the oven and double wrap with foil. Allow to rest for 20 minutes.
Pour all the juices from the roasting pan into a small saucepan, along with the sherry, stock and remaining orange juice. Reduce until syrupy.
Check the seasoning- add more salt/ sugar.
Cut the bird into pieces or as you desire and serve with the “orange jus”.
Roast potatoes make a good accompaniment.
1 pheasant will serve 2 people nicely.
