Pot roasted pheasant recipe

Ingredients

• 3 clementines
• 1 tsp juniper berries
• 1 tsp cubeb pepper
• 1 tsp fennel
• 2 green cardamom pods seeds
• ¼ tsp Szechuan pepper
• 1 star anise
• 1 tsp finely ground cassia
• 2¾ oz (75 g) unsalted butter
• 2 oven-ready young hen pheasants, at room temperature
• Sea salt and finely ground black pepper
• 10 thick slices streaky dry-cured unsmoked bacon
• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 3½ oz (100 g) pancetta, chopped into lardons and blanched for about 3 minutes
• 6 small shallots, peeled
• 2 tbsp Armagnac
• 3½ fl oz (100 ml) dry white wine
• 2½ fl oz (75 ml) chicken stock
• 2 tbsp Mandarine Napoléon or Grand Marnier
• 1½ oz (40 g) unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
• A drizzle best-quality cider vinegar or lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (gas mark 4). Using a veg peeler, remove the zest from the clementines in strips. Boil a small pan of water, add the zest strips and boil for 1 minute to blanch them. Drain. Using a sharp knife, with a plate to catch the juice, slice off the top and bottom of a clementine, then slice off the pith. Cut out the segments, leaving the membrane behind. Squeeze the juice out of the membrane into a bowl and add the juice from the plate. Repeat with the remaining clementines. Set aside.
2. Grind all the spices together using a mortar and pestle. Mix a quarter of the spice blend with the butter. Season the birds well inside and out with salt and pepper, then cover generously with the spiced butter.
3. Lay the bacon slices over the breast meat, then truss to secure the bacon in place. Put a large flameproof casserole over a medium heat and pour in the oil. Brown the bacon-wrapped pheasants all over, then remove them from the casserole and set aside.
4. Put the pancetta and shallots into the casserole and cook until lightly browned. Remove from the heat and put the pheasants in the casserole, breast-side down.
5. Pour the Armagnac into a small saucepan, heat until hot, then set it alight and pour it over the birds. When the flames have subsided, pour in the wine and stock, sprinkle in the remaining spice blend, the clementine juice and strips of clementine zest.
6. Cover the casserole with foil, then with its lid, and put on the middle shelf in the oven. Cook for 40 minutes.
7. Remove the casserole from the oven. Remove the lid and foil (keep the foil), and turn the birds breast-side up.
8. Return to the oven, uncovered, for another 10–20 minutes, then check to see if the birds are cooked: the legs will move easily when gently tugged. Remove the birds from the casserole, cover with the reserved foil and set aside to rest for 10–12 minutes. Turn down the oven to 160°C (gas mark 3).
9. Using a slotted spoon, remove the lardons and shallots from the casserole and keep warm. Remove and discard the zest.
10. Strain the cooking juices from the casserole, pour into a jug, skim off any excess fat and set aside.
11. Put the casserole over a medium heat, add the orange liqueur and stir well to deglaze and loosen the browned cooking residue. Set the liqueur alight, ensuring that you burn off all the alcohol.
12. Now pour the juices back into the casserole, bring up to a vigorous bubble, and reduce the sauce until it clings slightly to the back of a spoon. Add the cold, cubed butter and vinegar to taste, and whisk well. Check the seasoning, then set the sauce aside until you are ready to serve.
13. Meanwhile, remove the trussing string and the bacon from the birds. Put the bacon on a baking tray and put it in the oven to crisp for about 5 minutes. Preheat the grill.
14. Carve the birds remove and joint the legs, then neatly cut the breasts from the carcasses and put them in a roasting tin. Flash the jointed birds under the hot grill for 30 seconds.
15. Pour the cooking juices from the ‘flashed’ roasting tin through a sieve into the sauce. Finish the sauce by gently reheating it and adding the clementine segments. Only just warm it through to make sure you retain the integrity and freshness of the segments. Serve the jointed pheasant on warmed plates, with the crisp bacon, shallots and lardons, and a little of the sauce with a few clementine segments; serve the remaining sauce separately.