Sloe gin pot-roasted pheasant
This sloe gin pot-roasted pheasant with chestnut, sage and pancetta stuffing is a perfect alternative to turkey this Christmas.
Ingredients
Fresh Ingredients
- 2 Oven-ready pheasants
- 30 g Butter, plus a knob (of butter)
- 4 Shallots, peeled & trimmed
- 150 g Diced, smoked Pancetta
- 150 g Whole cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped
- 4 Sprigs of fresh thyme
- Sea salt flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tbsp Olive oil
- 3 Juniper berries, crushed
- 2 Bay leaves
- 250 ml Sloe gin
- 100 ml White wine
- A little fresh parsley, chopped
For the Stuffing
- 250 g Sausage meat
- 50 g Dried cranberries
- 50 g Finely diced Pancetta
- 200 g Pack of whole cooked chestnuts, chopped
- A handful fresh sage leaves, chopped
- 2 tbsp Chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tbsp Double cream
To Serve
- Mashed potatoes
- Buttered Brussels sprouts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan
- Make sure the pheasants are clean and dry inside by wiping them out with kitchen towel.
- To make the stuffing, mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl; divide half the stuffing between the two pheasants and cook the remaining half separately in an ovenproof dish.
- Season the birds with a little salt and pepper and leave to one side.
- Add the butter and two tablespoons of olive oil to a frying pan, place the pan over a medium heat and brown the pheasants on all sides.
- Place the pheasants in a casserole dish, breast side down.
- In a clean pan, fry the shallots and 100g of the pancetta in the remaining oil until the mixture begins to turn golden brown.
- Add 100g of the chestnuts to the pan and cook for a further minute.
- Transfer the mixture to the casserole dish, add the juniper berries, thyme, bay leaves, 200ml of the sloe gin and the wine, season with a little salt and pepper, cover with a lid and place in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- About 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time, take the casserole out of the oven and turn the pheasants over.
- Cover with a lid and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes.
- When the pheasants are almost cooked, fry the remaining pancetta and chestnuts in a frying pan with a knob of butter until golden brown.
- Remove the pheasants from the casserole dish and skim off any excess fat.
- Place the casserole dish over a medium heat, add the remaining 50ml sloe gin and allow the sauce to reduce and thicken slightly. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
- Place the pheasants on a serving dish, garnish with the golden pancetta and chestnuts and sprinkle over the chopped parsley.
- Serve immediately with mashed potatoes, buttered Brussels sprouts and the remaining stuffing.
