How to Make Pheasant Confit - Pheasant Confit Recipe | Hank Shaw (2024)

FAQs

Which cooking method is best for pheasant? ›

Roasting the bird whole is probably the easiest and most popular way of cooking pheasant.

I personally like a little bit of the natural flavor, so I only soak for 12 hours before cooking. Leave as much of the skin on the meat as possible: Pheasants typically have very little fat on them, especially around the breast meat, so they can dry out quickly during cooking.

Your goals are to gently cook the meat so it is close to falling off the bone and to render out as much fat as you can. You can overcook confit, however.

Confit refers to the process of slow cooking and storing food in fat. Confit is a French word that means "preserved." In the confit method, meats are cooked in fat for a long time at low temperatures. This renders tough cuts like duck legs more tender, and when stored in duck fat in a cool place, they last all winter.

Roberts said prior to cooking the bird, the gamey taste can be pulled out by soaking it in milk and the blood can also be extracted. "I normally soak them (pheasant) overnight in a salt water ... it pulls the blood out," Roberts said.

As well as being tastier and lower in fat and cholesterol than chicken, pheasant is also rich in many essential nutrients, thanks to its natural lifestyle and foraged diet.

"Brining really is the way to go with pheasant, to keep it moist and also to "cut" some of that rich gaminess.

And, because quail is smaller than chicken, it's easier to overcook. Brining -- the process of soaking meat in a saltwater solution -- provides a good deal of protection against the undesirable effects of overcooking. Also, like marinating, brining gives you an opportunity to impart extra flavor into the meat.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan, add the meat and brown on all sides. Transfer to a casserole dish, add vegetables and stock of your choice, cover and cook for 50-60 minutes in the centre of the oven. Cook thoroughly until the juices run clear when pierced with a fork and there is no pink meat.

Cook until duck is completely tender and meat shows almost no resistance when pierced with a paring knife, and skin has begun to pull away from bottom of the drumstick, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Remove from oven and cool duck to room temperature in its cooking vessel, removing lid but keeping it submerged in fat.

What is the best oil for confit? ›

Cooking duck confit is about using the duck's own fat, but cooking my garlic confit is about using butter or a high quality extra virgin olive oil. For this reason, I have used Rich Glen Olive Oil. You can confit absolutely anything you like from tomato confit to salmon confit by using this technique.

The process of confit differs from deep frying in one key way: temperature. While deep frying typically takes place at temperatures between 325 and 450°F (165 and 230°C), confit preparations are done much lower—an oil temperature of around 200°F (95°C), sometimes even cooler.

1. : meat (such as goose, duck, or pork) that has been cooked and preserved in its own fat. 2. : a garnish made usually from fruit or vegetables that are cooked until tender in a seasoned liquid.

In order to confit food, it is often necessary to cure it in salt and then slowly cook it in a fat such as duck fat, chicken fat, or olive oil.

Game birds may be prepared like chicken. Dry cookery methods, such as frying, are appropriate for young birds. Moist cookery methods, such as stewing or braising, are appropriate for older birds. To decrease the distinctive taste of some wild game, trim off as much of the fat as possible.

Brown pheasant breasts in melted butter and move to glass 9×13 inch pan. Melt remaining butter in skillet and add honey. Once warmed through, pour over pheasant breasts and sprinkle parsley on top. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 20-25 minutes at 300 degrees F or until juices run clear.

Don't treat partridge as you would a chicken - these birds need far less time in the oven, and are best served pink and juicy. Pheasant breast should also be cooked medium rare.

Brown the pheasant all over in hot dripping then put in a casserole dish with onions, carrot & celery. Add chicken or game stock, put the lid on and braise in a medium oven for at least 2 hours. Cooked like that it will never be dry but it will be tender, moist and flavoursome.