Pheasant in a Pot with Pearl Barley Risotto

Pheasant in a Pot When visiting England at this time of year, I am very often asked be either my cousin Sue of friend Mandy “Would you like Pheasant for dinner, I have a couple of brace in the freezer?” Something I never hear in the States. I mostly say yes, because Pheasant for me is such a treat, I don’t make it very often, so few Americans like game. Something that continues to surprise me. I had a pheasant in my own freezer and for a couple of weeks I had been thinking about how to cook it. I enjoy it roast, but find it gets dry, and that the drumstick and part of the breast can sometimes be quite inedible. I kept thinking of ways to keep it moist. My mum used to make Pheasant Normandy when we lived at The Clarendon, Chale back in the 70’s. Quite delicious but I wanted something less rich.

In my mind I kept coming back to something simpler. For some reason my mind turned to poachers, country people generally in an earlier time, for who Pheasant was less a luxury item and more pure easy sustenance. Would we in fact have been more likely to catch and eat a pheasant, than a chicken, that would continue to give us eggs? I love the heartiness of Chicken in a pot, some version of which you can find all over Europe. I had a feeling that the earthy gaminess of pheasant would work very well with the nutty flavors of Fall root vegetables.

In a Le Creuset or other Dutch oven, I sliced 2 onions, 5 cloves of garlic, 2 sticks of celery, 1 small thai pepper as the base with 1/2 cup of water, with a finely chopped tomato, seasoned with salt, pepper and fresh thyme. I sat the pheasant with a big bunch of thyme in it’s cavity. Around the pheasant I placed thick slices of Celeriac, parsnip, turnip and carrot - 4 midsized. I decided not to have the sweetness of squash or sweet potato. I added a half cup of dry white wine. Put the lid on and slow baked at 325 for close to two hours.

In the meantime I made a Pearl Barley Risotto. Finely chopped 1/2 cup of shallot, sauteed in butter until clear, added 1 cup of pearl barley stirring it to coat the barley, added a half cup of white wine and 2 cups of chicken stock and a mushroom stock cube for flavor, bought it all to the boil and slowly simmered until the liquid was gone, then slowly added the remaining 2 cups of chicken stock, stirring, not constantly like rice, but fairly often. I thought about turning the risotto into a real mushroom risotto, but wanted something plainer.

If I say so myself, it was perfect for the day after a blizzard...