Pot roast pheasant makes a nice alternative to chicken and turkey and it’s under 500 calories per portion.
For a special roast dinner with a twist, we think pheasant makes an excellent choice. You might think it’s expensive but it’s roughly the same as a quality chicken and one bird serves 2-3 adults. We’ve flavoured the birds with smoked bacon lardons but you can use pancetta instead if you like.
Ingredients
- 200g smoked bacon lardons
- 1 tbsp oil
- A brace of oven-ready pheasant (a cock and a hen)
- 2 onions, peeled and cut into wedges
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 4 celery sticks, chopped
- 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 300ml hot chicken stock
- 2 tbsp tomato purée or ketchup
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp caster sugar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- A few parsley leaves
To serve:
- 400g small potatoes, steamed or roasted
- 2 leeks, trimmed and cut into chunks, roasted or fried in butter
WEIGHT CONVERTER
Method
- Set the oven to 160C (140C fan, Gas 3). Put the bacon and oil in a frying pan and cook over a medium heat for a couple of minutes.
- Add the birds to the pan and cook them for a few mins on each side to brown the breasts. Put them in a casserole dish. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon from the frying pan and add to the dish with the pheasant.
- Add the onion to the frying pan and cook for a couple of mins until soft.
- Add the garlic and celery and fry for 2-3 minutes, then pour in the tomatoes, stock, purée, Worcestershire sauce and sugar. Bring to the boil, season well and spoon into the casserole. Put the lid on and cook in the oven for 45 minutes.
- Take the lid off, baste the pheasants and cook for another 15-25 minutes, until the meat is tender.
- Leave for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with parsley leaves and serve with potatoes and leeks.
Top tips for making this pot roast pheasant
If you don’t want to use game, cook this recipe with a 1.5kg chicken, adding an extra 30-40 mins cooking time.
Which cooking method is best for pheasant?
We like the pot roast method of cooking this bird because it keeps the meat moist and tender. If you are cooking individual pheasant breasts you could pan cook instead or roast the bird as you would a chicken.
How do you carve a pheasant?
For ease of serving, take the birds out of the dish and when cool enough to handle, take the legs, breasts and all the meat off the bone. Put the dish on the hob, put the meat back and warm it through.
How many pheasants in a brace?
A brace consists of two birds, usually a male and female pheasant. The female birds are a little smaller than the male but a brace is enough to serve six.
Does pheasant contain shot?
Some game birds like pheasant can contain shot or fragments of shot as they are hunted with guns. It's rare to find shot in the meat, but not impossible.
Does pheasant taste gamey?
Pheasant has a distinctive flavour with a hint of gaminess, but overall, it tastes quite similar to chicken.
For more game inspiration try our pheasant in cider sauce. If you want another alternative main, this marmalade-roasted duck is delicious and our roast rabbit with root veg is a great choice too.
