Roasting Pheasant with Bacon and Apples

Why Pheasant Rewards a Little Care

Pheasant is one of the great treats of the British game season, which runs from the first of October to the first of February. It has a deep, slightly nutty flavour that sits somewhere between chicken and guinea fowl, and it takes to robust, fruity accompaniments beautifully. The trouble is that it is a very lean bird. There is barely any fat under the skin, and the breast in particular will go from succulent to sawdust in a matter of minutes if you treat it like a supermarket chicken.

The answer is simple and old-fashioned: bard the breast with bacon, roast the bird with apples, and keep an eye on it. Fat, moisture and acidity do the work, and you end up with a moist, seasonal centrepiece that looks handsome on the table and takes barely an hour from oven to plate.

Choosing a Bird from Your Butcher

Have a word with your butcher before you buy. Ask for a hen pheasant if you plan to roast — the females are smaller and more tender than the cock birds, which can be tough and stringy unless they are slow-cooked. A good roasting bird weighs somewhere between 900g and 1.2kg and will serve two generously, or three if there are plenty of sides.

Ask how long it has been hung. Three to seven days is the usual range: enough to develop flavour and relax the meat, not so long that it turns gamey and strong. If you are buying a brace, consider roasting one and casseroling the other — an older bird makes a superb stew with cider and bacon, and nothing goes to waste.

Most butchers will pluck and draw the bird for you. If you are doing it yourself, take your time and use tweezers for the stubborn pin feathers. Either way, check the cavity is clean, wipe the bird inside and out with kitchen paper, and let it come up to room temperature for half an hour before it goes anywhere near the oven.

What You Will Need

• One oven-ready pheasant, roughly 1kg
• 6–8 rashers of streaky bacon, or a thin sheet of pork back fat
• 50g softened butter
• A few sprigs of thyme and a bay leaf
• Two firm apples — Cox's, Braeburn or a small Bramley
• 150ml dry cider or chicken stock
• Salt, black pepper and a glass of cider for the gravy

Streaky bacon is better than back bacon here because the fat renders slowly and bastes the breast as it cooks. If you can only get back bacon, lay it over the breast in a single overlapping layer and add an extra knob of butter to the tin.

Barding, Stuffing and Roasting

Heat the oven to 200°C (fan 180°C, gas mark 6). Push half the softened butter under the skin of the breast if the skin is intact, working gently with your fingers so you do not tear it. Season the cavity, then tuck in the thyme, bay leaf and the other half of the butter. Truss the bird with string so the legs sit close to the body — this keeps the shape neat and stops the leg meat drying out.

Lay the bacon rashers over the breast in a neat overlapping roof, tucking the ends underneath. Halve and core the apples and sit them around the bird in a roasting tin just large enough to hold everything snugly. Pour the cider or stock into the tin, not over the bird.

Roast for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 180°C (fan 160°C, gas mark 4) and continue for another 30–40 minutes, basting every 15 minutes or so with the pan juices. The bacon should be crisp and golden by the end, and if it starts to catch, lay a piece of foil loosely over the top.

Start checking at 40 minutes. A pheasant is ready when the juices run clear from the thickest part of the thigh and a digital thermometer reads 68°C in the breast. Do not be tempted to push it further — the meat will continue to cook as it rests.

Resting, Gravy and Carving

Lift the bird onto a warm plate, spoon over any juices from the tin and leave it to rest, loosely covered, for 15 minutes. This is not optional. The fibres relax, the juices settle, and the meat stays moist right through carving.

While it rests, make the gravy. Set the roasting tin over a medium heat, splash in a little cider and scrape up every sticky bit from the base. Let it bubble down by half, then stir in a knob of cold butter and a teaspoon of redcurrant jelly. Taste and season — a little mustard works well too if you like a bit of heat. Strain into a warm jug.

To carve, take off the legs first and then slice the breast meat across the grain, keeping the bacon with it. Cut the roasted apples into wedges and serve them alongside.

Sides, and What to Do With the Carcass

Pheasant sits happily beside the classic game accompaniments: buttered savoy cabbage with bacon, braised red cabbage, celeriac mash, bread sauce, or simply good roast potatoes done in a separate tin. A handful of watercress or a sharp apple and walnut salad cuts through the richness nicely.

Any leftover meat is excellent cold, sliced into a sandwich with chutney, or folded through a creamy pasta. Then make stock: simmer the carcass with an onion, a carrot, a stick of celery and a few peppercorns for an hour, and you have a base for soup or risotto that tastes far better than anything from a cube. Nothing about a pheasant should be wasted — that is part of the pleasure of cooking game.