Roast Pheasant with Madeira Sauce
Chef Terrance Brennan of Picholine, Artisanal and Artisanal Cheese Center – New York, NY
Adapted by StarChefs

Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

• 4 young pheasants, about 1 pound each, innards removed
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground white pepper
• 3 Tablespoons canola oil
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup Madeira wine
• 1 cup veal stock or dark chicken stock
• 1 Tablespoon sherry vinegar

Method:
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Season the cavity of each pheasant with salt and pepper and truss them.

Pour the oil and butter into a heavy-bottomed, ovenproof, 12-inch sauté pan and heat it over medium heat. Add the pheasants to the pan, breast-side down, and cook for 3 minutes. Turn each pheasant over and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Turn the pheasants breast-side down again, put the pan in the oven and roast the pheasants, breast-side up, periodically opening the oven door, tipping the pan toward you, and spoon some of the juice over the pheasant. Continue cooking until an instant-read thermometer inserted to the thickest part of the pheasant reads 160°F to170°F and/or the juices run clear when pierced with a sharp, thin-bladed knife, 7 to 9 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, set the pheasants on a clean, dry surface, tent them with foil to keep them warm, and make the sauce.

Pour off any oil remaining in the pan and set the pan over medium heat. Add the Madeira and reduce by three-fourths, approximately 2 minutes. Lower the heat to medium-low, pour in the stock, and cook until sauce reduces enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir the vinegar into the sauce and season to taste with salt.

As the sauce reduces, carve the pheasants as you would a roast chicken, separating the leg-thigh pieces from the breasts, then separating the legs and thighs.

Divide the pheasant among 4 dinner plates and spoon some sauce over each serving. Serve.

Wine Pairing:
A low-tannin red such as the Seghesio Sonoma County Zinfandel 2002