Chef's Special with Clive Fretwell, executive chef at Brasserie Blanc, Jericho

Today's recipes dictate that we cook our pheasant at around 180C, but this recipe follows the old traditional method, using a gentler ‘low & slow’ approach to get the most out of your game birds. 

The trick here is to maintain as much moisture as possible during the cooking, using a very modern roasting bag. We realise that it is a whole new way of looking at game birds, but we guarantee you will be pleased with the succulent results. Adding a little water and reduced port also means you will have a delicious ready-made sauce for your pheasant, killing two birds with one stone, so to speak.

INGREDIENTS:
4g game seasoning (see recipe below)
A hen pheasant of approx 700g (or a 1kg cock pheasant)
25g butter
50ml water
50ml port, reduced by half
A sprig of fresh thyme

BRASSERIE BLANC’S BEST GAME SEASONING:
20g coarse sea salt
2g coarse ground black peppercorns
8 juniper berries
¼ star anise
1cm piece of cinnamon stick
1 dried bay leaf
¼  of a clove of fresh peeled garlic

GAME SEASONING METHOD: 
Blend all the ingredients in a food processor for around two minutes.
Transfer to a container with a lid.
Will keep fresh for several weeks refrigerated.
Roast pheasant in a bag method:
Preheat a convection oven to 75C
In a heavy-bottomed frying pan over a low heat, very gently brown the bird all over in foaming butter for about five minutes or until golden.
Sprinkle the bird with the game seasoning.
Place the pheasant in the roasting bag, and the bag onto the roasting tin.
Add the water, reduced port and the sprig of thyme.
Seal the bag with the tie.
Cook the hen pheasant (approx 700g ) for three hours at 75C. Allow four hours for a 1kg cock pheasant.
Remove the tie and strain any juices through a fine chinoise or muslin-lined sieve. You should have around 130ml.
Reduce the cooking juices by half to leave a perfect jus for the bird.
Remove the meat from the bird and decorate with roast winter vegetables.
Pour over the jus and serve.