Britain's Favorite Game Bird: Roasted Pheasant #EattheWorld

It's hard to believe that we're already in 2019...where did 2018 go? And the holidays!?? Well, here we are for the second 2019 installment of our #EattheWorld project, being spearheaded by Evelyne of CulturEatz. Here's her challenge.

And this month she has us traveling by tabletop to England. She wrote: "Let's hop back to Europe. Our next destination is England." I had just spent about 8 hours in London. Well, in the airport...not in the actual city. We had two four-hour layovers at Heathrow on our way to and from Denmark. And, needless to say, we ate while we were there. The boys and I hopped between all the stores and restaurants, looking at the choices that differed there than in our own country. Now I know that airport food isn't always indicative of the country's actual cuisine, but you can get some good ideas. In the cold case, in one store, I saw Chicken Tikka, Egg Mayo Cress, and Tuna Sweetcorn sandwiches. All on white bread.

We did buy a roast beef and Wensleydale cheese sandwich on a multi-grain baguette because the boys remembered hearing about 'Wensleydale cheese' in Wallace and Gromit. And I couldn't pass up a crayfish salad. Both of those choices were tasty though I don't know how traditional they actually are.

For further inspiration, I picked up some Jammie Dodgers and thumbed through my copy of London: The Cookbook - The Story of London's world-beating food scene, with 50 recipes from restaurants, artisan producers and neighbourhoods by Cara Frost-Sharratt*. I am now determined to make Scotch Eggs, a Quince Gimlet, and Tandoori Prawns. Soon. Before I get to my final pick, please check out all the wonderful English dishes prepared by fellow Eat the World members and share with #EatheWorld.

English Inspired!
Check out all the wonderful English dishes prepared by fellow Eat the World members and share with #eattheworld. Click here to find out how to join and have fun exploring a country a month in the kitchen with us!

• Amy, Amy's Cooking Adventures: Leaky Cauldron Mini Cottage Pie
• Camilla, Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Britain's Favorite Game Bird: Roasted Pheasant 
• Juli, Pandemonium Noshery: Lancashire Hotpot with Lamb 
• Lynda, Reviews, Chews, and How-Tos: Cottage Pie with Mashed Cauliflower Topping 
• Loreto and Nicoletta, Sugar Loves Spices: Toad in the Hole, a Taste of Great Britain 
• Margaret, Kitchen Frau: Easy Fish and Chips and Mushy Peas 
• Simply Inspired Meals: Wizarding World Beef and Guinness Stew 
• Wendy, A Day in the Life on the Farm: Venison Shepherd’s Pie 
• Sue, Palatable Pastime: English Crumpets

Britain's Favorite Game Bird: Pheasant

As a nod to the popular royal pastime in Britain of hunting pheasants, and because I had one in my fridge, I opted to make a roasted pheasant! A word of warning: this is not a traditional British recipe. It's more of what I had in the fridge and what I thought would taste good. It did!

Ingredients

Marinade

• 1/2 C wine (I used a dry white wine, but use any kind you have, or water)
• 3 T vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
• 2 to 3 large shallots, peeled and minced
• 1/4 C olive oil
• 1 T dry mustard
• 1 T fresh thyme leaves, or 1 t dried
• 1 T fresh marjoram, or 1 t dried
• 1 t freshly ground salt
• 1/2 t freshly ground pepper

Roasted Pheasant

• 1 whole pheasant, 2 to 3 pounds, washed and patted dry
• 3 onions, peeled and quartered
• 2 apples, cored and quartered
• olive oil
• 3 T European mustard
• freshly ground salt
• freshly ground pepper
• fresh or dried thyme leaves

Procedure

Marinade

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together all of marinade ingredients. Place the pheasant in a container with a lid and pour the marinade over the bird. Turn the bird so that its surface has been completely coated and place it in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes. After that, turn it again and place it back in the fridge for another 20 to 30 minutes.

Roasted Pheasant

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In the bottom of a roasting pan (I used a lidded braiser), place two quartered onions and two quartered apples. Sprinkle the onions and apples with salt, pepper, and thyme.

Remove the pheasant from marinade and - without rubbing off too much of the marinade - stuff the cavity with the remaining quartered onion. You can truss the legs if you wish; I forgot! Rub the outside with mustard and place bird, breast-side up, in the roasting pan on top of the onions and apples. 

Place place the bird, covered with the lid of the pan or foil, and roast for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the lid, baste pheasant, and return it to the oven for another 30 minutes.

The pheasant is done when the juices run clear and the legs are pulled easily away from the body. thighs move easily and the juices run clear.

Remove the pheasant from the oven and allow the bird to rest for at least 5 minutes before carving and serving. I put the onions and apples on a platter and served the bird on top.

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