Pheasant to Roast

The "Queen" cookery books. No.6. Swee... · S. Beaty-Pownall · 1902

Source: The "Queen" cookery books. No.6. Sweets "part 1"
Status: success · extracted 4 days ago
Not a recipe: No

Ingredients (22)

For the pheasant

Pheasant ↝ Pheasant, raw, meat only [Poultry Products]
slice of slitted bacon ↝ Beef, bacon, cooked [Bacon]
butter ↝ Butter, stick, unsalted [Dairy and Egg Products]
croûton
watercress salad ↝ Watercress, raw [Vegetables and Vegetable Products]
bread sauce ↝ Sauce, NFS [Dips, gravies, other sauces]
browned breadcrumbs ↝ Bread, crumbs, dry, grated, seasoned [Baked Products]
gravy ↝ Gravy, NFS [Dips, gravies, other sauces]

For the bread sauce

half a pint or so of milk ↝ Milk, NFS [Milk, reduced fat]
a few peppercorns
a spray of parsley ↝ Parsley, raw [Not included in a food category]
an onion stuck with a clove ↝ Onions, raw [Vegetables and Vegetable Products]
or preferably two or three young green onions ↝ Onions, green, raw [Onions]
6oz. freshly-grated white breadcrumbs ↝ Bread, white, commercially prepared (includes soft bread crumbs) [Baked Products]
two good tablespoonfuls of cream or new milk ↝ Cream, whipped [Cream cheese, sour cream, whipped cream]
salt ↝ Salt, table, iodized [Spices and Herbs]
pepper ↝ Spices, pepper, black [Spices and Herbs]
mace ↝ Spices, mace, ground [Spices and Herbs]
nutmeg ↝ Oil, nutmeg butter [Fats and Oils]

For the browned breadcrumbs

previously dried and sifted breadcrumbs (either white or brown) ↝ Bread, crumbs, dry, grated, seasoned [Baked Products]
an ounce or two of either butter or delicately clarified dripping ↝ Butter, stick, unsalted [Dairy and Egg Products]

For the gravy

stock

Instructions (23)

Roasting the Pheasant

Truss the pheasant like a fowl for roasting.
Optionally, keep the unplucked head on. If so, wrap it carefully in buttered paper during cooking. Remove the paper when dishing. Optionally, restore a few tail feathers at the same time (this is old-fashioned and troublesome for carving).
Most cooks nowadays bard the bird with a slice of slitted bacon. Remove the bacon for a minute or two to brown the bird, then replace it or not as desired.
Barding is indispensable if baking is replacing roasting.
Constant and generous basting is imperative.
When cooked, put the bird at once on a hot dish.
Serve with an optional neatly-trimmed and fried croûton.
Garnish with watercress salad.
Send to table with bread sauce and browned breadcrumbs, and gravy to taste separately.

Making the Bread Sauce

Boil milk with peppercorns, parsley, and an onion stuck with a clove (or preferably two or three young green onions) until well flavored.
Strain the boiling milk onto freshly-grated white breadcrumbs.
Cover the pan closely and let it stand on the side of the stove until the bread has absorbed all the milk.
Lift out the onion and parsley.
Beat the bread to a smooth pap with a silver fork.
Let it just boil up, stirring all the time to prevent burning.
Add two good tablespoonfuls of cream or new milk.
Season with salt and pepper.
Serve very hot.
Optional: add mace and nutmeg, but ascertain if they are liked first as they are strongly flavored.

Making the Browned Breadcrumbs

Take previously dried and sifted breadcrumbs (white or brown).
Place them in a hot baking dish with an ounce or two of butter or delicately clarified dripping.
Bake very gently, stirring constantly to avoid burning, until the crumbs have absorbed all the fat and are dry and crisp.

Making the Gravy

Prepare stock in the ordinary way.

Original Text · last edited 4 days ago

Pheasant to Roast.—Truss like a fowl for roasting, though some persons like the unplucked head kept on, when it should be carefully wrapped in buttered paper all the time of cooking, the paper being only removed when the bird is dished. In this case a few of the tail feathers are also restored at the same time. But this is rather old-fashioned nowadays, and is, in any case, a troublesome fancy for the carver. Most cooks nowadays bard the bird with a slice of slitted bacon, removing this just at least for a minute or two to brown the bird, replacing it (or not afterwards, as taste dictates. This barding is indispensable when, as in the present day, baking so often has to replace roasting. One point is imperative, and that is the necessity for constant and generous basting. When cooked, put the bird at once on a hot dish (with or without a neatly-trimmed and fried croûton as you please), garnish with watercress salad, and send to table with bread sauce and browned breadcrumbs, and gravy to taste separately. For the bread sauce boil half a pint or so of milk with a few peppercorns, a spray of parsley, an onion stuck with a clove (or preferably two or three young green onions), till well flavoured; then strain it, boiling, on to 6oz. freshly-grated white breadcrumbs; cover down the pan closely, and let it stand on the side of the stove till the bread has absorbed all the milk; then lift out the onion and the parsley, and beat the bread to a smooth pap with a silver fork, let it just boil up, stirring all the time to prevent its burning; now add two good tablespoonfuls of cream or new milk, a seasoning of salt and pepper, and serve very hot. Some cooks add mace and nutmeg to this sauce, but these spices are both so strongly flavoured that it is wise to ascertain first if they are liked, as, if not liked, they are usually intensely disliked. For the breadcrumbs, take some previously dried and sifted breadcrumbs (these should always be at hand in a soigné kitchen, in wide-mouthed stoppered bottles, either white or brown, the colouring being simply a matter of length in baking) and place them in a hot baking dish with an ounce or two of either butter or delicately clarified dripping, and let them bake very gently, stirring them constantly to avoid burning till the crumbs have absorbed all the fat and are dry and crisp. For the gravy, prepare stock in the ordinary way

Notes

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