Ingredients
- 1 cup raw bacon, chopped (about 1/2 pound or 6 to 8 slices)
- 3 (2 to 3 pound) pheasant, separated into legs, breasts, and thighs
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 1 pound pearl onions, blanched for 2 minutes in boiling water and skins slipped off
- 1 teaspoon cracked peppercorns
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves
- Salt, to taste (about 1 teaspoon)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 6 small sprigs fresh mint, for garnish
Directions
Render bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add pheasant parts and sear on all sides, then add red wine and onions. Sprinkle cracked pepper, bay leaves, tarragon, salt and mint over pheasant parts. Reduce heat to low and cover pot. Cook until tender and juices run clear (no longer pink), about 25 minutes. Remove pheasant carefully to a utility platter, cover and set aside to keep warm. Transfer liquids from pot to a heat resistant glass container (such as a 2 or 3 cup measuring vessel) and allow the layer of fat to rise to the top. Spoon or pour off most of the fat and return the rest of the juices, herbs, bacon and onions to the pot over medium heat. Add cranberries to the sauce and cook until the berries pop to make a rustic sauce. Remove from heat, discard bay leaves, and whisk in honey and sour cream.
Arrange pheasant on serving dish, spoon sauce over, and garnish with mint.
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By acemarshall_124...
manhattan, 43
on September 02, 2012
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We are enjoying this dish 2 nights consecutively! (freshly made both times
By ziggy_sends_smi...
Fort Collins, CO
on January 01, 2011
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I used six quail instead of pheasant. I clipped the backbone out of them with a pair of scissors so that they laid flat and proceeded with the recipe as directed. Yum!!! This dish was definitely the hit of the party. The sauce is AMAZING (but then, how can anything with that much bacon be bad?. I had to add some chicken stock because I didn't have much liquid left after cooking the quail, and I used just over 1 cup of cranberries. The quail were perfectly tender after 25 minutes of cooking time.
By ronorth_7852576
Escondido, CA
on July 26, 2010
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I really liked this recipe! I guessed & used 12 oz of cranberries. I might try 8 oz next time as that was a little on the tart side, but everyone loved it anyway. I didn't use mint as I don't like it & I added about 1 C of stock to thin out the sauce. What a fabulous blend of flavors! I would highly recommend this recipe.
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