Salmis of pheasant from England

A salmis is a dish in which a part-roasted or sautéed piece of meat is sliced (or in the case of a bird, jointed) and then reheated in sauce.  The effect is the concentrate the flavours.  The sauce, made from the carcass of the bird, is deliciously rich

Although the making of the dish is more complex than simply roasting the bird, much of the preparation can be done in advance.

Preparation Time: 20 Mins

Cooking Time: 80 Mins

Total Time: 2 Hrs

Ingredients

For 4 servings…

1                    Pheasant   

1                    Onion  - sliced         

1                    Carrot  - sliced        

30 gms            Butter       

2                    Tomatoes  - large, quartered    

40 gms            Flour        

                     Pepper      

                     Salt          

1                    Orange      

110 gms           Mushrooms

10 cl               Wine  - red 

½                   Lemon  - juice of      

To serve

4                    Croûtons  - fried bead - cut into triangles 

Method

Roast the pheasant, breast side down for 30 minutes at 180°C.  Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool.  This can be done a day in advance.

Cut up the bird into joints and pieces. Put the carcase in a saucepan just covered with cold water and boil for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, fry in the onion and carrot in butter until brown.  Add the cut tomatoes and fry lightly.  Stir in the flour and gradually add the stock from the carcases - stirring until it boils and thickens.  Season with salt and pepper.  Allow it to simmer on very low flame, stirring from time to time, for 10 minutes.  While it simmers stir in the grated orange rind.

Arrange the pieces of the bird in a rather flat casserole.

Lightly fry the mushrooms in the butter used to fry the onion and carrot and add. to the pheasant in the casserole.

Strain the sauce through a fine strainer into clean bowl.  Stir in the wine, the lemon juice and the juice from the grated orange.  Season more if necessary and pour over the bird and mushrooms.

Cook very gently, covered with foil or lid, in a low oven (150°C) for 20 minutes - until the pieces of bird are tender and cooked.

Serve with triangular croûtons of fried bread.

Variations

The same recipe can be used to cook wild ducks, partridges and pigeons.

Wine recommendations

Generally, a red wine

Conventional

     Médoc

Interesting

     Chinon

     Côtes du Rhône Villages

Special

     Pomerol

Adventurous

     Graves blanc