Faisan en Cocotte

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •4-quart (3.8-liter) heavy lidded cocotte or Dutch oven
• •8-inch (20-cm) skillet with lid
• •Sharp paring knife for tournage
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Kitchen twine
• •Basting spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the pheasant

   Take the pheasant from the cold 30 minutes before cooking. Inspect the cavity and skin for pinfeathers and, if it is wild, any remaining shot. Pat every surface dry, then season inside and out with 1 teaspoon of the salt and all the pepper. Tie the legs together loosely. Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). A dry bird lets the butter coat and colour it properly; surface moisture pushes the cooking toward a braise before you have begun.

2. 2

   Turn the truffle

   Leave the pearl onions whole and trim the mushroom caps into neat, regular rounds. Cut the truffle into 12 to 16 pieces, then tourner each one, trimming it into a small olive shape with a sharp paring knife. Save every truffle trimming for eggs or another sauce. The tournage is classical presentation, but uniform size also lets each piece warm at the same rate.

3. 3

   Begin the poëling

   Melt 6 tablespoons (90 ml / 85 g) of the butter in the snug cocotte. Set the pheasant breast-side up in the butter, spoon the butter generously over it, cover, and begin Poëlings (No. 250) in its en cocotte form. Keep the cooking dry: no stock, water, or wine enters the vessel now. Baste at 10-minute intervals, closing the lid promptly each time. For a pheasant of this size, 30 minutes is the approximate two-thirds point.

   The cocotte should hold the bird closely. In a broad pot the butter spreads thin, overheats, and leaves the pheasant without the steady basting the method requires.
4. 4

   Butter the garnish

   While the pheasant cooks, melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of butter in a small skillet over low heat. Add the pearl onions with ¼ teaspoon of salt, cover, and roll them through the butter every few minutes until their outer layers are nearly tender and lightly golden, about 12 minutes. If they colour before softening, add 1 tablespoon of water, lower the heat, and cover again; ça se rattrape. Let the water evaporate before lifting them out. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of butter to the skillet, raise the heat, and cook the mushroom caps until their moisture has escaped and their edges are golden, about 5 minutes. Season them with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt.

5. 5

   Add at two-thirds

   At the 30-minute mark, lift the cocotte lid and surround the pheasant with the buttered onions, cooked mushroom caps, and olive-shaped truffles. Spoon the fragrant cooking butter over everything. Do not add this garnish sooner. The onions would lose their shape, the mushrooms would shrivel, and the truffle would spend its finest aroma inside the oven instead of at the table.

6. 6

   Finish and colour

   Complete Poëlings (No. 250) with the cocotte uncovered, basting once or twice, until the pheasant is burnished and both the deepest breast and inner thigh register 165°F (74°C), about 12 to 18 minutes more. If the skin colours too quickly, rest the lid slightly ajar over the bird. If the meat reaches temperature while the skin remains pale, transfer the garnish to a warm plate and give the bird 60 to 90 seconds under a household broiler, watching continuously. Lift the pheasant and garnish out together and rest them loosely covered while you make the jus.

7. 7

   Build the poëling jus

   Leave the cooking butter in the cocotte. Add the brown veal stock and bring it to a gentle simmer, scraping the browned glaze from the vessel floor. Let stock and butter remain in contact for 10 minutes so the stock recovers the flavour carried by the fat, then spoon away the excess butter and reduce the liquid only until it becomes a light, glossy jus. If it looks greasy, stop boiling and skim it patiently; if it reduces too far, loosen it with a spoonful of unsalted stock or water. Ça se rattrape. Taste for salt only after reduction.

8. 8

   Return and serve

   Return the pheasant, onions, mushroom caps, and truffle olives to the cocotte. Spoon the jus over the breast and around the garnish, then hold the dish over the lowest heat for 2 minutes without allowing the sauce to boil. Present the bird whole, carve the breasts and legs at the table, and give each serving its share of the garnish and jus. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose a young, plump pheasant close to 3 pounds. A much smaller wild bird will cook before the garnish is ready, while an older cock may remain firm after the breast has reached temperature. Technique first, always, but the right bird makes the timing kinder.
• •The stock must have body without excess salt. If commercial veal stock pours like water, reduce 2 cups (480 ml) to 1 cup (240 ml) before cooking. The finished sauce is a clear, glossy jus, not a flour-thickened gravy.
• •Fresh black truffle gives the clearest perfume. Outside its season, use good whole preserved black truffles with the same drained weight. There is no honest bottle substitute for the turned truffle garnish.
• •Do not wrap the pheasant in bacon. This cocotte method protects it with butter and a lid; bacon masks the truffle and prevents the skin from taking the fine colour the dish requires.
• •Pour a mature red Burgundy or another restrained Pinot Noir. The wine should meet the game and truffle without burying the delicate jus.

Advance Preparation

• •Peel the onions, trim the mushroom caps, and turn the truffle up to 6 hours ahead. Refrigerate them separately, with the truffle wrapped closely so its perfume remains contained.
• •The brown veal stock can be reduced and chilled up to 2 days ahead. Keep it unsalted or only lightly salted because the final simmer concentrates it.
• •Cook the pheasant just before serving. Reheating a whole game bird dries the breast, while the garnish and stock preparation are easily managed ahead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 320g)