Chef Juliette
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Faisan Grillé Diable
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1839, Faisan Grillé Diable, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Faisan Grillé Diable turns a young pheasant into a burnished dinner of Dijon mustard, cayenne, fine crumbs, and butter, with gentle heat protecting the tender meat beneath the crisp crust.
Main Dishes
French
Dinner Party
Comfort Food
35 min
Active Time
35 min cook•1 hr 20 min total
Yield4 servings
Faisan Grillé Diable (young pheasant grilled with a mustard and breadcrumb crust) teaches command of the fire. The one true thing to know before touching a pan is that only a young, tender bird belongs here. Grilling can bronze pheasant beautifully, but it cannot soften an old bird before the breast dries.
The original kitchen assumed a saucier on staff, a stock never off the fire for the accompanying Devilled Sauce Escoffier, and a salamander whose fierce top heat could be moderated by distance. At home, the sauce remains a separate prepared component, while a wire rack, a rimmed sheet pan, and an ordinary broiler set well back from the element reproduce the intended finish. Two small birds feed four. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Formal entrée trussing and the butcher's beater were brigade scaffolding, so they can go; kitchen shears, a boning knife, and the flat base of a heavy skillet do the work more sensibly. The partial oven cooking, mustard sharpened with cayenne, firmly pressed crumbs, real butter, and patient final grilling are the dish itself, and every one stays. That final heat matters most: bronze the coating slowly enough that the pheasant finishes cooking before the crumbs scorch.
Faisan Grillé Diable belongs to the classical grand-kitchen repertoire centered in Paris, where à la diable signified mustard, peppery heat, breadcrumbs, and a sharp accompanying sauce rather than the larder of any particular French region. The pheasant preparation traveled directly from the established method for young chicken, with the more delicate game bird admitted only when tender enough to withstand grilling. A common misconception hides in the name: the bird does not begin raw over the grill, but is first partly cooked in the oven before receiving its mustard crust.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
young farmed pheasants
Quantity
2 birds, 1½ to 2 pounds each (680 to 900 g each), using Poulet de Grains Grillé Diable (No. 1636) as the preparation method
split down the back, flattened, and partially boned
unsalted butter
Quantity
6 tablespoons (90 ml / 85 g)
melted and divided
smooth Dijon mustard
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 125 g)
cayenne pepper
Quantity
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g)
fine unseasoned dry breadcrumbs
Quantity
1½ cups (360 ml / 150 g)
fine salt
Quantity
2 teaspoons (10 ml / 12 g)
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 2 g)
small lemons
Quantity
2
sliced into thin rounds
prepared Devilled Sauce Escoffier
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 240 g)
kept as the separate finished preparation specified by the source
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| young farmed pheasantssplit down the back, flattened, and partially boned | 2 birds, 1½ to 2 pounds each (680 to 900 g each), using Poulet de Grains Grillé Diable (No. 1636) as the preparation method |
| unsalted buttermelted and divided | 6 tablespoons (90 ml / 85 g) |
| smooth Dijon mustard | ½ cup (120 ml / 125 g) |
| cayenne pepper | ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g) |
| fine unseasoned dry breadcrumbs | 1½ cups (360 ml / 150 g) |
| fine salt | 2 teaspoons (10 ml / 12 g) |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 2 g) |
| small lemonssliced into thin rounds | 2 |
| prepared Devilled Sauce Escoffierkept as the separate finished preparation specified by the source | 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Sturdy kitchen shears
- •Small flexible boning knife
- •Heavy skillet with a flat base, for flattening
- •18 by 13-inch (46 by 33 cm) rimmed sheet pan
- •Oven-safe wire rack that fits the sheet pan
- •Two broad heatproof spatulas
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Small saucepan and warmed sauce boat
Instructions
- 1
Open and flatten
Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Cut each pheasant open lengthwise through the middle of the back with sturdy kitchen shears, then spread it breast-side up like a book. With a small boning knife, remove the narrow backbone, rib cages, wishbone, and any loose pelvic bones you can reach cleanly; leave the wing and drumstick bones so the bird retains its shape. Cover with parchment and press firmly with the flat base of a heavy skillet until the breast and legs lie at nearly the same height. This is the practical home translation of Poulet de Grains Grillé Diable (No. 1636). Do not hammer the breast thin, or it will cook before the legs.
- 2
Half-roast in butter
Pat both sides thoroughly dry, then season with the salt and black pepper. Set the birds skin-side up on a wire rack fitted inside a rimmed sheet pan and brush them with 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the melted butter. Roast without turning for 10 to 14 minutes, until the surface has tightened, the flesh has lost its raw translucence, and the thickest part of the breast registers about 120 to 125°F (49 to 52°C). This is deliberately only a partial cooking, so move directly to the coating rather than letting the birds cool.
- 3
Apply the diable crust
Stir the Dijon mustard and cayenne together, then coat both sides of each warm bird thoroughly, reaching into the joints and along the edges. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs copiously over the mustard and press them down with the flat of a broad knife or spatula so they adhere as one even jacket. Turn the birds carefully and repeat on the second side, then trickle the remaining 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 57 g) melted butter over the crumbs. If the coating slides away, stop. Ça se rattrape: scrape off the loose patch, blot away excess butter, apply a thin fresh layer of mustard, and press on more crumbs.
- 4
Grill with patience
Change the oven to low broil and position the rack about 8 inches (20 cm) below the element. Broil the birds meat-side up for 4 to 5 minutes, then turn them with two broad spatulas and finish skin-side up for another 5 to 8 minutes, rotating the pan whenever one edge colours faster. The crust should become deep butter-gold and crisp while the mustard remains ochre beneath it. Check both breast and thigh away from the bone; each must reach 165°F (74°C). If the crumbs brown before the meat is ready, move the pan to the middle of a 350°F (180°C) oven until the temperature is reached. If the meat is ready but the coating is pale, bring it nearer the broiler for 20 seconds at a time. Patience, not a scorched crust.
- 5
Rest and warm sauce
Transfer the pheasants to a clean rack and rest them uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes; covering would trap moisture and soften the crust. Meanwhile, warm the prepared Devilled Sauce Escoffier gently in a small saucepan, without allowing it to boil, and pour it into a warmed sauce boat. The source treats this sauce as its own finished preparation, so keep it separate rather than turning the pheasant coating into an improvised pan sauce.
- 6
Carve and serve
Divide each pheasant into two generous portions, keeping breast and leg together where the shape permits. Arrange the four portions on a warm round platter and border it with the thin lemon slices exactly as the preparation intends. Serve the Devilled Sauce Escoffier separately so each guest can spoon on as much heat and richness as desired. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Ask for young farmed pheasant weighing no more than about 2 pounds (900 g) each. A large wild bird may have magnificent flavour, but if it is mature it wants a braise, not this grill. Change the plan, not the standard.
- •Your butcher can split and partially bone the birds for you. Ask that the breast skin remain intact and the wing and drumstick bones stay in place; those bones protect the joints and keep the finished portions handsome without any plating theater.
- •Use fine, plain breadcrumbs rather than coarse panko. The classical coating should cling closely to the mustard and brown as a continuous crust, not stand up in large flakes.
- •Distance controls the broiler better than frantic turning. Set the birds farther from the element and give the butter time to bronze the crumbs; fierce close heat burns cayenne and mustard before the pheasant is cooked.
- •A cru Beaujolais has enough bright fruit for the pheasant and enough freshness for the mustard and cayenne. Serve it lightly cool, and bring the sauce boat around twice.
Advance Preparation
- •The pheasants can be split, partially boned, and flattened up to 6 hours ahead. Pat them dry and refrigerate uncovered on a rack; season only when the oven is heating.
- •Mix the mustard and cayenne and measure the breadcrumbs earlier in the day, keeping them in separate covered containers. Melt the butter only when cooking begins.
- •Prepare the Devilled Sauce Escoffier from its own formula up to 2 days ahead and reheat it gently for service. The timing here assumes that separate finished preparation is ready.
- •Do not apply the mustard and breadcrumbs more than 20 minutes before the final grilling. A long wait draws moisture into the crumbs and trades a crisp coating for paste.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 310g)
Calories
675 calories
Total Fat
35 g
Saturated Fat
14 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
20 g
Cholesterol
180 mg
Sodium
2000 mg
Total Carbohydrates
30 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
59 g
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