Salmis de Faisan

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy roasting pan or ovenproof skillet
• •2 to 3-quart saucepan
• •Poultry shears and sharp carving knife
• •Sturdy pestle or small heavy pan for crushing the carcass
• •Fine-mesh sieve and heatproof bowl
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Covered shallow sauté pan or heatproof serving dish

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the service

   Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C) with a rack in the centre. Have a covered shallow sauté pan or heatproof serving dish ready, and set a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl. Leave Gratins (No. 268), the fried bread cushion, and the forcemeat-coated croûtons out. The canonical preparation discards them because they delay service; the carcass sauce is the dish, while the bread architecture was brigade scaffolding.

   A salmis waits for no garnish. Arrange the tools before roasting so the bird can be carved and sauced without a long pause.
2. 2

   Roast moderately underdone

   Pat the pheasant completely dry, season it with the salt, and rub the softened butter over the breast and legs. Roast breast-side up until richly bronzed and deliberately underdone, about 22 to 30 minutes depending on the bird. An instant-read thermometer should show 136 to 140°F (58 to 60°C) in the breast and about 145°F (63°C) at the inner thigh. This is the principle that decides the dish: the pheasant must still have cooking left for the sauce. If the breast reaches 150°F (65°C), remove and carve it immediately rather than giving it a customary rest. Ça se rattrape, provided you stop the heat now. As soon as the bird enters the oven, combine the red wine, chopped shallots, and mignonette in the saucepan. Boil briskly until reduced to about 1 cup (240 ml), then hold it at a low simmer until the carcass is ready.

3. 3

   Cut eight pieces

   Rest the pheasant for only 3 minutes. Remove the two legs, then the two wings, separating and reserving the pinions with the carcass. Lift both breasts from the bone and cut each lengthwise into two neat pieces, giving eight portions in all. Pull away the skin, trim the pieces neatly, and save every bone, scrap, pinion, skin, and roasting juice for the sauce. Place the meat in the covered shallow pan. Warm the Cognac in a very small saucepan, remove it from the heat and away from the bottle, then ignite it with a long match and let the flame die. If an open flame is impractical, boil the Cognac hard for 30 seconds. Spoon this burnt brandy and the melted meat glaze over the pheasant, cover, and hold in an oven reduced to 170°F (75°C) for no more than 15 minutes.

4. 4

   Pound the carcass

   Cut the warm carcass into manageable pieces with poultry shears. Add the reserved skin, pinions, trimmings, neck, heart, gizzard, and roasting juices, but reserve the liver for another use because it can make the sauce muddy. Crush the joints firmly with a pestle or the flat bottom of a heavy pan. Crack them open without pulverising them; a home food processor is not made for bones. Add everything to the partially reduced wine. Boil hard, pressing the carcass down occasionally, until the wine has almost disappeared and only 2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 ml) of dark syrup remain. Watch the final minute closely. If the reduction begins catching at the edge, pull it from the heat and stir in a spoonful of hot water before it scorches. Ça se rattrape before the wine turns black, never afterward.

5. 5

   Add the Espagnole

   Stir the finished game Espagnole sauce into the crushed carcass and reduced wine. Bring it to a bare simmer and cook for exactly 10 minutes, pressing and turning the bones several times so the sauce extracts their roasted flavour without boiling itself dull. While the sauce simmers, melt the butter for the mushrooms in a small pan. Sauté the six grooved caps over medium heat until tender and lightly gilded, about 4 minutes, then keep them warm. Slice the truffle as thinly as the knife allows, but do not cook it yet.

6. 6

   Press and finish

   Tip the carcass mixture into the sieve and press firmly with the back of a ladle until the bones and shallots are nearly dry. Note the quantity of strained sauce, return it to a clean saucepan, and reduce it briskly until roughly one-third of that volume remains. Dépouiller, meaning skim away the foam and excess surface fat, as it reduces. Pass the concentrated sauce through the finest sieve once more. Take the pan off the heat and monter au beurre, finish by whisking in the cold diced butter one piece at a time, until the sauce is glossy and coats the back of a spoon. If it has tightened beyond pouring, loosen it with hot water a teaspoon at a time. If the butter leaves an oily rim, whisk in a teaspoon of cold water away from the heat. Ça se rattrape.

7. 7

   Finish only once

   Arrange the sliced truffle and six buttered mushroom caps among the pheasant pieces, then pour the sauce over everything. Cover and warm over the lowest heat, turning each piece once, until the thickest portions reach 165°F (74°C), about 3 to 6 minutes. The sauce should barely quiver and must not boil. If the breast pieces reach temperature first, lift them onto the warm platter while the legs finish. Bring the salmis to the table immediately, with the sauce gleaming over the meat rather than pooled in excess. This is one roast and one deliberate finish, never a reheated leftover. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The source asks for pheasant that is somewhat high, meaning properly matured or hung by a knowledgeable game dealer, not a bird left aging in an uncertain home refrigerator. It should smell deep and gamey, never sour, sticky, or ammoniacal.
• •Have the game Espagnole and meat glaze ready before the pheasant meets the oven. A good frozen homemade supply is ideal; a properly made game demi-glace loosened to sauce consistency is the honest home equivalent. Thin stock or canned gravy cannot carry this preparation.
• •Fresh black truffle gives the fullest perfume. Outside its season, use a small whole preserved black truffle, drained and sliced, and accept that its aroma will be quieter. An honest preserved ingredient is better than a tired fresh one.
• •Use a dry, supple red wine with acidity rather than heavy tannin. Pinot Noir or Gamay works in the pan and at the table, where the same bottle meets the pheasant without bullying it.
• •Serve with purée de pommes de terre or plain buttered noodles to catch the concentrated sauce. Nothing needs stacking, moulding, or arranging on fried bread. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare or obtain the game Espagnole and clear meat glaze in advance. Both keep for several days in the refrigerator and freeze well in small measured portions.
• •The shallots may be chopped and the mushroom caps trimmed and grooved up to 4 hours ahead. Keep both covered and refrigerated; slice the truffle only shortly before it enters the dish.
• •Do not roast the pheasant ahead. Salmis depends on moving directly from the deliberately underdone roast to the final warming in sauce, and a chilled cooked bird changes the preparation into the very leftover treatment this method corrects.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 230g)