Pâté Chaud de Faisan

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •18 cm (7-inch) deep springform pan or Charlotte mould
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Poultry shears
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Warm sauce jug

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the short paste

   Following the pastry-and-moulding framework of Pâté Chaud de Caneton (No. 1752), rub the cold butter into the flour and pastry salt until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few lentil-sized flakes. Add the yolk and just enough ice water to make the dough hold when pressed. Knead it only twice, divide off one-third for the lid, flatten both portions, wrap, and chill for 45 minutes. If the dough crumbles after resting, ça se rattrape: work in cold water one teaspoon at a time. If it feels greasy, chill it again before rolling.

   Short paste needs enough strength to stand upright but not so much handling that it turns leathery. Stop mixing as soon as it holds together.
2. 2

   Prepare the mould

   Butter an 18 cm (7-inch) deep springform pan or Charlotte mould thoroughly, especially where the base meets the sides. Roll the larger pastry portion about 3 mm thick and line the mould in one piece, leaving 2 cm hanging above the rim. Press it into the lower corner without stretching it, then chill the lined mould while the pheasant roasts. Patch a tear with cold pastry and press the join firmly; once filled and baked, nobody at the table will know.

3. 3

   Under-roast the pheasant

   Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Dry the pheasant, rub it with the softened butter, and season inside and out with half the remaining salt and pepper. Roast breast-side up for 20 to 25 minutes, until the skin is bronze but the thickest part of the breast registers only 52 to 55°C (125 to 130°F). Rest it for 15 minutes. The bird is deliberately underdone because the pie supplies the second cooking. If it passes 60°C (140°F), slice the breast very thinly and brush each slice with a little demi-glace before layering; ça se rattrape.

4. 4

   Prepare the filling

   Beat the chilled Gratin Forcemeat for Ordinary Hot, Raised Pies (No. 202) with the 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons of demi-glace until evenly combined. This keeps the book's proportion of four tablespoons of reduced sauce to 1⅔ pounds of forcemeat. Fry a teaspoonful in the mushroom pan, taste it, and correct the salt and pepper now. The test spoon is not fussiness; once the pie is closed, the seasoning is beyond reach.

5. 5

   Cook the mushrooms

   Slice the small mushrooms, reserving their clean stems and trimmings for the salmis. Cut shallow grooves down the cap of the reserved large mushroom. Melt the mushroom butter over medium-high heat and sauté everything until browned and dry, cooking the whole cap beside the slices. Lift out the cap for the finish. Cool the slices completely before assembly, because warm mushrooms soften the forcemeat and make the pastry greasy.

6. 6

   Carve and save

   Remove both breasts from the rested pheasant and cut them lengthwise into long, thin collops. Keep every bone, wing tip, leg, neck, browned scrap, and spoonful of roasting juice for the salmis. Work on a clean board and wash the knife after handling the underdone bird. Cover the sliced breast and keep it cool while the sauce begins.

7. 7

   Build the salmis

   Chop the carcass and remains into manageable pieces with poultry shears. Brown them hard in 1 tablespoon butter in a wide saucepan, then add the shallot and reserved mushroom trimmings and cook until the shallot colours. Pour in the red wine, scrape up the fond, and reduce by two-thirds. Add the stock, the ⅓ cup demi-glace, and the roasting juices. Simmer uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes while the pie is assembled and baked, crushing the bones once or twice with a spoon.

8. 8

   Layer the pie

   Spread a 1 cm layer of forcemeat over the pastry base and up the sides. Arrange a layer of pheasant collops over it, then cooked mushroom slices and truffle. Repeat the layers, pressing gently to remove air pockets, and finish with a complete covering of forcemeat. Sprinkle the powdered thyme and ground bay over the surface. Keep the layers distinct but close; loose packing leaves cavities that collapse when the pie is cut.

9. 9

   Seal and gild

   Roll the reserved pastry into a thin lid. Brush the exposed rim with the yolk beaten with water, lay on the lid, and seal it firmly to the overhang. Trim and crimp the edge, then cut a 2 cm opening in the centre. Brush the lid with the remaining glaze and chill the assembled pie for 15 minutes while the oven settles to 180°C (350°F). Cold pastry holds its architecture.

10. 10

    Bake to bronze

    Set the mould on a preheated metal baking sheet and bake for about 1 hour, until the pastry is deeply golden and the centre of the forcemeat reaches 74°C (165°F). If the lid colours before the centre is ready, cover it loosely with foil and continue. A pale lower crust needs another 10 minutes on the lowest oven rack; colour, not the clock, tells you when pastry is cooked.

11. 11

    Finish the salmis

    Strain the salmis through a fine sieve, pressing the carcass firmly, then discard the solids. Boil the sauce until it naps the back of a spoon and leaves a clear trail when you draw a finger through it. Remove it from the heat and whisk in the cold butter cube by cube. If it becomes oily, stop adding butter and whisk in one teaspoon of cold stock; ça se rattrape. Taste for salt and pepper.

12. 12

    Open and serve

    Rest the pie for 10 minutes, release the mould, and invert it onto a warm serving platter so the original base faces upward. Ease off that pastry base, cut it into triangles, and arrange them around the exposed filling. Pour about ½ cup (120 ml) of salmis through the opening, place the grooved mushroom in the centre, and surround it with the reserved truffle slices. Send the remaining salmis separately in a warm jug. Cut generous wedges with a serrated knife. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask a game butcher for a plump oven-ready pheasant with its neck and giblets. If the bird was wild-shot, inspect it carefully for pellets and damaged flesh before cooking.
• •Preserved whole black truffles are the classical pantry's honest answer when fresh truffles aren't in season. Drain and slice them. Truffle-flavoured oil changes the dish and gives the forcemeat a blunt perfume.
• •A concentrated demi-glace is the home equivalent of the brown sauces once kept continuously at the stove. Choose one without heavy salt, because both the pie and salmis reduce as they cook.
• •Serve with buttered spinach or glazed carrots, then pour a mature red Burgundy or another supple Pinot Noir. The pie is already abundant and needs no elaborate company.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the pastry and obtain the finished game-liver forcemeat one day ahead. Keep both covered and cold, then let the pastry soften only enough to roll.
• •The pheasant, mushrooms, and unbuttered salmis base can be prepared one day ahead and chilled separately. Cool the pheasant promptly, then carve it while cold.
• •The pie may be assembled and refrigerated for up to 6 hours before baking. Add 10 to 15 minutes to the baking time if it enters the oven fully chilled.
• •Reheat the salmis gently and whisk in its cold finishing butter only before serving. Once buttered, it should not boil.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 620g)