Special Occasions Recipes - Breast of Pheasant with Savoy Cabbage and Mustard Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 4

 

• 4-6 tablespoons clarified butter

• 4 boneless, skinless pheasant breasts

• salt and pepper

• herb sprigs, to garnish 

Sauce:

• 300 ml/1/2 pint Chicken Stock

• or game stock

• 300 ml/1/2 pint red wine

• 2 tablespoons port

• 2-4 tablespoons coarse grain mustard

• 300 ml/1/2 pint single cream 

To serve:

• 425 g/14 oz Savoy cabbage, shredded

• 50 g/2 oz butter

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Method:

1. Heat the butter in a large frying pan and cook the pheasant breasts, skin side down, over a gentle heat for 3-4 minutes. Turn and cook on the other side for a further 3-4 minutes.

2. Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper to taste and leave to rest for 3 minutes before serving. Cooking times will vary with the thickness of the pheasant breasts.

3. When cooked, the flesh should feel firm but springy to the touch and when sliced should only just be cooked through.

4. Make the sauce by combining the stock, wine and port in a saucepan and reducing by half. Stir in the mustard and cream and reduce until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. Meanwhile, cook the cabbage, drain, toss in the butter and season to taste with salt and pepper.

6. Divide between 4 plates, piling it in the centre. Carve each pheasant breast into 3 flat slices and arrange in a fan on top of the cabbage.

7. Spoon a little sauce over each breast and serve immediately, garnished with herb sprigs.

Note: If you find it difficult to bone a chicken yourself, ask your butcher to do it for you.