Roasted Pheasant, Boulangère Potatoes & Red Cabbage

INGREDIENTS

ROAST PHEASANT CROWNS
2 cock pheasants, legs removed and reserved for the confit

2 tbsp of vegetable oil

1 sprig of thyme

60g of butter

CONFIT PHEASANT LEGS
4 pheasant legs

50g of rock salt

5g of thyme

2 garlic cloves

500g of duck fat

BRAISED RED CABBAGE
1 red cabbage, finely shredded

50g of salted butter

1 apple, peeled and finely grated

150ml of Riesling wine

65ml of cider vinegar

30g of brown sugar

20g of redcurrant jelly

1/2 cinnamon stick

BOULANGÈRE POTATOES
750g of Désirée potatoes

1 onion, finely sliced

1 sprig of thyme, leaves picked

40g of butter

200ml of chicken stock

METHOD

1. To begin, prepare the confit pheasant legs for the boulangère potatoes. Grind together the salt, thyme and garlic in a pestle and mortar and use to completely cover the legs. Leave to cure in the fridge for 1 hour

2. Preheat the oven to 140°C/gas mark 1

3. Sweat the shredded red cabbage in butter in an oven-proof lidded pan until bright in colour and starting to collapse. Make sure it doesn't brown

4. Add the other ingredients and bring to the boil. Cover with a cartouche and a lid and braise in the oven for 1 hour

5. Place a colander over a pan and tip the cabbage into the colander. Leave to drain for 15 minutes, then reduce the liquid collected in the pan to a thick syrup. Return the cabbage to the liquid and check the seasoning

6. Reduce the heat of the oven to 120°C/gas mark 1/2

7. Wash the cure from the pheasant legs and place the duck fat in a casserole dish set over a low heat. Once the fat has melted, add the legs and turn up to a gentle simmer, making sure the legs are fully submerged in the fat. Place the lid on the dish and transfer to the oven for 1.5–2 hours, or until the meat is very tender and flaking away from the bones

8. Allow the legs to cool in the fat until just warm. Remove the legs from the fat, pick off the meat and discard any skin, bones or cartilage

9. To make the boulangère potatoes, cook the onions in 25g butter in a heavy-based pan until golden brown. Add the flaked confit leg meat mix and picked thyme, season and set aside

10. Wash and peel the potatoes, then slice into thin and even rounds using a mandoline

11. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4

12. Use a third of the potatoes to make an even, neat layer in the bottom of a baking dish. Season then cover with half of the onion and meat mix. Repeat this process again, then add the chicken stock. Finish with a neat layer of potatoes and brush with the remaining softened butter

13. Bake in the oven until the golden and cooked through

14. To cook the pheasants, preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6

15. Heat an ovenproof pan until very hot, then add the vegetable oil and pheasants. Colour them for 2 minutes on each side, then add the remaining butter and the thyme to the pan and continue to cook over a high heat until the butter starts to foam

16. Baste the pheasants, then transfer the pan to the preheated oven and cook for about 4 minutes on each breast, basting regularly. Remove from the oven and leave to rest in a warm place for 15 minutes

17. Serve on a bed of red cabbage with the boulangère potatoes on the side. Carve the pheasants at the table