Recipe for "pheasant-perry"

NAME

     PHEASANT-PERRY - Pheasant for Thanksgiving
     A couple of years ago, we decided that pheasant would be the
     perfect Thanksgiving meal for two.  My husband conflated the
     best parts of all the pheasant recipes we could  find  (most
     came  from  the  Gourmet cookbook) and came up with a recipe
     that I find wonderful.  It's moist and tender;  tastes  like
     chicken  gone to heaven.   (One of pheasant's main problems,
     by the way, is that it tends to be dry.)

INGREDIENTS (Serves 2)

     1         pheasant
     1         bay leaf
     2         whole cloves (or more to taste)
     1         clove of garlic
     15 ml     parsley, chopped fine
     30 ml     celery leaves, chopped fine
     1 slice   lemon (peeled and chopped)
     6-12       juniper berries (or more to taste)
     1         tangerine (peeled whole)
     350 ml    port (*NOT* ``cooking port'', real port.   ``Cook-
               ing port'' has salt added.
     100 g     larding pork (Bacon will do)
     5         onion slices (slice thin)
     30 ml     mushroom peelings
     250 ml    chicken stock
     10        peppercorns (bruised)
     60 ml     Mandarine Napoleon (a tangerine liqueur; you could
               probably substitute Cointreau in a pinch. Use more
               or less, to taste.)
     250 ml    sour cream

PROCEDURE

          (1)  Preheat oven to 175 deg. C.
          (2)  Rub pheasant inside and out with salt and  pepper.
               Sprinkle  with port.  Stuff with bay leaf, cloves,
               garlic, parsley,  celery  leaves,  lemon,  juniper
               berries and tangerine.
          (3)  Sew the body cavity of the pheasant shut.  Moisten
               the larding pork or bacon with port, and cover the
               breast.
          (4)  To the roasting pan  add  onion  slices,  mushroom
               peelings,  250  ml of port, chicken stock, salt to
               taste, peppercorns, more juniper berries to taste,
               and Mandarine liqueur.
          (5)  Roast 40-45 minutes, basting every 10  minutes  at
               least.
          (6)  Strain gravy.   Let  stand  and  skim  fat.   Just
               before serving, add sour cream.

NOTES

     (We usually stick  the  whole  cloves  into  the  tangerine,
     insert  all  the other spices into the body cavity, then add
     the tangerine.)
     Some of these ingredients may be hard to find; feel free  to
     omit  them.  ``Mushroom peelings'' are simply mushroom stems
     and leftovers, chopped fine.   ``Bruised  peppercorns''  are
     peppercorns  that  have  been hit with a wooden mallet.  Bon
     appetit, and good luck!

RATING

     Difficulty: moderate.  Time: 1 hour.  Precision: approximate
     measurement OK.

CONTRIBUTOR

     Elizabeth Hanes Perry
     Dartmouth University, Hanover, New Hampshire USA
     UUCP:{decvax|ihnp4|linus|cornell}!dartvax!betsy   betsy@dartmouth.csnet
     "Ooh, ick!"--Penfold