Game On!
Duck and Pheasant Casserole
Given it is still the pheasant season, I used the two birds that Husband had shot, together with a duck, at the last shoot he attended before Christmas. They had been suitably hung outside, butchered and frozen, in case you were worried about the time lapse...!
Ingredients - for the casserole
4 pheasant breasts, skin off
2 small duck breasts, skin off
2 banana shallots, peeled and chopped
2 sticks of celery, chopped
5 parsnips, peeled and cut into batons
2 carrots, peeled and cut into batons
quarter of a celeriac, peeled and chopped
5 or 6 plums, de-stoned and chopped
half cup cider
half cup white wine
half cup white port
couple of sprigs each of fresh rosemary, sage and thyme
2 teaspoons of vegetable bouillon powder
50g unsalted butter
Salt and pepper
Ingredients - for the mash
Quarter celeriac, peeled and chopped
3 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Knob of garlic butter
Half a cup of milk
Salt and pepper
Method
Melt the butter in the bottom of a heavy-based skillet or deep pan. Add the chopped shallots till soft and translucent and then add the chopped meat and brown it off. Then add the plums, celery, parsnips and celeriac followed by the cider, white wine and white port. Put the skillet in the roasting oven of an Aga, lid on - or 200 degrees or so in an electric oven - for about half an hour to allow the ingredients to cook through and meld. Remove and add the herbs, bouillon powder and seasoning. Return to the oven to continue cooking for another half hour. Meanwhile, prepare the veg for the mash and cook about 15 minutes before ready to serve. Once cooked through, mash the veg, adding the butter, milk, mustard and seasoning. Warm your plates and serve directly from the cooking dishes.
The combination of the KitchenAid skillet (which is made to professional specifications) and the radiant heat of the Aga produced a truly delicious set of flavours - sweet, savoury, full. It was not a heavy meal at all, despite all the game. The sauce produced was thin, having had no flour added, but full of flavour.
The skillet, moreover, despite not being non-stick, was totally unscathed - no sticking, no mess. I cannot recommend its cooking prowess highly enough. Go buy!
(And just so you're in no doubt, there is no sponsorship attached to this post - the skillet was bought locally as a Christmas present and this was the first meal I tried cooking in it).
Given it is still the pheasant season, I used the two birds that Husband had shot, together with a duck, at the last shoot he attended before Christmas. They had been suitably hung outside, butchered and frozen, in case you were worried about the time lapse...!
Ingredients - for the casserole
4 pheasant breasts, skin off
2 small duck breasts, skin off
2 banana shallots, peeled and chopped
2 sticks of celery, chopped
5 parsnips, peeled and cut into batons
2 carrots, peeled and cut into batons
quarter of a celeriac, peeled and chopped
5 or 6 plums, de-stoned and chopped
half cup cider
half cup white wine
half cup white port
couple of sprigs each of fresh rosemary, sage and thyme
2 teaspoons of vegetable bouillon powder
50g unsalted butter
Salt and pepper
Ingredients - for the mash
Quarter celeriac, peeled and chopped
3 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Knob of garlic butter
Half a cup of milk
Salt and pepper
Method
Melt the butter in the bottom of a heavy-based skillet or deep pan. Add the chopped shallots till soft and translucent and then add the chopped meat and brown it off. Then add the plums, celery, parsnips and celeriac followed by the cider, white wine and white port. Put the skillet in the roasting oven of an Aga, lid on - or 200 degrees or so in an electric oven - for about half an hour to allow the ingredients to cook through and meld. Remove and add the herbs, bouillon powder and seasoning. Return to the oven to continue cooking for another half hour. Meanwhile, prepare the veg for the mash and cook about 15 minutes before ready to serve. Once cooked through, mash the veg, adding the butter, milk, mustard and seasoning. Warm your plates and serve directly from the cooking dishes.
The combination of the KitchenAid skillet (which is made to professional specifications) and the radiant heat of the Aga produced a truly delicious set of flavours - sweet, savoury, full. It was not a heavy meal at all, despite all the game. The sauce produced was thin, having had no flour added, but full of flavour.
The skillet, moreover, despite not being non-stick, was totally unscathed - no sticking, no mess. I cannot recommend its cooking prowess highly enough. Go buy!
(And just so you're in no doubt, there is no sponsorship attached to this post - the skillet was bought locally as a Christmas present and this was the first meal I tried cooking in it).
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