Pheasant with Chorizo & Bacon
Cooking with Pheasant can sometimes end up with it being a little dry, but this method of cooking helps to keep it moist and tender, whilst the chorizo and paprika, along with our Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil with Chilli & Spice lend a tasty piquancy to the flavour. It's a great dish for entertaining!
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil with Chilli & Spice
2 pheasants, each cut into 2 leg and 2 breast joints, skin removed
225g piece of chorizo, outer skin removed and cut into 3mm slices
4 unsmoked British back bacon rashers, cut into 1cm strips
2 onions, peeled and chopped
4 large tomatoes
3 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
4 tbsp dry white wine
150ml beef stock
1 tbsp tomato puree
1-2 tbsp plain flour
2 bay leaves
1 tsp paprika
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 170 C / Fan 150 / Gas Mark 3
Begin by removing the skins from the tomatoes: place them in a heat proof bowl, cover with boiling water and leave for a couple of minutes until the skins have split. Carefully drain away the hot water and when cool enough to handle, peel off the skins. Cut the tomatoes into quarters and remove and discard the seeds. Roughly chop the remaining tomato flesh.
Using a deep frying pan or wok on a hot hob, heat 1tbsp of the Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil with Chilli & Spice and fry the chopped bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and put into an ovenproof casserole dish which has a lid.
Put half of the chorizo slices (leave the other half to one side) into the frying pan and cook until the fat has been released and the chorizo is crispy. Remove from the pan and add to the bacon in the casserole.
Coat the pheasant joints in the flour and cook in the frying pan to brown and seal the meat. Remove and add to the casserole with the bacon and chorizo.
Fry the onions and garlic in the same frying pan until just beginning to brown. Then add the chopped tomatoes, dry white wine, beef stock, tomato puree, bay leaves and paprika. Stir well over the heat to mix everything together. When the mixture starts to bubble, pour it into the casserole over the meat. Cover with a tight fitting lid and cook in the oven for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1tbsp Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil with Chilli & Spice in a frying pan and fry the remaining chorizo until crispy. Remove the chorizo from the pan and drain it on kitchen paper, ready to use as a garnish.
Season the casserole with salt and pepper to taste and serve the pheasant (a leg and a breast joint per person) with the chorizo and bacon sauce and a crispy chorizo garnish.
Try this...
Chicken with Chorizo and Bacon - chicken joints may be used instead of the pheasant, in which case the cooking time in the oven may need to be extended a little.
