Stuffed Roast Pheasant With Sherry Wild Rice Food

PHEASANT AND WILD RICE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine first nine ingredients; bring to a boil., Meanwhile, place flour in oven bag; shake to coat. Place oven bag in a 13x9-in. baking pan; add the bacon. Sprinkle rice and mushrooms over bacon. Add pheasant. Pour soup mixture into bag., Cut six 1/2-in. slits in top of bag; close bag with tie provided. Bake at 350° for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until a thermometer reads 180°. Let stand for 10 minutes before carving.

EMERIL'S FAVORITE ROAST PHEASANT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F and position the oven rack in the bottom third of the oven.
• Season the cavities and the outside of each pheasant liberally with salt and pepper. Divide the chopped onion and carrot equally among the cavities of the pheasants. Squeeze the juice from both halves of the orange and set aside. Cut 1 of the squeezed halves into 3 pieces, and tuck inside of the cavities along with the veggies. Insert 1sprig of thyme into the cavity of each pheasant.
• Arrange the pheasants in a large roasting pan, breast sides up. Lay 2 strips of bacon over the top of each pheasant, cutting the bacon into pieces if necessary to cover as much of the pheasant as possible. Roast for 15 minutes, then remove the bacon strips and continue roasting for approximately 30 to 40 minutes, or until the juices run clear. (It is important to not overcook the pheasants, as they are very lean birds.) Remove the pheasants from the oven and transfer to a serving platter, loosely tented, while you make the sauce.
• Using a spoon, carefully remove as much extra fat from the pan as possible. Place the roasting pan over high heat and, when hot, deglaze with the reserved orange juice and Madeira, using a wooden spoon to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. When the orange juice and Madeira have reduced by half, add the chicken stock and continue to cook until sauce has reduced enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 to 4 minutes. Swirl in the butter and remove from the heat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
• Remove the back bone from each pheasant, then cut along the breast bone to divide the birds into two halves. Serve 1/2 pheasant per person, napped with some of the sauce and with some of the Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding.
• Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over high heat. Add the onions and cook until golden brown and tender, 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon of the garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the Essence, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and 3/4 teaspoon of the pepper, and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are tender and have given off their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the beer and cook, stirring, to deglaze the pan and until the mixture is almost dry, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
• In a large bowl, combine the eggs, cream, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of Essence, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and whisk well to combine. Add the mushroom mixture and cheeses and stir well. Add the bread cubes and let sit until the bread has absorbed the liquid, 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with the butter. Add the bread crumbs, shaking to cover the bottom evenly. Pour the bread pudding mixture into the prepared pan and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour and uncover. Continue baking until risen and firm in the center, and golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly before serving.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.
• Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

STUFFED ROAST PHEASANT WITH SHERRY WILD RICE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Place the rice, 2 cups of the water, salt to taste and the bay leaf in a small saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a boil and stir and simmer for 45 minutes, or until done. Remove the bay leaf and drain. Set aside.
• Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a saucepan, add the chopped onions and celery. Cook, stirring, over low heat until the vegetables are wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the Sherry, the drained rice and salt and pepper to taste. Blend well and let cool.
• Spoon the rice mixture into the pheasant cavity and truss.
• Place the pheasant in a shallow roasting pan, season with salt and pepper to taste. Rub with the oil. Lay the pheasant on one side and scatter the neck, the gizzard and onion halves around it.
• Place the roasting pan in the bottom rack and bake the pheasant for 20 minutes, basting occasionally. Turn the pheasant on its other side and bake for 20 minutes more, basting occasionally. Reduce the heat to 400 degrees and remove the fat from the roasting pan. Place the pheasant on its back. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter, the chicken broth and the remaining quarter cup of water and roast, basting occasionally, for 20 minutes more, or until browned all over.
• Place the roasting pan on top of the stove; untruss the pheasant, remove from the pan and set aside for carving. Bring the gravy in the pan to a boil for 30 seconds, stirring and scraping to deglaze.
• Carve the pheasant; serve with hot gravy and the stuffing.

PHEASANT WITH WILD RICE

Steps:

• Cut pheasant into quarters.
• Dredge pieces in flour.
• Melt butter in oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add pheasant, and cook until browned on both sides, turning once.
• Add onion and next 7 ingredients.
• Put oven-safe skillet in oven.
• Bake, covered, at 350°F for 1 1/2 hours or until tender.
• Remove pheasant from skillet, and keep warm.
• Cook pan drippings in skillet over medium-high heat until reduced to 2 cups.
• Serve with pheasant and rice.

ROAST PHEASANT WITH WILD RICE STUFFING

Steps:

• Wipe the pheasants with paper towels and leave them to air-dry overnight (or longer) in a cool place. Soak the rice overnight in water to cover. Drain.
• Bring the chicken broth to a boil and slowly add the rice. Cover and simmer for one hour over low heat. Remove the rice from the pan and place it on paper towels to dry.
• Melt the butter and saute the onions until they are soft. Add the mushrooms and celery and cook until the mushrooms begin to yield their juice.
• Remove from the heat and add the grapes, Sherry and salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the wild rice. Stuff into the cavity of the birds and truss.
• Place the birds on a spit and roast, turning occasionally, for 40 minutes or until they are tender.