Pheasant with Black Olives
Submitted by joellespice
Pheasant with black olives sears and roasts boned pheasant breast and thigh, served with a deep wine and bone-stock reduction studded with black olives and tomato. An elegant wild-game main with Provencal flavors.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
1 hrsREADY
4 hrsThis is wild game cooked with real finesse, the kind of plate that rewards a little butchery and patience. The pheasant is boned into breast and thigh portions, the bones saved for the sauce, and marinated in white Zinfandel with shallots, thyme, bay, and juniper berries, whose piney bite is a classic match for game.
The sauce is the real showpiece. Cracked pheasant bones brown hard with onion and garlic until deeply caramelized, get deglazed with wine, then simmer with stock and reduce low until syrupy enough to coat a spoon. That long reduction is where all the savory depth comes from.
Black olives and tomato fold in at the end, lending a salty, Provencal brightness that cuts the richness.
The meat is seared skin-side down for a golden crust, then finished in a hot oven. Pheasant is lean, so watch it closely. The breast cooks faster than the thigh and dries out quickly if overdone.
Chef Tips
- Don’t toss the bones. Browning and simmering them is what gives the sauce its body and flavor.
- Reduce the sauce slowly until it coats a spoon. Rushing it leaves it thin and weak.
- Pull the breast first, when it feels plump and just firm, and give the thighs a few extra minutes since they take longer.
- Juniper berries are key to that game flavor, so don’t skip them in the marinade.
Variations
- Use a dry red Zinfandel or Pinot Noir for an even darker, deeper sauce.
- Swap pheasant for guinea hen, Cornish hen, or even chicken thighs and breasts.
- Add a handful of mushrooms to the sauce for extra earthiness.
Ingredients
Directions
To remove breast meat and thighs from pheasants, cut down each side of the ridge of the breastbone with a boning knife.
Scrape the knife down the side of the breast bone and the rib cage to remove meat from the bone.
Leave wings attached.
Slit the skin between the knee and top of the breast, then slip it around to the small of the back.
Force the knee down, and soon you will see the ball joint where the leg-thigh meets the small of the back, Cut through the knee joint.
Run tip of knife along both sides of remaining thigh bone and pull away from the meat.
A boneless thigh portion, skin-on and rather square shaped, and a skin-on boneless breast with wing attached remain.
Reserve bones for stock.
Mix marinade ingredients and pour over pheasant.
Marinate 2 to 3 hours.
The sauce: Crack reserved bones with the blunt edge of a heavy knife.
Heat the olive oil in a 5-quart stock pot until oil is smoking hot.
Add bones and brown, stirring constantly.
After 10 minutes bones should begin to take on a golden brown color.
Keep stirring so ingredients don’t burn.
Add onions and garlic and cook approximately 10 minutes longer, until onions and garlic have caramelized, and the bones have browned.
Spoon excess oil from pot, and add Zinfandel, stirring to dislodge browned bits from bottom of pot.
Reduce heat to medium and cook until liquid reduces in volume and becomes syrupy.
Add chicken stock, bring to a boil, and cook until sauce has reduced to 3 or 4 cups.
Strain. Sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon.
When ready to serve, reheat sauce with the olives and tomatoes.
Season to taste with pepper and salt.
Lift pheasant from marinade and scrape off any solids clinging to the meat.
Season with salt and pepper.
Sear meat skin side down until golden.
Turn and repeat.
Roast pheasant in a 400℉ (200℃). oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
Breast meat will be finished first and should feel plump and tender to the touch.
Thigh meat must be cooked through and will need a few more minutes to cook.
Serve 1 breast and 1 thigh per person.
Drizzle olive sauce over meat.
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