Episode 43: Fowl

Pheasant on a Brick
Pan Fried Partridge w/ Dijon Mustard
Quail Stuffed w/ Wild Mushrooms
Duck Breasts w/ Blood Sauce

PHEASANT ON A BRICK
4 whole de-boned pheasant breasts
1 large sprig rosemary
1 lemon
5 tablespoons olive oil (75 millilitres)
1 litre brown pheasant or chicken stock, (1 quart)

Preparation time is 40 minutes
Ease of preparation is easy

Place the pheasant breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap. Pound with a rolling pin or the bottom of a saucepan until 1 cm flat. Remove the rosemary from its stem and bruise with the back of a knife. Marinate the pheasant breasts in the rosemary, olive oil and the zest of the lemon for at least 30 minutes.

Place the pheasant breast on a hot grill and place a brick on top. You can use a regular brick wrapped in tin foil, or a ceramic one from a pottery shop. The meat cooks very quickly and will be done in under a couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, put the stock in a saucepan and reduce to about half the original quantity. Strain through a piece of muslin and return to the heat to reduce until it is a thick, glossy liquid that coats the back of a spoon.

Serve the bricked pheasant on a lake of the glace sauce.

Yield: 4 servings
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PAN FRIED PARTRIDGE WITH DIJON MUSTARD
4 small partridge
4 slices white bread
3 heads Belgian endive
½ cup clarified butter (125 milliliters)
1 tablespoon chervil coarsely chopped (15 milliliters)
1 tablespoon parsley coarsely chopped (15 milliliters)
1 litre brown stock made from the partridge bones (or chicken) (1 quart)
½ cup 35 % cream (125 millilitres)
2 tablespoons grainy Dijon mustard (30 millilitres)
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (15 millilitres)

Preparation time is 45 minutes plus 2 hours to make stock
Ease of preparation is moderate

De-bone the partridge and French the bone. Make a brown stock out of the remainder of the bird. Put the finished version of the stock on simmer and reduce by half. Strain and continue to reduce until the liquid coats the back of a spoon.

Place the white bread in the food processor to make breadcrumbs. Roll the breast of partridge in breadcrumbs and pan-fry the partridge in the vegetable oil over a high heat. Make sure that it remains pink in the middle.

Cut the Belgian endive into a thick chiffonade. Heat a pan and add the clarified butter. Sauté the endive. Add the chervil and parsley.

Add the cream to the brown sauce and stir in the grainy mustard. Season to taste.

Place the partridge on a nest of endive and spoon the sauce around it.

Yield: 4 servings
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QUAIL STUFFED WITH WILD MUSHROOMS
4 large quail
1 tablespoon olive oil (15 millilitres)
2 onions, diced
2 cups breadcrumbs (150 grams)
2 cups wild mushrooms, sliced (150 grams)
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons thyme, chopped (25 millilitres)
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped (25 millilitres)
½ cup clarified butter (125 millilitres)

Preparation time is 45 minutes
Ease of preparation is moderate
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

De-bone the quail from the back, leaving the bird whole.

Put the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook until caramelized and brown. Add the wild mushrooms and cook for one minute. Add the onion and mushroom mixture to the breadcrumbs. Season to taste.

Lay the quail out flat and divide the stuffing between the 4 birds. Do the same thing with the chopped herbs. Top the birds with the herbs and the stuffing. Re-form to original shape. Place in a tin foil nest and brush with clarified butter. Put the quail in the 350-degree oven to roast for 20 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings.
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DUCK BREASTS WITH BLOOD SAUCE
2 whole duck
1 tablespoon olive oil (15 millilitres)
60 grams butter (2 ounces)
75 grams foie gras, diced (3 ounces)
1 lemon, zested and chopped
1 cup port (250 millilitres)
1 ½ cups concentrated brown stock (375 millilitres)
Salt and pepper

Preparation time is 45 minutes
Ease of preparation is moderate

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit

Remove the legs from the duck and leave the breasts on the body.

Remove excess fat and score the remaining fat on the duck breasts. Put the oil in a pan and sear the duck breasts. Remove and place in a roasting tray in the 350-degree oven for about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove the breasts from the bone. Allow the rare duck breasts to rest in a warm place.

Chop up the bloody breastbones and place in a strainer over a bowl. Press down on the bones with another bowl to squeeze the blood out. If you are fortunate enough to own a luxurious duck press- here is where you put it to work.

Sauté the diced foie gras in the butter, about one minute; add the lemon peel, port and brown stock. Add the blood, season to taste, whisk and serve over the thinly sliced duck breasts.

Yield: 4 servings
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Recipe Courtesy of Chef Michael Allemeier, Executive Chef at Teatro in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

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