Braised Pheasant with Red Wine Poached Seckel Pears and Spiced Carrot Puree

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I’ve modified this dish from a Sous Vide recipe for those of you who don’t have access to a water oven, or immersion circulator.  I loved this dish so much that I didn’t want to limit who could try it.  The texture will be slightly different, and searing the meat is done before braising, not after, but the flavor rocks!! I’ve used the photo for the sous vide recipe, so yours will look slightly different.  

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Braised Pheasant with Red Wine Poached Seckel Pears and Spiced Pumpkin Puree
Serves 4
I've modified this dish from a Sous Vide recipe for those of you who don't have access to a water oven, or immersion circulator. I loved this dish so much that I didn't want to limit who could try it. The texture will be slightly different, and searing the meat is done before braising, not after, but the flavor rocks!! I've used the photo for the sous vide recipe, so yours will look slightly different.
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For the Pheasant
  1. 2-3 pound ea. skin-on pheasants
  2. 2 Carrots
  3. 2 Celery stalks
  4. 1 large onion
  5. 4 cloves garlic, minced
  6. 1 cup Chardonnay white wine
  7. 1-1/2 cups chicken stock
  8. 1/2 cup apple cider
  9. 6 tbs. butter
  10. 6 sprigs fresh thyme
  11. 2 bay leaves
  12. 1 Tbs. garlic powder
  13. 1 Tbs. onion powder
  14. 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
  15. 1 tsp. celery seed
  16. 1 Tbs. Kosher salt
  17. 1 tbs. black pepper
  18. oil for sautéing
For the Red Wine Poached Seckel Pears
  1. 1-1/2 cups Cabernet red wine
  2. 2 Tbs. agave syrup (or honey)
  3. 1 tsp. black peppercorns
  4. 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  5. 1 tsp. ground allspice
  6. 1 tsp. forest berry herb (an Australian herb, or substitute a strawberry/passionfruit flavored herbal tea)
For the Pumpkin Puree
  1. 1 15 ounce can pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
  2. 1-1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
  3. 2 Tbs. brown sugar
  4. 1/4 cup chicken stock
  5. 1/4 cup heavy cream
  6. 3 tbs. butter
  7. kosher salt
  8. black pepper
For the Braised Pheasant
  1. Preheat the oven to 300ºF.
  2. Butcher the pheasant by using chicken shears and first cut through the backbone and breastbone, dividing the pheasant in half.
  3. With a chef’s knife, remove the leg thigh portion to create a “leg quarter” ending with 4 leg/thigh pieces, set aside.
  4. For the pheasant breast, remove the outer wing tip and use for sauce.
  5. Remove the breast bone and back bone/ribs from the underside of the breast but keep the wing attached to the breast meat, reserve bones for the sauce.
  6. Season the pheasant pieces (including the scraps) with salt and pepper.
  7. Chop the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and set aside.
  8. In a large frying pan, heat about 1/4 cup oil.
  9. Add the pheasant pieces, a few at at time, until browned on both sides.
  10. Place the browned pheasant pieces to a large casserole pan.
  11. Add more oil if needed and add the carrot, celery, onion and garlic.
  12. Saute for about 5 minutes over medium heat.
  13. Pour the wine over the vegetables and scrape up any browned bits from the pan.
  14. Pour everything over the pheasant and add all remaining ingredients.
  15. Cover the dish and place in the oven and braise for 2 hours.
  16. Check for tenderness and increase time 1/2 hour if needed.
  17. Once the meat is cooked, remove the pheasant breasts and legs.
  18. Strain out the scraps, and vegetables and discard (they have done their job).
  19. Pour the pheasant stock into a medium size pot and heat to thicken and intensify flavor.
  20. *If the sauce needs thickened, mix 2 tablespoons butter, and 2 tablespoons flour together to make a paste, then whisk into the boiling liquid to thicken.
  21. Stir until the gravy is thick and has no lumps.
For the Red Wine Poached Seckel Pears
  1. Add all the ingredients, except the pears to a medium sauce pot and heat to a gentle simmer until the liquid is reduced by half and syrupy, about 10 minutes.
  2. Peel, cut in half, and scoop out the seeds of the Seckel pears.
  3. Place the pears in the syrup and poach on very low heat for 15 minutes.
  4. Check to see if they are done, by gently piercing a pear with a knife.
  5. It should be just soft, but not mushy.
  6. Slice the pear and serve with pheasant, and top with extra syrup.
For the Spiced Pumpkin Puree
  1. Add all the ingredients and bring gentle heat on the lowest setting.
  2. Stir on occasion.
  3. Heat for about 7-10 minutes.
  4. Check for additional salt and pepper.
  5. Serve with pheasant and pears.
Adapted from Sous Vide Pheasant with Red Wine Poached Seckel Pears and Spiced Pumpkin Puree
Adapted from Sous Vide Pheasant with Red Wine Poached Seckel Pears and Spiced Pumpkin Puree
He Hunts She Cooks http://hehuntsshecooks.com/