Name: Pheasant braised with leeks, cider & apples
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil; 2 large pheasants jointed; 2 leeks washed, trimmed and sliced; 2 rashers of smoked streaky bacon; 3 sprigs of thyme leaves picked; 2 Bramley apples thickly sliced; 2 tbsp brandy or calvados; 800ml dry cider; 300ml chicken or game stock; 70ml double cream; ½ tsp mace or ground nutmeg; 50g skinless roasted hazelnuts roughly chopped; 1 tsp sea salt; 1 tsp caster sugar; 2 tbsp cider vinegar; 2 juniper berries crushed; ½ Bramley apple peeled, cubed

A plate serving pheasant braised with leeks, cider & apples

2 tbsp olive oil
2 large pheasants
jointed
2 leeks
washed, trimmed and sliced
2 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
3 sprigs of thyme
leaves picked
2 Bramley apples
thickly sliced
2 tbsp brandy
or calvados
800ml dry cider
300ml chicken or game stock
70ml double cream
½ tsp mace or ground nutmeg
50g skinless roasted hazelnuts
roughly chopped

For the pickled apples

1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp caster sugar
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 juniper berries
crushed
½ Bramley apple
peeled, cubed

Method

step 1
For the pickled apples, put the salt, sugar, vinegar and berries in a small pan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, add the apple cubes and set aside.
step 2
Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed, high-sided casserole and season the pheasant joints with salt. Brown them all over, rendering out some of the yellow fat into the pan. Remove to a plate and season with pepper. Add the leeks, bacon and thyme to the pan along with a pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper, and fry until the leeks have softened – about 8 mins. Add the apple slices and cook until starting to colour on both sides.
step 3
Spoon in the brandy and cook until evaporated, add the cider and simmer for a few more mins to cook off the alcohol. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer and add the pheasant joints back to the pan, covering with a circle of baking parchment.
step 4
After 15 mins, remove the breasts from the pan to a plate and return the circle of baking parchment to the pan. Cook gently for a further 20 mins, then remove all the pheasant pieces from the pan to a plate and turn the heat up to reduce the sauce. Boil hard for a few min until reduced, then stir in the cream and mace and turn off the heat. Return the pheasant pieces to the sauce - the residual heat will warm it perfectly.
step 5
Divide the pheasant between plates and spoon over the sauce. Garnish with the pickled apples and hazelnuts. Serve with our celeriac colcannon.