Whitewell Pheasant Casserole

Name: Whitewell Pheasant Casserole
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 135 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 2 pheasants, dressed and jointed; 2 tablespoons beef dripping or goose fat; 1 large onion; 1 large carrot; 1 stick celery; 1 bouquet garni, a parcel of thyme, parsley stalk and bay leaf, I like to wrap this up in a leek parcel; 300 grams mushrooms, field if possible although we do use the meaty Portobello mushrooms; 1 good pinch sea salt, we use sea salt flakes; 1 good pinch cracked black pepper; 350mls a good red wine, preferably the one you are going to drink

John Glen Over a year ago 6,392 views

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 120 mins

Serves: 6

British Main Course

Ingredients

2 pheasants, dressed and jointed
2 tablespoons beef dripping or goose fat
1 large onion
1 large carrot
1 stick celery
1 bouquet garni, a parcel of thyme, parsley stalk and bay leaf, I like to wrap this up in a leek parcel
300 grams mushrooms, field if possible although we do use the meaty Portobello mushrooms
1 good pinch sea salt, we use sea salt flakes
1 good pinch cracked black pepper
350mls a good red wine, preferably the one you are going to drink

Accompaniment

Description

A rich warming casserole, perfect for a dinner party served with lots of vegetables, Dauphinoise potatoes, and hot fresh crusty bread for those delicious juices.

Method

1
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4.
Heat the beef dripping in a heavy frying pan and brown the jointed pheasant remove from the pan and place in a casserole dish.
Place the vegetables in the frying pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the onions have a little colour, add the red wine and bring to the boil.
Pour the mixture over the pheasant, season add the bouquet garni and cover, cook in the oven for 1 to 1½ hours until tender, if you want the juices a little thicker just reduce on the stove top until it is reduced as you would like it, remove the bouquet garni and serve the pheasant hot with the vegetables, and potatoes and Enjoy!

Chef's Tips

The Whitewell Hotel (now The Inn at Whitewell) is situated in the hamlet of Whitewell near Dunsop Bridge in the Forest of Bowland, and when we lived there, it was a very popular spot for them as wanted to fish on the best 5-mile stretch of the river Hodder. As well as those who just wanted to explore this most stunning part of Lancashire, this area is/was known as Little Switzerland and named so it is said by Queen Victoria.
In the 1300’s The Inn at Whitewell was just a small manor house, lived in by the keepers of the Royal forest. The Royal connection remains as the Inn forms part of the Duchy of Lancaster Estate.