Roast Pheasant (2024)

Serve one small pheasant per person

• 1 brace of young pheasants (2 in number), dressed
• 1 cooking apple, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 onion, peeled and sliced
• 55g (2oz) soft butter

Make sure all feathers have been removed from the pheasants. Stuff the chunks of cooking apple into the cavities of the birds and season.

Place the sliced onion into the base of an AGA half size roasting tin, lined with Bake-o-Glide™ and put the birds on top. Rub the pheasants with the soft butter and grind over some black pepper.

2, 3 and 4 oven AGA: Slide the tin onto the third set of runners down in the Roasting Oven and cook for about 45-55 minutes in total. I like to turn the pheasants over after 20 minutes cooking then turn back again after a further 15 minutes to ensure the undersides are nicely browned.

To test when the pheasants are cooked pierce the thigh with a fine skewer, the juices should run clear. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with game chips (or use good quality crisps), bread sauce and a gravy made with the onion flavoured juices.

Rayburn cooking: Roast the pheasants in the centre of the Main Oven set at 200°C (400°F) or Gas Mark 6.

Conventional cooking: Roast the pheasants at 200°C (400°F). fan oven 180°C or Gas Mark 6.