- Serving: 3 to 4 as an entrée, Serves 6 as an appetizer
Pheasant San Xavier
Game birds and meats take well to flavoring with fruit and wine. This is an elegant and easy entrée to serve with wild rice and sauteed vegetables.
Ingredients
- Pheasant Breasts - 3
- Flour - 3 tablespoons
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Clarified Butter or Oil - 3 tablespoons
- Shallots - 2, peeled and chopped
- Fresh Raspberries - 1 pint (frozen unsweetened berries may be substituted)
- Merlot or other full-bodied red wine - 1/2 cup
- Pheasant Stock - 1 cup, reduced from 2 cups, or veal demi-glace
- Whole raspberries and tarragon sprigs
Instructions
Remove the skin from the breasts and pound them lightly to an even thickness. Dust them with flour and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Heat the clarified butter or oil in a saute pan or skillet over high heat. When very hot, add the pheasant breasts and saute until golden brown. Turn the breasts over and add the shallots, raspberries, and merlot. Stir, smashing the raspberries into the wine. Let simmer for a few minutes, then add the reduced stock or demi-glace. Simmer a few minutes more. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To serve: Place 2 pheasant breasts on each warmed plate. Spoon sauce over and around the breasts. Garnish each serving with a few fresh raspberries and a sprig of tarragon.
