Cooking with Tallyrand

butter roasting is also known as pot roasting or the French culinary term of poele, 

it is a gentler form of cooking than normal roasting, conducted at a lower temperature and sometimes for longer time. It can be used on tougher cuts of meats or birds (if cooking time is extended) or for more tender cuts where a high temperature isn't required, It requires a good tight fitting lid or well covered and sealed with tinfoil. The meat is essentially cooked via steam created by the butter, which will also infuse its flavour into the mean

poele, I always think is a great method of cookery for game birds as it can tenderise the meat nicely, and due to its method can prevent it from drying out. It can be used for all game birds, therefore I am going to generalise slightly in this recipe

I love serving the bird, with a sauce made from the melted butter, any cooking juices and a wine reduction (red or white depending on your own preference), crisp pan cooked breadcrumbs and steamed baby vegetables. Basing it on the fact the best cookery is KISS (Keeping It Sensually Simple ;-), the best ingedients, uncomplicated and cooked simply. 

1. pre-heat oven to 200C
2. scrub the potato well and cut into quarters lengthwise (into large wedges)
3. place into a roasting tray or large casserole dish 
4. place the game bird on top and smear all over with the butter, season well with cracked pepper (no salt will be required as it will come from the butter and bacon)
5. cover the breasts with slices of the bacon (this will help the breasts from drying out and add flavour) 
6. pour half the wine into the dish. Cover with a tight fitting lid if using a casserole dish or if using a roasting tray, cover with lightly buttered tinfoil, ensuring it is well sealed on all sides
7. place into the oven, turn down the temperature to 160C and cook for 40 minutes
8. to test if the bird id cooked, remove from the oven and cut the skin joining the leg to the breast, it should cut and seperate easily, and there should be pink but no signs of blood at the thigh joint. If need be place back into the oven to cook further
9. if you prefer the bird browned, remove the cover when cooked and place under the grill for 2-5 minutes 
10. when cooked remove from the oven, place on a clean tray and cover the bird and potatoes in tinfoil to rest, while you produce the sauce

1. place the remaining wine into a saucepan and heat until it boils, simmer until only approx. a tablespoon remains (this caramelises the natural sugars and removes the tart flavour, strain all the cooking liquor from the cooking pot/tray into the saucepan and bring to a simmer, thicken with a little flour and water mix
2. taste and season if required

1. while the bird is cooking, make the breadcrumbs
2. remove the crust from the loaf if preferred, tear into large pieces and pulse in a food processor to obtain a large crumb (or grate on a cheese grater) the larger the crumb the better
3. gently heat the butter or oil over a low heat with the finely sliced garlic clove for 5 minutes, remove the garlic clove and discard
4. add the breadcrumbs and increase the heat, keep the breadcrumbs moving by stirring to ensure they brown evenly and turn crispy (if preferred, pop them onto a tray now and place in the oven)  

chef notes

serve the carved bird, with the bacon slices, the sauce, crispy breadcrumbs, the potato wedges and a selection of steamed baby vegetables

See also

pheasant - butter roasted 
pheasant - braised with scrumpy
pheasant - winter cassoulet

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