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Roast Pheasant with Orange Sauce

Source of Recipe

Master Chef Don Easley


Recipe Introduction

Serves 6 to 8

List of Ingredients

2 pheasants (2 to 2-1/2 pounds each)
1 small orange, rinsed
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
salt

orange sauce:
1. Make orange sauce: With a vegetable peeler, cut orange part of skin from 2 large oranges. Cut peel in thin slivers and put in a 3- to 4-quart pan. Cover peel generously with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Drain peel and add to pan 1 cup orange juice, ½ cup orange-flavor liqueur, and 3 tablespoons sugar. Boil on high heat, uncovered, until liquid is almost gone, 10 to 15 minutes; watch carefully as liquid reduces to avoid scorning. Spoon out and set aside 2 tablespoons peel. To pan, add another ½ cup orange juice, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon currant or raspberry jelly, and 1 tablespoon brandy.
Stir over medium heat until jelly melts.




Recipe

1. Remove any giblets and pheasants necks for other uses. Pull off and discard any fat lumps form pheasants. Rinse birds inside and out; pat dry. Cut orange in ½ ; put 1 piece in the body cavity of each bird. With small skewers, secure skin over body cavity to cover and pin neck skin to back.
2. Lay pheasants, breast down, or a rack in a roasting pan. Put 1 cup water in pan. Roast birds in a 450°F oven for 15 minutes. Turn birds over, brush with orange sauce, and roast until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast to the bone registers 135°F and meat at breastbone looks moist but not soft and wet ( cut from shoulder joint to breastbone to test), about 15 minutes longer.
3. Tilt birds to drain juices into pan, then set them on a platter and let stand at least 10 minutes before serving. Meanwhile, skim and discard fat from drippings; add drippings to orange sauce and boil, uncovered, over high heat until reduced to 1 cup.
4. Melt butter in a 10 to 12-inch frying pan over high heat. Scatter orange peel reserved from sauce on a top of pheasants. Accompany with orange sauce; add salt to taste.