Roast Pheasant with Rice

This is the kind of wild game dinner that belongs on a candlelit table with a bottle of good wine. Whole pheasants get stuffed with a toasted rice and mushroom filling, draped with bacon strips across the breast, and slow-roasted for two hours while being basted with a currant jelly and port wine sauce.

Toasting the rice in a dry pan before cooking adds a nutty depth to the stuffing that you can’t get from plain boiled rice. Mixed with sauteed celery, onion, mushrooms, and a blend of sage, thyme, and savory, it becomes a fragrant, savory stuffing that absorbs the pheasant juices as it roasts.

The basting sauce is built for game birds. Currant jelly, lemon juice, port wine, cloves, and a touch of cayenne create a sweet-tart glaze that lacquers the skin and counterbalances pheasant’s lean, slightly gamy flavor. Those bacon strips melt their fat into the breast meat as it cooks, keeping things moist.

Chef Tips

• Stuff the birds loosely; rice expands as it absorbs drippings and packed stuffing won’t cook through
• Sew the cavity shut and truss the legs so the stuffing stays inside during roasting
• Baste frequently with the sauce, at least every 20 minutes, for a deeply glazed, mahogany skin
• The pheasant is done when the thigh joint moves freely and juices run clear

Variations

• Substitute Cornish game hens if pheasant isn’t available; reduce roasting time accordingly
• Use wild rice instead of long grain for an even nuttier, more textured stuffing
• Add dried cranberries to the rice stuffing for a fruity complement to the game flavor