Honey & garlic pheasant with hasselback sweet potato

During the winter months we stock up on game birds, such as pheasant and partridge. Both birds offer very lean meat and it can end up a bit dry. The star of today's meal was the bigger of the two birds.

The classic way of cooking pheasant is by wrapping it in bacon. It was suggested that I did that this time, but as there was no bacon rashers in the house, I had to find something else to do. Because I have successfully cooked pheasant with honey before, I decided to use that as a base and try something I had seen on Facebook. Instead of the usual honey, butter and parsley, this recipe featured honey, butter, garlic, oregano and thyme. Sounded like a nice combo and it was. 

One of our family members doesn't eat game birds, so I also cooked a couple of chicken fillets. In all honesty, the recipe was for chicken and it worked better with the domestic bird due to it being more tender. Both were nice though, only the chicken was nicer. That's good news for those of you who don't have access to pheasant.

The recipe was very simple and once a little bit of faff was done, the meat cooked itself in the oven alongside the potatoes. It was a case of browning the meat, making the 'sauce' and popping the meat back in to soak some of it up before ramming all of it into the oven. Job done. 

When browning meat in a frying pan, rule number one is not to crowd the pan, so of course I did exactly that and cursed the meat for now browning. Impatience is a real bummer, but that's something I have learned to live it. Impatience and non-browned meat, my constant companions through life.

To make this meal you need:

chicken or game bird breast fillets

garlic, finely chopped

salt & pepper

brown sugar

oregano

honey

thyme

I served with hasselback sweet potatoes with a sprinkle of parmesan and green beans. In case you want to know how to make the potatoes, I have shared my way below. 

1. Get all ingredients out.

2. Brown the breast fillets. Flip them over and brown the other side as well.

Don't crowd the pan! Mine didn't brown.

3. While the meat is cooking, start preparing the trimmings. I counted one medium sweet potato per person.

4. After peeling the potato, cut it in half lengthwise to get a solid base. Place the potato between two flat knives and score it. The knives with prevent the cuts from going all the way through.

5. Back to the meat. Once browned (or when you give up trying) set the meat aside.

6. Add a little butter to the pan and allow it to melt and mix with the meat juices.

7. Add the finely chopped garlic and cook for a minute. 

8. Add the honey and seasoning and mix well.

9. I wanted a little more sauce, so I opted for a drop of rose cider.

10. Return the meat to the pan and cook for a minute.

11. Flip of over and marvel at the seasoning sticking to the meat. Lovely!

12. Once the meat has been coated in the honey mixture, transfer the fillets to an oven dish and pop it into the oven for 30-40 minutes, 200 degrees until the meat is fully cooked.

13. Place the potatoes on a baking tray, brush with oil and season with salt. Pop the tray into the oven for approximately 25-30 minutes, 200 degrees until soft enough to eat.

14. You can cook both meat and potatoes at the same time. Because you want a bit of colour on the potatoes, place them above the meat.

15. If you wish to give the potatoes a little more flavour, add a sprinkle of grated parmesan when they are done and pop them back into the oven until the cheese as melted.

As you can see, the potatoes split a little even though I hadn't cut all the way through. That's the difference between sweet potatoes and normal potatoes. This kind is a lot softer and breaks a lot easier. If dishing up to guests, be extra careful not to ruin the display.

16. Serve and enjoy.

You could make a proper gravy and add the honey & garlic sauce, if you want to. I decided not to do that, but I probably will next time. The garlic mixture was really nice though and I enjoyed this meal.