Indian Spiced Pheasant Breast Salad

Curry spiced pheasant breast summer salad

When I came up with the idea a couple of nights back to make a curried pheasant breast dish, I did not fully consider how appropriate that would be for dinner on a particularly hot summer's evening. Fortunately, I came up with this plan to make a cold, curry spiced pheasant breast Indian themed salad instead. I essentially served the cooled pheasant breasts with Indian spiced chickpeas (essentially just spiced onions with the onions substituted by chickpeas) and an experimental simple salad in what is actually homemade pakora sauce. The only element of the combination served warm is the naan bread. 

Cook Time

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 8 min

Ready in: 23 min (plus cooling time for pheasant)

Yields: 2 servings

Patting pheasant breast in curry seasoned flour

Ingredients

• 2 skinless pheasant breast fillets
• 2 tablespoons plain/all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon (or to taste) hot curry powder
• Salt
• Vegetable oil for frying
• 14 ounce/400g can chickpeas in water, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons tomato ketchup (1 each for chickpeas and mixed salad)
• 2 teaspoons mint sauce (1 each for chickpeas and salad)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder (1/4 teaspoon each for chickpeas and salad)
• 1 teaspoon runny honey
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 teaspoon dried coriander leaf/cilantro
• 3 tablespoons natural yoghurt
• 6 crisp Little Gem or Romaine/cos lettuce leaves, rolled and shredded
• 10 baby plum tomatoes, halved down through the core
• 4 inch (10cm) piece of cucumber (variety known as English cucumber, US), halved down through the core and sliced
• 3 or 4 slices from peeled and halved brown onion, separated into strands
• 2 mini garlic and coriander/cilantro naan breads

Spicy floured pheasant breasts are added to frying pan

Put the flour and curry powder in a flat bottomed bowl and season further with a generous pinch of salt. Use a table knife (yes, honestly!) to stir/combine and you will not create lumps in the mixture.

Pour a little oil into a large frying pan and bring it up to a medium heat. Pat the pheasant breasts on both sides in the flour mix to ensure even covering, gently shake off any excess flour and fry on a medium heat for four minutes each side.

Pheasant breasts are turned to fry on second side

When the pheasant breasts are done, lift them to a plate, cover and leave them to rest and cool completely.

Spicy sauce for chickpeas ingredients

To a large glass or stone bowl add 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup, 1 teaspoon mint sauce, 1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek, 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder, the honey, the lemon juice and the dried coriander/cilantro. Stir well with a wooden spoon to properly and fully combine.

Chickpeas are added to spicy sauce

Add the rinsed chickpeas to the spicy sauce and carefully stir fold with the wooden spoon to ensure even coating.

Simple pakora sauce ingredients

Put the yoghurt, 1 tablespoon of ketchup, 1 teaspoon mint sauce and 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder into a second bowl. Season with a little salt and stir with a wooden spoon to combine.

Salad ingredients are added to pakora sauce

Add the salad elements to the bowl with the pakora sauce and carefully stir fold to ensure even coating.

Lay the rested and cooled pheasant breasts on a chopping board and slice at a 45-degree angle. Arrange 1 pheasant breast on each serving plate, flanked in each instance by half the salad and half the spiced chickpeas. Heat 2 naan breads in a hot oven or under a hot grill/broiler, or per the instructions on the pack. Note that it is sometimes a good idea to sprinkle them with a little cold water prior to heating to ensure they are moist. Cut the naan breads in half and plate a half at either end of the sliced pheasant.

Slow Cooked Curried Pulled Goose Breast

Pulled curried goose breast with turmeric rice

While all forms of wild game have a tendency to be tough if not cooked appropriately and extremely carefully, I have found that goose breast fillets can be particularly challenging in this way. More often than not, I simply slice them across the grain to a thickness of around a quarter inch and then flash fry the strips. In this instance, however, I decided to slow cook the breast in a rich curry sauce before teasing it apart with 2 forks, as would more commonly be done with a slow-roasted shoulder of pork to produce pulled pork. 

Cook Time

Prep time: 1/2 hour

Cook time: Overnight plus 1/2 hour

Ready in: Overnight plus 1 hour

Yields: 6 to 8 servings

Skinless Canada goose breast fillet

Ingredients

• 2 large white onions, peeled, halved and sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 4 14-ounce (400g) cans chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
• 1 teaspoon hot curry powder
• 1 teaspoon dried coriander (cilantro)
• 2 birds' eye chillies, finely chopped
• Salt and black pepper
• 3 bell peppers, seeded and sliced
• 2 14-ounce (400g) cans chickpeas in water, drained and rinsed
• 3 ounces (75g) brown rice per person
• Generous pinch ground turmeric per person
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped coriander (cilantro) for curry, plus extra to garnish
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped coriander (cilantro) per person for rice

Sliced onion and garlic

Method

Add the onion and garlic to the slow cooker.

Chopped tomatoes and seasonings are added to slow cooker

Pour the 4 cans of chopped tomatoes over the onion and garlic. Add the curry powder, dried coriander/cilantro, chopped chillies and about a teaspoon of salt. Season to taste with black pepper.

Goose breast is submerged in spicy tomato sauce

Stir the combination carefully but well and slide the goose breast into the mixture, ensuring it is fully covered. Put the lid on the slow cooker and turn it on at its low setting. Cook for 10 hours. I cooked it overnight.

Slow cooked goose breast

Remove the lid from the slow cooker and be careful of escaping steam. Use a large, slotted spoon to lift the goose breast from the sauce to a deep plate.

2 forks are used to shred goose breast

While it's still hot, use 2 forks to shred the goose breast, just as you would with a shoulder of pork if making pulled pork. Cover and set aside.

Sliced bell peppers are added to spicy tomato sauce

Carefully ladle or pour the sauce into a large soup or stock pot. Add the sliced bell peppers, stir carefully but well and bring to a gentle simmer for 10 minutes.

Chickpeas and shredded goose breast are added to curry sauce

Add the chickpeas and shredded goose breast to the curry sauce, stir well and bring back to a simmer for 5 final minutes while you get the rice on to cook. Turn the heat off under the curry and cover.

Turmeric and black pepper are added to drained rice

Different types of rice require different cooking times. This is brown rice which had to be simmered in salted water for 20 minutes. Check the instructions on your pack. When the rice is cooked, drain it through a colander, return to the empty pot and season with turmeric and black pepper. Stir gently but well and allow to steam off and dry out for a couple of minutes.

Chopped coriander is added to goose breast curry

Coriander/cilantro is added to the pulled goose breast curry before being carefully stirred through.

Chopped coriander is added to rice

Add the coriander to the rice and carefully stir/fold to combine.

Rice border is prepared in serving plate

Spoon the rice into a deep serving plate and arrange it around the border as shown.

Goose curry is ladled into serving plate

A couple of ladles of the curry should be added to the well in the centre of the plate before it is garnished with the last of the coriander/cilantro and served.

Goose Breast and Brussels Sprouts Curry

 

Goose breast and Brussels sprouts curry on turmeric rice

Brussels sprouts are probably the most under-rated and possibly even the most disliked of all common vegetables. Why should this be the case? More often than not, in my humble opinion, it is largely because they are so frequently served not only grossly overcooked but improperly cooked. This delicious and imaginative dish sees them combined with goose breast strips in a moderately spicy wild game curry, all served on a bed of turmeric and herb rice.

Note that this recipe was created using the majority of the goose breast fillet which was used in part in the previous recipe on this blog for Pigeon, Goose and Cranberry Pot Belly Pie.

Cook Time

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 30 min

Ready in: 40 min

Yields: 2 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound/225g Brussels sprouts, washed and trimmed
• Salt
• 1 medium sized skinless goose breast fillet (or most of 1, in this instance!)
• Vegetable oil
• Black pepper
• 1 small red onion, peeled and moderately finely sliced
• 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons hot curry powder
• 14-ounce/400g can chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
• 6 ounces/150g basmati rice
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped coriander/cilantro, plus a little extra to garnish

Method

Bring a large pot of medium salted water to a rolling boil. Insert the sprouts and cook on a medium simmer for 5 minutes until just starting to get tender (they will complete cooking in the curry sauce). Note, you should not make a "+" shaped cut in the base of the sprouts. The only purpose this serves is a negative one in that it causes them to start to fall apart during cooking.

Lay the goose breast on a chopping board and slice across the grain into strips about 0.25 inch/0.5cm thick.

Goose breast strips are put on to fry

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan until very hot. Season the goose strips lightly on both sides with salt and pepper and fry on a medium to high heat for 2 minutes each side. Remove to a holding plate, cover and leave to rest. Note that you may have to fry the strips in 2 batches as it's important not to overload the pan.

Drain the sprouts and also set aside to partly cool, steam off and dry out.

Onion, garlic and curry powder are gently fried

Measure 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil into a large soup or stew pot and bring to a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and curry powder and saute for a few minutes over a medium heat, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon, until the onion strands are softened. 

Pour the canned tomatoes into the pot, stir well and turn up the heat to achieve a moderate simmer for 10 minutes. Stir frequently with your wooden spoon.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Rinse the rice through a sieve under running cold water and add to the boiling water. Cook per the instructions on the pack on a medium simmer, usually for around 10 minutes but do be aware this does vary with different types of rice.

Brussels sprouts are added to curry sauce

Cut each Brussels sprout in half, down through the core. Add to the simmering sauce, stir well, and continue to simmer for 10 more minutes while the rice cooks.

Goose breast strips are added to curry

When the rice is almost ready, cut each goose breast strip in to 2 or 3 pieces and stir them into the curry, just to heat through for the final few minutes of cooking time.

Coriander and black pepper are added to turmeric rice

Drain the rice well through a sieve at your sink and return to the emptied pot. Scatter over the turmeric, stir well and allow to steam off for 2 minutes before further seasoning with black pepper and the chopped coriander/cilantro. Fluff with a fork before arranging on 2 serving plates as a bed for the curry. Spoon the curry on top and garnish with the last of the chopped coriander.

Pheasant Leg Curry with Mini Flatbreads

 

Pheasant leg meat curry with brown rice and mini flatbreads

I have on this blog previously shared a recipe for pheasant breast curry. While pheasant breasts are very similar in texture and appearance to chicken breasts, pheasant legs are a bit of a different proposition from chicken legs. I tend to cook them in the slow cooker, whatever I happen to be using them for afterwards, and find this is the best way of enjoying the firm, succulent meat at its very best. This does unfortunately mean that the cooking time for recipes is significantly increased as a result, but if you give this idea a go, I hope you will agree that the extra effort required is more than justified in the finished dish.

Curries of any type are very often served with rice and/or flatbreads such as naan or chapati. In this instance, I have served the curry with brown rice and some mini, homemade chilli, garlic and coriander (cilantro) flatbreads.

Cook Time

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: Overnight plus 1 hour

Ready in: Overnight plus 1 hour 30 min

Yields (Curry): 6 to 8 servings

Slow cooked pheasant legs

Ingredients (Curry)

• 6 whole, skinless pheasant legs
• Salt
• 2 red onions, peeled and finely sliced
• 1/2 bulb garlic (approximately 6 cloves), peeled and finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons medium curry powder
• 3 tablespoons sunflower or vegetable oil
• 4 14 ounce/400g cans chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
• 6 birds' eye chillies, topped and finely sliced (3 green and 3 red in this instance)
• Black pepper
• 1 pound/450g baby spinach leaves
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped coriander (cilantro), plus extra to garnish

Ingredients (Flatbreads and rice)

• 200g plain (all purpose) flour, plus a little extra for dusting/rolling
• Salt
• 100ml cold water
• 2 tablespoons vegetable or sunflower oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried coriander
• 1 large garlic clove, peeled and grated
• 1 red birds' eye chilli, topped and very finely sliced
• Little bit of butter
• 3 ounces/75g brown rice per person

Method

Late the night before you intend making your curry, put the pheasant legs into your slow cooker, season with a little salt and pour in enough cold water to ensure they are comfortably covered. Cook over night at low setting for 10 hours. They really do take this long to be fully tender. The next morning and when the cooking time is up, lift them to a deep plate with a large, slotted spoon, cover and leave to cool completely.

Preparing to saute onions and garlic with curry powder

Pour the cooking oil into a large soup or stock pot. Add the onion, garlic and curry powder and put the pot on to a medium heat. Saute for up to 10 minutes, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon, until the onions are fully softened and reduced in the oil.

Tomatoes, chillies and seasonings are added to sauteed onions

Pour the canned tomatoes into the pot with the sauteed onions and garlic. Add the chopped chillies, around a teaspoon of salt and a good few turns of black pepper. Stir very well and bring to a gentle simmer. Adjust the heat to maintain the simmer, stirring occasionally, while you remove the pheasant leg meat from the bones in small pieces. Take your time doing this as, particularly where the tendons have not been removed from the legs at the time of cleaning, it can be quite a fiddly and laborious task. It is worth spending the required time, however, to avoid small bones making it into the curry that could cause all sorts of problems.

Pheasant leg meat is added to curry sauce

Add the pheasant leg meat to the simmering sauce. Stir well and simmer for 5 further minutes to ensure the meat is fully heated through.

Baby spinach is carefully folded into the curry

It will seem like a lot of spinach you are going to add to the curry but it will wilt down and decrease in size massively in a very short period of time. It is likely though that you will have to add it to the pot in 2 or 3 batches. Simply add a couple of handfuls to the simmering curry and carefully stir fold it through. Repeat as it wilts and until you have added it all. Simmer for 5 further minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the chopped coriander (cilantro) to the curry and stir it through. Turn off the heat under the pot, cover and set aside while you prepare the flatbreads and rice.

Measure out the water in a measuring jug and add the dried coriander, sliced chilli, grated garlic and a pinch of salt. You may wish to create this combination as you start to prepare the curry to allow the flavours to infuse the water and thus better the completed breads.

Water and oil are added to flour to make flatbreads

Put the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the oil. Pour in the infused water and get your hand in to fully combine the mixture into a slightly wet but firm dough. This may take a couple of minutes but be patient and it should come good.

Scatter a little flour on a board or clean dry surface and briefly knead the dough. Return to the bowl, cover and leave to rest for 20 minutes.

Cutting the dough into portions for flatbreads

Roll the dough into a ball and press it down slightly on a floured surface. Cut it in half, then each half into quarters and each quarter into eighths. This should give you 8 approximately equal sized wedges of dough.

Put a large cast iron or similar skillet on to reach a very high heat. While the pan is heating measure out your required rice and give it a brief rinse in a sieve under cold water. Follow the cooking instructions on the rice pack but this rice required 20 minutes' simmering in boiling, salted water.

Starting to fry mini flatbreads

You will need to fry the flatbreads in batches. This pan took 3 at a time. Take 1 wedge of dough at a time and roll it between your palms into a ball. Roll it out gently on a floured surface with a rolling pin to a circle with a diameter of around 3 inches/8cm. 

Be sure to time the flatbreads as they cook. They require 2 minutes on the first side followed by 1.5 minutes on the second side. Roll the second batch as the first batch are cooking.

When the flatbreads come out of the pan, sit them on a holding plate and very lightly spread with butter (careful - they'll still be very hot!) before transferring them to an airtight container to keep them slightly warm.

Put the curry back on for a few minutes just to heat through while you drain the rice at your sink and return it to the pot. Allow it to steam off for a couple of minutes to get rid of the excess moisture in the form of steam, forking it slightly every 30 seconds or so,

Plated rice and mini flatbreads

Lay 2 or 3 flatbreads at the each of a deep serving plate per person and spoon in some rice to help hold them in place as shown. Spoon the curry into the empty part of the plate and garnish with some more coriander leaf to serve.

Venison Curry in Giant Yorkshire Pudding

 

Spicy venison curry in a giant Yorkshire pudding

While curry of any kind is most often served with rice and/or a wide potential variety of Indian flatbreads, it works wonderfully well served in a number of different ways. In this instance, we will see a tasty, homemade roe deer venison curry served inside a larger than standard Yorkshire pudding to excellent effect. Note that meaty stews - wild game or otherwise - work equally well served in this fashion.

Cook Time

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 3 hours 15 min

Ready in: 3 hours 30 min

Yields: 2 servings

Ingredients (Venison Curry)

• 1 pound/450g roe deer venison loin meat, diced to 1 inch/2.5cm chunks
• 4 tablespoons vegetable (or sunflower) oil
• 2 teaspoons medium hot curry powder
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• Salt and pepper
• 1 small onion, peeled and sliced
• 14 ounce/400g can chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
• 1/2 each red, green, yellow bell peppers, seeded and sliced
• 1 medium to large red chilli, thinly sliced, seeds in
• 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 pint/568ml fresh chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped coriander leaf/cilantro, plus extra to garnish

Ingredients (per Yorkshire Pudding)

• 2 small eggs
• Equal quantity by volume plain/all purpose flour
• Equal quantity by volume full cream milk
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• Black pepper
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Venison is browned in spiced oil

Method

Pour the vegetable oil into a large stew pot and add all the powdered/ground spices. Put the pot on to a low to medium heat and stir the spices around in the warming oil for a couple of minutes with a wooden spoon. This helps both to release the flavours from the spices as well as to cook off the harshness that may otherwise be imparted into the curry. Be careful not to overcook and burn the spices or they will turn bitter.

Add the venison chunks to the pot, turn up the heat slightly and stir for 2 or 3 minutes until the meat is evenly browned and sealed all over. Add the sliced onion and cook in a similar fashion for a further couple of minutes until the onion strands are just starting to soften.

Tomatoes and peppers are added to the spiced venison and onion

Pour the canned tomatoes into the pot. Add the sliced bell peppers, chilli and garlic - as well as salt and pepper to taste - and stir well to combine everything together. Pour the chicken stock into the pot, stir again and turn up the heat until you achieve a very gentle simmer. Cover and continue to simmer as gently as possible for 3 hours, stirring occasionally and ensuring the mixture doesn't start to boil dry. If absolutely necessary, add a little more chicken stock or boiling water but note that this can impart negatively on the flavour of the finished dish.

Yorkshire pudding principal ingredients

When the curry has been simmering for around 2 hours, it's time to start making the Yorkshire puddings. These little 3-inch/7.5cm diameter ramekins are perfect for measuring out the Yorkshire pudding batter ingredients, as well as for many other not always so obvious purposes in the kitchen (but  much more to come on that at later dates!) Simply break the 2 eggs carefully into one of them before filling 2 more to similar levels with flour and milk.

Pour the eggs, flour and milk into a mixing bowl and season with the turmeric, salt and black pepper. Whisk to combine and form a smooth batter. Put the bowl into your fridge for the batter to rest while you heat the oven and cooking dishes. Note that you will need to prepare batter this way for each Yorkshire pudding you intend making.

Pour a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil into a 7-inch/18cm diameter casserole dish and place the dish into the cold oven before turning the oven on to preheat to 220C/450F/Gas Mark 8. If making 2 puddings, you will obviously require 2 cooking vessels.

Yorkshire pudding batter is poured into hot oil

Very carefully, lift the heated casserole dish(es) to a heatproof surface. Pour in the chilled batter, being careful of potentially splashing hot oil. Put the dish(es) straight back into the hot oven and cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not open the oven to check on the pudding(s) before the 25 minutes are up as this could affect the rising of the pudding(s).

Coriander is added to venison curry

When the Yorkshire pudding(s) is/are in the oven, add the coriander/cilantro to the curry, stir carefully but well and simmer for 15 final minutes before turning off the heat under the pot.

Giant Yorkshire pudding removed from the oven

The Yorkshire pudding(s) should come out of the oven beautifully golden and risen around the edges, with plenty of room in the centre for serving the curry. They should lift easily from the casserole dish with a large slotted spoon to your serving plate.

Venison curry spooned into Yorkshire pudding

Spoon the curry carefully into each pudding, garnish with the last of the coriander and serve immediately.

Pheasant Breast and Spinach Curry

 

Pheasant and spinach curry with rice

Pheasant breasts are similar in many ways to chicken breasts. This means that they can be very successfully substituted into most recipes where chicken would normally be the principal ingredient. This simple recipe sees them combined with that regular curry staple, spinach, to form a medium hot and incredibly tasty dish which can be enjoyed with rice, flatbreads or even a baked potato.

As pheasant is a seasonal bird in the UK and can only legally be shot between 1st October and 1st February each year, it should be noted that the breasts used in this recipe were taken from birds that were shot in season and cleaned, before their meat was frozen and subsequently defrosted overnight in the fridge.

Cook Time

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 1 hour

Ready in: 1 hour 15 min

Yields: 4 to 6 servings

Chopped peppers, onion and garlic

Ingredients

• 6 skinless pheasant breast fillets, chopped into 3/4-inch/2cm chunks
• 3 bell peppers (green, yellow and red), seeded and sliced
• 1 white onion, peeled and sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 6 birds' eye chillies (3 red, 3 green), finely sliced
• 3 tablespoons vegetable or sunflower oil
• 3 teaspoons hot curry powder (or as desired to taste)
• 4 14 ounce/400g cans chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
• Salt
• Black pepper
• 1 pound/450g baby spinach leaves
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped coriander leaf/cilantro, plus extra for rice and to garnish
• 3 ounces/80g basmati rice per person
• Ground turmeric
  

Browning pheasant breast pieces in oil

Method

Pour the oil into a large soup or stock pot and bring it up to a medium to high heat. Add the pheasant only and saute for a couple of minutes until just sealed, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Remove the pheasant from the pot to a holding plate with a slotted spoon, being sure to leave as much oil in the pot as possible.

Sauteing peppers and onion

Add the onion, garlic and curry powder to the hot oil and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the onion strands are softened. Add the peppers and chillies and cook in the same way for a further few minutes until the peppers are just starting to soften.

Pour the canned tomatoes into the pot and season with salt and black pepper. Stir carefully but very well and bring to a gentle simmer.

Pheasant pieces are added to prepared sauce

Return the browned pheasant breast pieces to the pot and carefully stir through. Bring back to a simmer for a total of 20 minutes, stirring frequently and well.

When the curry has been simmering for about 10 minutes, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Wash the required amount of rice in a sieve before adding it to the water. Stir well. Bring back to a simmer for 10 minutes (or per the instructions on the pack).

Spinach is added to pheasant curry

It is likely that you will have to add the spinach in 2 or 3 stages. Simply add a few handfuls and carefully stir fold through. It will fairly quickly wilt and allow you room in the pot to add more. When it is all added, stir very well and simmer for 5 final minutes.

Drain the rice carefully through a sieve, return to the pot and stir well again. Leave to steam off and dry out for a few minutes while you add the coriander to the curry and carefully stir it through. Turn off the heat.

Season the rice with some ground turmeric and black pepper and stir well with a metal spoon (a wooden spoon is more likely to cause rice to stick together) before adding some chopped coriander. Stir again.

Turmeric and coriander rice

Spoon the rice into deep serving plates and the curry on top. Garnish with the last of the chopped coriander before serving.