Pheasant Breast wrapped in Bacon

Pheasant breast have very pleasant tasting meat, similar to chicken. Often the problem with pheasant dishes is that the breast needs a lot less cooking than the leg meat. So when they are cooked together you usually end up with dry breast meat. By wrapping skinless pheasant breast in bacon you provide a little fat to help keep them moist. This is a very quick and easy dish to prepare for a week day meal.

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4 Portions
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Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes

Ingredients

Pheasant Breast

  • 4 pheasant breast, skin removed
  • 8 thin rashers of streaky bacon, rind removed
  • maldon salt and freshly ground black and pepper
  • olive oil, for cooking

Quince Sauce

  • 500ml game stock (see recipe) or chicken stock reduced by 2/3's
  • 2 tbsp quince paste/cheese
  • 75ml light red wine

To Serve

  • parsnip rosti (see recipe) or mashed potatoes
  • sauteed spinach

Method

  1. Pheasant Breast: Rub a little garlic and pepper into the pheasant breasts. Wrap each one in 2 rashers of bacon. Cover and refrigerate until ready to cook
  2. Quince Sauce: Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes until you have a sauce that coats the back of a wooden spoon. Keep the sauce hot until ready to serve.
  3. To Cook the Pheasant Breasts: Preheat an oven to 180°C. Coat a pan with olive oil and place over a moderate-thigh heat. Place the breast in the pan and cook for 5 minutes on each side, then place in the preheated oven for a further 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.
  4. To Serve: Serve the breasts on parsnip rosti or mashed potato, served with sauteed spinach or your choice of vegetables. Drizzle the sauce around the plates. Serve.