Game Cookery

First, catch your pheasant. José Souto enjoys watching his goshawk at work hunting a bird for this classic meat, cheese and breadcrumb dish

Pheasants are a tricky and cunning quarry for most falconers — especially the older cock birds. They seem to have that ability to melt into the countryside and magically disappear. More than once, before I had dogs, I marked one and made my way to it expecting an eruption from the cover, only to find nothing. Their burst of flight can also be vastly different depending on where they live.

Here on the Fens, when flushed, pheasants fly away in a low-level horizontal flight, whereas in more wooded or scrub areas they tend to fly up vertically and then away. If anything, these woodland birds are easier for my goshawk to catch as she will climb up into the air to snatch her prize.

This is truly amazing to watch and last year I clocked her doing 40mph from a standing (perching?) start — going up vertically as she hit the pheasant. Later that year, not far from home, she clocked just short of 60mph in a straight-line flight.

For falcons, it’s all about the power with which they hit the pheasant. A falcon’s stoop can measure well in excess of 120mph, so pheasant are not outrunning them, but they are hardy. In some instances, I have seen big cock birds simply shrug off the hit and continue their flight as if nothing had happened. This challenge is what makes the prize of a pheasant so great to the falconer. Here is a classic that works well with pheasant, whether you take it with falcon or gun. the meat into the breadcrumbs and ensure they are well covered. Place the breasts on to a board and use a palette knife to shape them around the edges to ensure they are evenly shaped.

“A classic that works well with pheasant, whether you take it with falcon or gun”

4Place the vinegar and sugar into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, pass the tomato-andwine sauce through a sieve. Once the vinegar mix has turned to a caramel, stir in the sauce and leave to one side.

5Add 5mm of oil to a small frying pan and heat up. Place the pheasant breasts into the oil and cook on a medium sizzling heat for 4 minutes, then add the butter and allow to cook for a further 2 minutes. Turn the breasts over and cook for another 4 minutes. Once cooked, they should be golden-brown and the cheese should be soft in the middle. Serve the pheasant breasts with the tomato sauce.