Maple-Juniper Roast Pheasant
Serves 4 to 6
This recipe is adapted from “The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen” by Sean Sherman with Beth Dooley. Pheasant was a commonly hunted meat for the Minnesota chef and food educator’s family, who hail from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Here in San Francisco, you can find pheasant at Golden Gate Meat Company. Serve the pheasant with cornmeal mush or polenta.
2 pheasants, about 3 to 4 pounds each, giblets removed 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt 2 tablespoons maple sugar 1 teaspoon sumac 1 teaspoon crushed juniper berries ¼ cup sunflower oil 1 cup fresh cranberries ½ cup chicken or vegetable stock, plus more as needed for basting 3 tablespoons maple vinegar (see Note) Griddled apple halves to garnish (Optional) Instructions:
The day before cooking, rinse the pheasants and pat dry with paper towels. Generously season with the salt, maple sugar, sumac and juniper, and let sit in the refrigerator, uncovered, overnight.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place the pheasants breast-side up in a roasting pan. Rub a generous amount of the oil under the skin of the birds and over the outside of the skin. Put half of the cranberries into the cavity of the pheasants and spread the rest in the pan. Loosely truss the legs of the pheasants. Pour the stock and vinegar into the roasting pan. Roast for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and baste the pheasants with the pan juices. (If the pan looks dry, add more broth.) Continue roasting until the skin is crisp, the juices run clear and a thermometer inserted in the thigh reaches 155 degrees, about 30 to 45 more minutes. Allow to stand at least 10 minutes before carving.
If making the griddled apples, slice apples in half horizontally, brush with sunflower oil and place cut-side down in a hot skillet or frying pan and cook until lightly browned, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Carve and drizzle with the pan juices before serving with the griddled apples.
If you can’t find maple vinegar, you can substitute 2 tablespoons cider vinegar mixed with 1 tablespoon maple syrup. Note: