Pheasant Dish with Chestnuts and Wine

This pheasant dish is a delicious meal because it is a sumptuous game meat that pairs well with the rich flavor and texture of chestnuts, and the flavors of brandy and red wine. 

Although we are not positive of its origins, we do know that this dish is popular in many countries in Europe, where game meats have always held a traditional role in local cuisine. 

We especially love this unique recipe as a hearty family meal in the winter time, or over the holidays. 

Pheasant Dish: Ingredients List

This recipe is for six to eight people, and the ingredients that we are going to need are the following:

• 4 pheasant breasts
• 2 tabespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 - 3 pinches of fresh thyme
• 1 pound of chestnuts
• 1 cup of dry red wine (in our case we recommend a well-balanced Rosso Della Valle)
• 2 tablespoons of brandy
• 5 - 6 small sweet onions
• salt 
• fresh ground black pepper

For the sauce:

• 2 tablesppons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 pinch of fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 pinch of rosemary
• 1 cup of dry red wine (again we recommend a Rosso Della Valle)
• salt
• fresh ground black pepper

Pheasant Dish: Cooking Instructions

To start we salt and pepper our pheasant breast and in a deep frying pan warm up our extra virgin olive oil. And we sear the meat over a medium flame. 

We pre-heat our oven to 340 degrees and we add in our frying pan the 2 cloves of garlic and the thyme. We let these two aromatic ingredients infuse the meat for three to four minutes to give aroma and flavor. 

We put out with the dry red wine and the two tablespoons of brandy, and then we boil for approximately five more minutes. 

Then we transfer our pheasant with the sauce in a baking pan, and we bake in the pre-heated oven for approximately twelve minutes. 

When ready, we remove it from the oven and keep the meat warm. We cover with aluminum foil to keep it warm. 

Then we turn our attention to the sauce:

In another frying pan we heat the extra virgin olive oil, and saute the finely chopped onion the 3 cloves of garlic, the thyme, the bay leaf, the rosemary, and we saute till the ingredients take on a nice light-brown or golden color. 

We put out the ingredients with the dry red wine and stir while waiting for the wine to almost fully evaporate. 

Then we add enough water to cover all the ingredients, and then slowly cook for approximately two hours. 

When it’s ready we strain our sauce, we add salt and fresh ground pepper. 

TIP: If the sauce is not thick enough, we can choose to add a tablespoon of flour, mixed in very well. Then strain and boil on a high flame for five to six more minutes until it nicely thickens. 

Now in a different frying pan, with an extra spoon of extra virgin olive oil, we saute the pre-boiled chestnuts, and the whole small sweet onions. 

We cut the pheasant breast in thin serving slices, and we pour the warm, thick sauce on top of the pheasant, and we serve with the sauteed chestnut and onions on the side. 

This pheasant meal pairs incredibly well with a Sangiovese wine!

Cheers and enjoy! 

Hungry for more wine recipes? I highly recommend this book: The Wine Lover's Cookbook!  (Book review on its way!) Available via Amazon!

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