Pheasant Cider Casserole

Pheasant Cider Casserole (for slow cooker)

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
Butter or Oil for browning meat
2 pheasants
100 g bacon lardons
2 sticks celery, chopped
2 apples, cored and cut into chunks
2 large onions, chopped
Few chopped sage leaves
Few thyme leaves
Cornflour (optional)
300 ml chicken stock
500 ml dry cider
100 ml double cream
Preparation.
First bag and despatch your pheasants, hang approx 5 days if preferred.
Dress them by removing head and neck, wings, feet cut at knee and all tail feathers. With a single cut peel away skin and feathers to reveal a clean carcass. Cut inside leg and remove innards, clean under tap and your pheasant is dressed and ready.
Method
Turn slow cooker to high
Place celery, apples, onions, sage and thyme in slow cooker.
Brown pheasants on all sides, followed by lardons, in oil/butter and add to slow cooker.
Deglaze frying pan with stock and add to slow cooker.
Bring cider to boil in same pan and add to slow cooker. Turn slow cooker to auto.

Approx 6/7 hours later (or when cooked) remove pheasant from slow cooker, remove and slice flesh and keep warm.
Place contents of slow cooker into a pan and bubble on hob until liquid is reduced by half. If the casserole requires further thickening mix a spoonful of cornflour with a little cold water and stir into the pan.
Add cream and cook for another minute or two.

Serve sauce over the sliced pheasant.
Goes well with Celeriac/Potato Mash and any green vegetables.

Note – this can also be cooked in the oven for 90 minutes at 180 degrees C

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