This devilled pheasant recipe opts for ginger, curry powder and mustard powder. Devilling means covering the meat with spices and flavours before cooking. It may be old fashioned but there should be more devilling. It can jazz up lots of meat, particularly kidneys.
Devilling has somehow gone out of fashion and I can’t think why because everyone seems to like curries and hot, spicy food nowadays. But perhaps people just don’t know what it means any more. It involves covering the meat with ginger, curry powder and Colman’s mustard.
This devilled pheasant recipe is one of my favourite top 10 best pheasant recipes. It comes from a sporting estate in Stirlingshire, which I know well since I have cousins who live next door. The owners have a constant stream of shooting guests at the estate. This is a brilliant take on what was known in the old days as “a devilled bone”. You can use the same devilled pheasant recipe for other meat; sausages, chops or even kidneys.
Serves 4
■ 2 tsp soft brown sugar
■ 1 tsp ground black pepper
■ 1 tsp ground ginger
■ 1⁄2 tsp mild curry powder
■ 1⁄2 tsp English mustard powder
■ 2 pheasants, trimmed and jointed into 8 pieces (with backbones removed )
■ 50g (13⁄4 oz) melted butter
■ 3 tbsp tomato chutney
■ 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
■ 1 tbsp soy sauce
■ 2 dashes tabasco
■ 1 tbsp HP sauce
■ A little stock (hot water and a chicken stock cube works fine)
Mix the brown sugar, black pepper, ground ginger, curry powder and mustard powder in a large bowl. Rub well into the pheasant pieces and leave them for an hour or two to sink in, or even overnight.
Brush everything with some of the butter and grill on a rack under a medium heat for about 10 minutes on each side or until the pheasant pieces are browned and crispy. Meanwhile, mix together the chutney, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, tabasco and HP sauce with the remaining butter and heat.
Tip the pheasant pieces into the bottom of the grill pan and pour over the sauce. Continue grilling for another 10-15 minutes, basting frequently, then place them in a warmed dish with as much sauce as you can.
Deglaze the pan with a little bit of stock, scraping off all the lovely, crunchy, brown bits and stir into the pheasant dish.
Serve this with basmati rice that has crispy, fried onion bits stirred through and steamed broccoli or mangetout peas.