A wonderful pheasant recipe served with pasta noodles, orzo, mashed potatoes, or polenta. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley)
This Italian-American dish is comforting and classic. Chicken is substituted with wild pheasant, which is browned and simmered in a creamy sauce of mushrooms, herbs, and sweet Marsala wine.
Creamy Pheasant Marsala Recipe Serves: 4 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
4 pheasant breasts 8 to 10 ounces of mushrooms (pictured is chamshell and shimeji) 1 large shallot, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 tablespoon butter ½ cup dry marsala wine 1 cup low sodium game or chicken stock ½ cup heavy cream 2 sprigs fresh thyme 1 fresh sage leaf, optional ½ cup all-purpose flour Kosher salt Freshly cracked pepper Chopped flat leaf parsley for garnish Directions:
Place pheasant breasts into a zip-top bag, or between plastic wrap, and pound with a meat mallet to even thickness. Lightly sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of breasts. Set aside.Pound the pheasant flat. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley) In a large skillet with a lid, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the mushrooms and sauté until golden. Remove the mushrooms and set aside.Sauté the mushrooms until golden brown. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley) Lower heat to medium or medium low and add shallot. Sauté until softened and then add garlic—do not burn. Add Marsala wine and scrape the bottom of the pan to release browned bits. Simmer and reduce wine by half.Add and sauté the shallot. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley) In a different skillet, melt butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Combine flour, ½ teaspoon of salt, and freshly cracked pepper to taste in a bowl. When the oil/butter is hot, dredge pheasant breasts in flour and fry on both sides until golden.Dredge pheasant in flour, then pan fry it in some oil. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley) When wine is reduced by half, add stock and bring to a simmer for 2 minutes. Turn down heat to low and stir in heavy cream, thyme sprigs, and sage. Add browned mushrooms and pheasant breasts into the sauce. Turn down heat to low, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Do not allow cream to burn. Take off heat when cream thickens. If sauce is too thick, loosen with more stock.Add the cream, thyme, sage, mushrooms, and pheasant, then simmer until the sauce thickens. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley) Season to taste. Garnish with chopped parsley before serving with pasta noodles, orzo, couscous, mashed potatoes, or polenta.
