6 minute read
Game For Game
With the Christmas dinner party season approaching, Pall Mall’s Head Chef Ben Gielen suggests two recipes that members can enjoy making at home.
Words by Jenny Linford Photography by Jamie Lau
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THE CLUB’S RESTAURANTS are noted for their way with game, with the chefs’ skills in this area much appreciated by members. For Ben Gielen, Head Chef at Pall Mall, cooking game meat is something to look forward to each year. “The joy of it is that when it comes into season – which is a brief one – it offers completely different flavours. In the kitchen we always enjoy putting a twist on our special menu each year. It’s great to be able to work with such a range of game.”
For members who are looking to cook game at home, Ben recommends venison. “It has a great flavour, which isn’t overpowering, and it’s very straightforward to cook. You don’t even have to marinate it unless you want to.” For a stunning dinner party treat – and possibly an alternative Christmas lunch – he recommends fillet of venison. “It’s one of the softest you can have, even softer than fillet steak. It just melts in your mouth. Do make sure that you serve it rare or it becomes dry.” For a classic marinade, Ben suggests sweating a mixture of carrots, onions, garlic, thyme and rosemary until softened, adding red wine, bringing to the boil, then setting it aside to cool. Use this as an overnight marinade for venison steak or fillet, then pat the meat dry and cook it.
When it comes to game birds such as pheasants, Ben is a firm advocate of brining overnight before cooking. This prevents the pheasants from being dry. “Brining pheasant helps keep it juicy,” he confirms. Pheasant is a good bird for game novices too, “as it’s a little stronger than chicken, but not hugely gamey”. Game pairs very well with fruit, as Ben’s recipes demonstrate.
Roast Pheasant with Autumnal Fruit and Vegetables and Calvados Sauce
Serves 4
2 whole pheasants, plucked and cleaned Roasting juices from the pheasants 1 onion, peeled 1 celery stalk 1 bunch of parsley 1 bunch of purple carrots 1 small pumpkin, quartered, seeds discarded 4 plums 4 apples Small bunch of rosemary Handful of thyme sprigs 40g honey Butter Olive oil 100ml Calvados 500ml double cream Salt and pepper (continued overleaf)
For the brining liquid:
5 litres water 1 kg salt Few stalks of thyme and rosemary 4 star anise 2 cinnamon stalks 1 tbsp black peppercorns
The day before you cook the pheasants, brine them. Place all the brining liquid ingredients in a large casserole dish. Wash the pheasants in cold water, then add them to the brining liquid, making sure they are submerged. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
The next day, preheat the oven to 180°C and put an oven dish in to heat through.
Dice the onion and celery into small pieces. Reserve a little of each for the stuffing. Chop the parsley. Reserve the chopped parsley stalks for the stuffing. Quarter one of the apples and reserve. Halve, core and stalk two apples. Using a large, heavy-based frying pan, fry the apple halves briefly in 20g butter and 20g honey until glazed. Place the glazed apple on an oven tray and reserve. Set aside the frying pan, without cleaning it.
Rinse the brined pheasants and pat dry. Season the pheasants well with salt and pepper. Stuff the birds with the reserved onion, celery and parsley stalks, rosemary and thyme.
Place the reserved apple quarters in the preheated oven dish. Add olive oil to the frying pan used for glazing the apple and heat through. Add the pheasants and brown them quickly on all sides.
Place the two pheasants on top of the apple pieces in the oven dish. Roast for one hour until cooked through. Test the birds by using a heat probe; you want the thickest part to reach 72°C. Cover with foil when they are cooked and rest for 10 minutes.
While the pheasants are roasting, prepare the accompaniments. Place the pumpkin quarters on an oven tray. Drizzle with olive oil and add a few sprigs of thyme. Roast for 15-20 minutes until softened; if they start colouring, cover with foil. Dice one apple and reserve it for the sauce. Halve the plums and remove the stones. Add the plum halves flesh side down to the oven tray with the apples. Roast the fruit in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Peel the carrots, leaving them whole, and blanch them in a pan of boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Drain and roast them in a pan with 20g butter and 20g honey and a touch of salt until cooked through.
Make the sauce, using the same frying pan you browned the birds in. Add in the diced apple, onion and celery, rosemary and thyme and sweat over a low heat until softened. Add in the Calvados and reduce to a syrupy consistency. Add in the roasting juices from the pheasant and the cream. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes to reduce. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the chopped parsley leaves.
Cut the pheasants into pieces and add them to the Calvados sauce. Serve with the roast pumpkin, apples, plums and carrots.
Venison Fillet with Braised Red Cabbage, Sautéed New Potatoes and Redcurrant Sauce
Serves 4-6
1 red cabbage, quartered, cored, finely sliced 2 Bramley apples, peeled and diced ½ bunch of thyme 3 tbsp brown sugar 500ml port 2 cinnamon sticks 4 tbsp redcurrant jelly
1 venison fillet, 1kg in weight 50g runny honey 50ml soy sauce 1 kg new potatoes 2 garlic cloves, chopped Olive oil for frying 30g butter 200ml veal jus 1 punnet of redcurrants Salt and pepper
First, cook the red cabbage. Place the cabbage, apple, a few sprigs of thyme, brown sugar, 250ml port, 2 tbsp redcurrant jelly and the cinnamon sticks in a pan. Cover and cook over a very low heat until the cabbage is very soft.
Alternatively cook in a covered ovenproof pan in the oven at 150°C for one hour.
Mix together the honey and soy sauce. Coat the venison well with the mixture. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge.
Meanwhile, simmer the potatoes in a pan of boiling water until they are soft enough to put a paring knife through with almost no resistance; drain. Cool the potatoes under running water, pat dry and halve them.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cut the marinated venison fillet into two even pieces, season well and pan-fry, browning on all sides. Transfer to ovenproof dish and roast for six minutes. Remove from the oven and rest for 10 minutes before thinly slicing to serve.
Heat 20ml olive oil in a large frying pan. Add in the potatoes and fry until they’re lightly coloured on one side. Turn them over. Add in the garlic, 30g butter and a few sprigs of thyme. Fry until nicely golden brown and season with salt.
To make the sauce, pour the remaining 250ml port into the roasting pan used for the venison and mix in the remaining redcurrant jelly. Cook briskly on the hob until reduced to a syrup. Add the veal jus and reduce to the desired consistency, then add in the redcurrants at the last minute.
Serve the venison with the red cabbage, new potatoes and redcurrant sauce.
