Paper Palate

A few years ago, I had an ideal roommate: she was an amazing baker while I was the meat and potatoes of the operation. Together we created some tantalizing meals that impressed all around us. We were an unstoppable duo, especially in the kitchen. She moved out, we moved on, and now she lives half a continent away. On a recent visit, she imparted onto me the most precious gift of all: The Art of Eating, by M.F.K. Fisher.

It is a hefty volume, almost 800 pages; a collection of Fisher’s best musings on food. But its cover was the most seductive image I had laid eyes on that I eventually cracked it, finishing it in one week’s time. Today I will not indulge the reader in a full review; that is for another time. I will say it is one of those books once picked up it is impossible to put down. The writing is so voluptuous it calls to be read aloud to an audience.

With each sitting I grew hungry, not only for more of Fisher’s writing, but physically. Throughout the book, there are recipes found wrapped in Fisher’s memories. Before I passed this book on to another friend, I copied a few of those recipes down to satiate my appetite another day. Many seem almost archaic today (in the United States at least)—roasted pigeon. They are meals from an older era; many still enjoyed in rustic or traditional European kitchens. But they are recipes that must be indulged at some point in one’s lifetime.

Today I unfurl one of those copied recipes with more to come. This one is found in the section “How to Cook A Wolf.” First published in 1937, this section is a guide for the housewife on how to scrimp and save in the bowels of wartime, as well as after. How does one continue to live a life of luxury when there is none to be found?

I must suppose pheasants were easier to come by in those days. A young boy could go on a hunt with his father and return with a sack of pheasant to feed the family for a week, nary a penny spent. Today, hunting is expensive, game farms are a rarity, and pheasant is a luxury (at least in New York City). I was determined to create this dish (and if I could not find pheasant, Cornish Hen or something of that sort would have to do). Low and behold over the weekend at the Green Market I found Quattro’s Game Farm (Pleasantville, NY): Wild turkeys, chickens, geese, and of course, my dear pheasant! A little on the expensive side ($20 for a good sized bird) but it was destiny to find and had to be bought. Add to that 1 pound of farm-fresh bacon (also from the Green Market) this meal is hardly a hungry wolf—it can now pass as starving millionaire fare.

BRAISED PHEASANT (OR PARTRIDGE) IN SAUERKRAUT
Serving Size= 4 persons. Active Time= 45 minutes. Inactive time= 2½ - 3 hours.
This is the recipe as it appears in The Art of Eating.

* salt and pepper
* 2 small or 1 large bird (or 1 rabbit)
* bacon slices
* 3 tablespoons butter or good oil
* 1½ pounds sauerkraut
* 1 cup peeled and sliced apples
* 1 cup dry white wine (or half and half with water or vegetable stock)
* 1 tablespoon flour

Rub birds with cut lemon, and salt and pepper them. Wrap with the bacon and tie securely with twine. Heat the fat and brown the birds.
Wash the drained sauerkraut (unless it is very mild, [t]hen just drain it). Place a layer of it with the apple slices in the bottom of a casserole and imbed the birds. Cover with the rest of the kraut and apple, add the liquid, and cover closely. Let simmer very slowly for about 2 hours.
Put the birds on a hot plate, and thicken the kraut with the flour. Make nests in it, and replace the birds in them, ready to serve.

The Result: Bacon is a little difficult to wrap and tie around a raw bird. I purchased wide slabs of bacon that made this task a little easier and found two pairs of hands working together, one holding, one tying is much easier. The smell of this dish cooking is divine. I flipped the pheasant after one hour and moved the sauerkraut-apple mixture around. When the dish was finished cooking most all the bacon had fallen off the pheasant, as well as some of the pheasant meat itself. The apples also disintegrated into the sauerkraut giving it a great volume.
The Taste: The pheasant is rich and delicious, though a bit gamey. The sauerkraut is excellent and very sweet. The two are a perfect combination together, especially delicious with a good European rye bread. Day two really brought this dish out. After soaking in the sweet sauerkraut mixture overnight the pheasant picked up some moisture and all flavors really came forward.
The End: I would make this meal again, especially for a notable occasion (because really to be able to say “pheasant is for dinner” is too Old World to pass up). It would also help to find a good price on pheasant. Breaking it down, in the end this meal cost about $35 (pheasant + sauerkraut + apples + bacon). It lasted two good dinners and two lunches which makes it money very well spent and a better deal than any pheasant of the same size that could be purchased in a restaurant. Go forth and hunt.
Rating: 8
Pro: This recipe works with many birds, not just pheasant, making it able to fit in all price ranges– but pheasant is phun to say.
Con: If using pheasant, it is expensive. Although most of the time is inactive and works well for weekend cooking it is still a 3 hour meal.