Recipes, Game Bird Recipes

Val’s Crispy Pheasant Schnitzel

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Breaded pheasant schnitzel topped with a fried egg, anchovy butter, capers and pickled walnuts on a serving plate

This is one of my absolute favourite ways to cook pheasant. Juicy, tender, crispy, buttery, sharp and salty, it’s a little island of comfort to swoop down upon on those days when you can see your breath in the cold air.

Where George Ryle’s Roast Pheasant with Cabbage, Bacon and Marsala is gently braised and full of warmth, this schnitzel takes things in a crisper, sharper direction — but both have their place when the season turns.

Serves 2

Ingredients

Method

  1. Remove the breasts and skin from the pheasant (the rest of the bird will make an excellent stock).
  2. Place each breast between two sheets of baking parchment and flatten gently with a rolling pin until about ½ to ¾ cm thick.
  3. Tip the flour onto a plate, add the salt and mix. In a bowl, beat together the mustard and two of the eggs. Pour the breadcrumbs into a shallow tray.
  4. Dredge the breasts in the seasoned flour, patting off any excess. Dip each one thoroughly into the mustard-egg mixture, then coat well in the breadcrumbs — make sure there are no gaps in what will become the crispy coating.
  5. Prepare your parsley, garlic and capers so they’re ready to go.
  6. Heat the olive oil and 25g of the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Once foaming, add the breaded pheasant breasts and cook for 2–3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Adjust the heat if necessary to avoid burning the butter.
  7. As you turn the pheasant to cook the second side, fry two eggs in a separate pan with a little olive oil so they’re ready at the same time.
  8. Transfer the cooked pheasant breasts to two warm plates and top each with a fried egg.
  9. Working quickly, melt the remaining butter in the same pan you used for the pheasant. When foaming, stir in the anchovies and capers, and grate in the lemon zest.
  10. Meanwhile, slice the pickled walnuts.
  11. Once the anchovies have broken down, stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Squeeze in the lemon juice and let it bubble briefly. Lay a few slices of pickled walnut over each plate and finish with a good grind of black pepper.
  12. Finally, stir the chopped parsley into the butter sauce and spoon generously over the crispy pheasant, fried eggs and pickled walnuts. Serve at once.

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Valentine Warner is a chef, food writer, business owner and broadcaster, with a deep interest in nature, travel and provincial food. He describes his cooking style as ‘International Grandmother’ and combines his strong sense of storytelling with his infectious love of cookery. Val has a deep respect and understanding of ingredients, both wild and cultivated, and has the instinctive ability to rustle up hearty and wholesome meals from whatever’s available. Val is an avid proponent of native food sources, and finds common ground with Swaledale in their work to deliver top-notch meat, within a truthful, ethical and high welfare framework. Originally a trained portrait painter, Val has also authored 5 cookbooks, managed his own catering company and is a co-owner of Taqueria, a West London Mexican cafe. Val is also a partner in the Hepple Distillery in Northumberland and Holmen Lofoten hotel on arctic Norway’s Lofoten island.