saint hugh cooks: orange-infused pheasant

If, like me, you’re still cleaning out your freezer from last year, this is a great simple recipe to just throw in the crockpot for an easy work night or weekend meal.

Ingredients
2-3 pheasants, depending on size
3 sprigs of fresh thyme, trimmed of steams
3 sprigs parsley, trimmed of stems
1 tablespoon of garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup of chicken or vegetable broth
1 orange

Directions
Grate the orange.
Rub the outside of the birds with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and the grated orange.
Stuff their cavities with trimmed thyme and parsley and minced garlic.
Place the birds in the crockpot.
Halve the grated orange and squeeze it over the birds.
Squeeze any remaining remining juice into crockpot.
Pour in the broth.
Cook on high for 3 ½ hours, then on low for 1 – 1 ½ hours.

Happy cooking!
Emily

saint hugh shoots & cooks: bacon-wrapped pheasant

Last Saturday I took part in a fun annual tradition of the Pass Christian Yacht Club: the post-carnival pheasant shoot.

Held at the scenic Taylor Creek Shooting Preserve in Theodore, AL, it was a classic continental shoot, with twenty stalls wrapped around a tower near a picturesque pond. Retrieving dogs were spaced roughly every other stand (lots of dogs!), and neither they nor their guides could have been more attentive. A red beans and rice lunch followed, and by the time we had finished eating, a 150+ birds had already been cleaned and bagged. The efficiently organized day definitely served as a relaxing chaser to the prior week’s Mardi Gras frenzy. I look forward to it becoming one of my own annual traditions.

I took home a few pheasants and made use of the recipe below, but shooters also had the option of donating their game to the Pass Christian Yacht Club for a wild game-theme dinner there this Saturday night. And, fun fact: theirs is the oldest yacht club in the county.

Ingredients
4 pheasants
3 tablespoons of butter
Salt and pepper to taste
2 lemons, halved
1 tablespoon of rosemary
1 apple, sliced
1 teaspoon of cloves
8 slices of bacon

2 boxes of shells fit in the deep pockets of our Shooter's Vest. 

The finished product!

Directions
Rub the birds with salt and pepper to taste, then brown in two tablespoons of butter in a large skillet.
Remove browned birds.
Squeeze the quartered lemons inside the pheasants, then coat with rosemary.
Place squeezed lemons inside the birds.
Add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the skillet, stir in cloves, and brown the apple slices.
Remove browned apples from the skillet, and stuff as many apple slices as you can inside the birds.
Wrap each bird in two slices of bacon. Fasten with a toothpick if necessary.
Bake at 350° for 50-55 minutes.

Happy cooking!
Emily

saint hugh cooks: duck and pumpkin risotto

We recently learned that Chef Emeril Lagasee offers an extensive selection of free recipes online. When we came across this one, we knew we had to share it. It would make the perfect addition to any holiday spread.

Duck And Pumpkin Risotto With Toasted Pumpkin Seeds And Duck Cracklings

Ingredients
1 roast duck, including the skin
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups diced cooked pumpkin
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage
2 cups Arborio rice
3 cups Duck or Brown Chicken Stock, hot
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
8 turns freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon softened unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup coarsely grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seed

Directions
1. Once the duck is roasted, remove the skin and cut it into a julienne, about 1 cup. Render the skin in a large skillet over high heat, stir-frying until crisp and brown, for about 6 minutes.
2. Remove from the skillet and drain on paper towels.
3. Shred the duck meat from the bones, about 2 1/2 cups.
4. In a medium size sauce pan, over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon duck fat add the onions, garlic, and sage, and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in the rice and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in 1 cup of the stock, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally until all the liquid has evaporated. Continue to cook adding the stock in 1 cup increments until all of the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender and creamy, for about 18 minutes total.
6. Add the heavy cream and butter and cook for 2 to 3 minutes longer.
7. Fold in the pumpkin and shredded duck meat.

To serve, allow 2 cups risotto each for 4 main-course servings; 1 cup each for 8 first-course servings. Serve in bowls and sprinkle with cracklings, pumpkin seeds, and Parmesan.
(original here)

Happy cooking!
Emily

saint hugh cooks: tea smoked duck

This is one of our absolute favorite recipes. If you’re still cleaning out your freezer from last season, you’ve got to give it a try. If not, it’ll be worth the wait.

Tea Smoked Duck

Ingredients
For the ducks – 
6 whole cleaned ducks     
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon crushed ginger
2 tablespoons ground peppercorns
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
1/2 cup Lapsang Souchong black tea

For the smoker –
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup Lapsang Souchong black tea
Wood chips
Water

Directions
Mix sea salt, 1 tablespoon of ground peppercorns, and 1 tablespoon of honey and coat the skin of the duck with it. 
Combine the cinnamon, cloves, ginger, 1 tablespoon peppercorns, honey, scallions, and tea in a marinade. In a shallow baking pan, stuff the ducks with the marinade, cover, and refrigerate overnight. 
Combine the brown sugar, tea, wood chips, and water in your smoker’s water pan and place at the bottom of the smoker.
Place the baking pan containing the ducks on the smoker’s top rack. 
Smoke between 200 and 225 degrees for 4 hours.
Remove the stuffing from the inside of the ducks, cut, and serve. 

New Orleans' own V's Teas has excellent leaves for both cooking and keeping you warm! 

Happy cooking!
Emily