Roasted Pheasant

Step 1: Preheat fan forced oven to 220C.

Step 2: Preparing the pheasant, cut the tips of the wings with a sharp knife and take the flesh off the wing joint to show bare bone. Then make a small cut on each side in between the leg and the breast, dislocate each leg, then bend to break the back, twist the legs 180 degrees (so the kin of the pheasant legs are facing up), then cut through the back bone to remove the legs from the body. Combine the thyme. juniper berries, olive oil and bay leaves into a small bowl and mix well.

Step 3: Place the pheasant onto a flat platter or baking tray then pour the marinade over the bird and massage in well and allow to marinate for a minimum of 20 minutes.

Step 4: Season the pheasant with the sea salt and place a large non-stick fry pan over a medium heat, add the butter and olive oil, very gently pan fry all sides of the pheasant so skin is a light golden colour.

Step 5: Place onto a flat baking tray, skin side up and place into the 220C preheated oven. Cooking time will vary for the size of the bird and whether bird is a cock or hen bird (hen birds have plumper breasts. Roast for 5 minutes then turn over the legs and the breast and decide how much longer legs will take, could be a further 5 to 6 minutes more depending on size. Remove legs from oven and splash with two tablespoons of verjuice and leave breast in for a further 10 minutes. Check to see if cooked, if unsure insert a skewer into the thickest part of the breast to check if any pink juices show (that would require a few minutes for cooking).

Step 6: To rest, turn the bird so that the breast is facing down in the roasting pan with the legs and splash the pheasant with remaining verjuice whilst the bird rests. Rest for 20 minutes. Carve off the bone and serve with resting juices.