Hunter's Fowl " Cacciatore"

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 2 pheasants, cleaned and brined
• all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup onion, cubed
• 1/2 cup dry wine
• 6 ripe roma tomatoes, peeled and crushed with juice
• 1 sprig oregano
• 1/2 lb mushroom, sliced
• 2 cups bell peppers, cut into strips

Recipe

• 1 remove birds from brine, rinse and dry.
• 2 halve the fowl, cut hindquarters off and split each bird down the breastbone.
• 3 remove wings, discard wing tips. (keep the backbone and bits for chicken stock).
• 4 sprinkle meat with salt and pepper.
• 5 dredge in flour, shaking excess flour off.
• 6 heat vegetable oil in a large heavy pan.
• 7 add 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
• 8 brown fowl a few pieces at a time.
• 9 remove fowl from pan and set aside.
• 10 add onion to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes.
• 11 deglaze with the wine, scraping pan to get the crispy bits.
• 12 add the tomatoes and oregano; bring to a boil.
• 13 put the meat back into the bubbling sauce, reduce heat to a simmer and cover.
• 14 cook, stirring if needed, for around 20 minutes.
• 15 sauté the mushrooms and pepper strips in remaining olive oil in a separate pan until peppers are just limp but not soft, with "tooth" left.
• 16 pour the mushroom/pepper mixture on top of the fowl.
• 17 cover and continue to simmer for around 15 minutes until fowl is tender.
• 18 remove meat from sauce, place on a warm plate.
• 19 increase heat under sauce, adding more water if needed, and return to a boil.
• 20 cook 5 minutes longer and spoon around pheasant on serving plate.