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    December 2, 2022

    Chestnut, Pancetta, and Sage Stuffed Pheasant with Roast Vegetables

    I've come full circle with pheasant from my first encounter as a kid living in Oakmont, Pennsylvania until just recently with my seven-year-old grandson.

    Reflective glass windows are confusing to birds. Either they see the window as transparent and nonexistent and fly straight ahead towards it. Occasionally we find sparrows and robins and other birds on the ground just outside the giant picture window in our living room. Oftentimes when I pick them up, I find they are simply stunned and manage to awaken on their own and fly away. Sometimes they don't survive the impact. Depending on the time of day and the light, windows show up as a reflection of outdoor scenery so birds might see the window as a tree, or some other scene that's reflected in the window.
    Back when I was around the same age as my seven year old grandson I headed down to breakfast one morning to come upon a startling sight in our dining room. A huge pheasant had flown into our dining room window and broken through the glass. The pheasant was entangled in a mass of glass and hanging draped inside our dining room curtain. It was no small pheasant; it was large and gorgeous with exquisite plumage. I don't remember my parents removing the pheasant from the mass of glass and curtain; my only recollection of the experience was the first impact of seeing this gorgeous pheasant hanging from the curtain.
    Back then in Oakmont, Pennsylvania the idea that pheasant could make nothing less than a delicious roast was far from my mind. It simply wasn't on the culinary radar of the locals.
    Decades later, when I found myself living in Italy and part of the fabric of Italian culinary culture, we often had the good fortune to dine on pheasant, usually in Tuscany.
    About a month ago one of our gardeners, Rinaldo (also a passionate hunter), appeared one Sunday afternoon bearing the gift of a plump and gorgeous pheasant. Rinaldo always brings us enough wild boar to last us most of the winter but this pheasant was a first.

    Pasta with wild boar sauce
    Pasta with wild boar sauce

    Our grandson Riccardo was with us that afternoon and he was fascinated by the pheasant and its remarkable and beautiful plumage.
    Rinaldo understood that I wasn't up to the task of turning this beautiful pheasant into a bird ready to roast so he took it home, cleaned it, and returned with it the next day.
    There are lots of delicious ways to prepare roast pheasant and it makes for a scrumptious and unique holiday meal. If you're planning on roast turkey for your holiday meal (yet again!), why not swap it out and prepare a roast pheasant this year?
    Pheasant has a delicious and delicate flavor, but you'll probably need to order it in advance from your butcher. You can also buy pheasant online from MacFarlane Pheasants. This online shop sells whole pheasant, marinated pheasant breasts, smoked pheasant, summer pheasant sausage, pheasant pie, ground pheasant. In other words, just about every pheasant product you can imagine! Also, check out their online recipes and download the MacFarlane Pheasants cookbook featuring their favorite pheasant recipes.
    Once you have your pheasant, how do you roast it?

    Do you have a comment or something you'd like to share with me? Scroll down to the very, very end of this page to reach the Please Leave Your Comment section.
    I'd love to have your feedback and questions!

    common pheasant phasianus colchicus standing on grass
    Photo by Frank Cone on Pexels.com

    Chestnut, Pancetta, and Sage Stuffed Pheasant with Roast Vegetables

    Roast pheasant ready to go in the oven
    Stuffed roast pheasant with carrots and potatoes

    Pancetta, Chestnut and Sage Stuffed Pheasant with Roast Vegetables

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe
    Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes
    I like to roast pheasant whole and stuff it with my favorite kind of stuffing: cubes of milk-soaked day-old country bread, lots of sage, pancetta, and chestnuts. It's simple and delicious.Pheasants weigh anywhere from 2 to 4 pounds and a 2 pound pheasant – that's 1 kg - will offer a generous portion to two people. If you're serving lots of other dishes with your pheasant meal, then a 2 pound pheasant will be enough for four people to have a taste.
    I like to roast pheasant with something tasty alongside and that's usually potatoes, carrots, and onion (often green onions). Parsnips are also a great choice. Since I have an abundance of butternut squash from my garden that's another tasty addition to serve with pheasant. It's particularly delicious when it's roasted and then mashed with lots of butter.
    Course: Main Course, meat
    Cuisine: international, Italian
    Keyword: pheasant
    Servings: 4

    Ingredients 
    Metric - U.S. Customary

    For the pheasant

    • 1 ½ kilogram pheasant
    • 15 Sage leaves, fresh
    • 100 grams butter
    • 6 carrots, medium, peeled and quartered
    • 4 potatoes, medium, peeled and quartered
    • 2 onions, medium, peeled and quartered
    • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
    • 4 slices bacon

    For the stuffing

    • 80 grams day-old country bread, cubed (about 3 slices)
    • ⅓ cup milk, to soak the bread
    • 70 grams cubed pancetta, cooked until crisp and fat discarded
    • 100 grams chestnuts, peeled and cooked, and crumbled
    • 5 Sage leaves, fresh, minced

    Instructions

    • Preheat your oven to 350°F and place the pheasant breast side up in a roasting pan, large enough to surround the pheasant with potatoes and vegetables.
    • Combine all the stuffing ingredients together in a bowl, then lightly stuff the pheasant.
    • Place any excess stuffing in a small roasting pan and bake separately.
    • Generously rub the pheasant with a mixture of butter and minced sage. You can also tuck some of the butter-sage mixture under the pheasant skin.
    • Place the pheasant breast side up in a roasting pan, large enough to surround the pheasant with potatoes and vegetables.
      Roast pheasant ready to go in the oven
    • Toss the vegetables in the olive oil before placing in the roasting pan.
    • Before roasting generously rub the pheasant with a mixture of butter and minced sage.
    • Top the pheasant with slices of bacon so that the breast is covered.
    • Roast for about 45 minutes or until juice runs clear when the skin is pricked.
    • If the pheasant browns too much lightly cover with tinfoil.
    • All ovens are different. If you find the pheasant isn't browning sufficiently you may want to place it under the broiler until the pheasant and bacon are crispy and golden.
    • Bring to the table on your favorite serving platter surrounded by the roast vegetables.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 150grams | Calories: 1506kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 87g | Fat: 95g | Saturated Fat: 31g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 46g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 311mg | Sodium: 733mg | Potassium: 2319mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 16541IU | Vitamin C: 79mg | Calcium: 171mg | Iron: 7mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    Other holiday food and beverage ideas!

    Holiday wine ideas
    Traditional Italian Christmas cookies and desserts
    Holiday pies and tarts
    Traditional gianduia Christmas chocolates
    Pairing holiday winter vegetables with wine

    Hotel de la Ville Christmas tree 2020

    I earn a modest commission from purchases made via links on my website. Rest assured, prices remain the same for you. Choosing to buy through my links directly contributes to sustaining my efforts in providing you with exceptional recipes, podcast episodes, and valuable culinary and travel insights.

    red and brown fruits wreath
    Photo by Luna Lovegood on Pexels.com

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Natalie Everett says

      March 03, 2025 at 6:29 am

      Are there some steps missing in this recipe?

      The recipe calls for olive oil, but does not tell what to do with it. The vegetables surrounding my bird came out dry. Also, the bacon wrapped bird does not brown. What are we to do about that? Overall, I'm glad I did a test run with this recipe. I'm wanting to serve it to some important guests in about 10 days.

      Reply
      • Wendy says

        March 31, 2025 at 7:10 am

        Not a quick reply Natalie as I wanted to first prepare the recipe again, which I've done, and make any adjustments. Fundamentally I think it comes down to the oven, and these vary greatly. Take a look at the recipe now and see if these tweaks make a difference for you.
        Thank you for your feedback!

        Reply

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    Wendy at Roscioli
    I’m American and I’ve lived in Italy for nearly four decades with my Italian family. My passion and strength lies in sharing Italian stories, recipes and unique travel insights on my blog, my Flavor of Italy trips and tours, newsletter and podcast. Continue Reading...

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