4Cornish hensor 8 pheasant breasts as per original
salt and pepper
1onionfinely chopped
3-4ouncesbacon chopped finely
1stickcelerychopped roughly
1carrotchopped roughly
4sprigssage
2applescored and cut into large chunks
2ouncescalvados
1cupchicken broth
2cupshard ciderdry preferred, divided
1cuphalf & halfor heavy cream
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 F
Melt the butter in a large non-stick casserole pot. Pat hens dry then season with salt and pepper. Brown until light gold on all sides. Remove from the pot and set aside.
Add the onions, bacon, celery, carrot and sage sprigs to the pot and cook over a medium heat until the onion is soft and the bacon is crispy. Carefully pour off any excess fat that has emerged (none for me).
Return the hens to the pot and add the diced apple. Pour over the calvados and set alight. Once the flames have died down add 1 cup of the cider and the chicken stock. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and place in the oven for about 20 minutes. Make sure that temperature reaches at least 165 F.
Remove the hens from the pot and set aside keeping warm. Strain the sauce into a bowl then pour the strained sauce back into the pot and add a splash of calvados. Reduce by half. Add the cream and simmer for a further 5 minutes or until the sauce is creamy and slightly thickened.
Return the hens to the pot to warm through and become coated in the sauce.
Notes
You can use whole or half Cornish Hens for this. I usually serve a whole hen to men and half to women. Calorie count is based on a half hen.
I am not a health professional and nutrition data is calculated programatically. Accuracy may vary with product selection, calculator accuracy, etc. Consult a professional for the best information.