Copius
Pheasant, drawn for Copius

Pheasant

Faisan

Latin namePhasianus colchicus
FamilyMeat & poultry
OriginCaucasus & Asia
Season (France)October – January
FlavourMeaty · Earthy · Delicate · Musky
Typical price (France)15–25 €/pièce

What it is

Its Latin name points at the river Phasis in Colchis, on the Black Sea, where the Greeks said the Argonauts found it. Farmed birds released for shooting taste almost of chicken; a genuinely wild one does not.

In the kitchen

The hen is smaller and more tender than the cock. If you are given a choice, take the hen.

Goes with

Cabbage Lard Apple Thyme Juniper berry Cream Button mushroom Chestnut

In season alongside

Woodcock Snipe Hind Roe deer Fallow deer Hare

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