Pheasant with Truffle and Armagnac

Pheasant Features

The birds of the family Phasianidae belong to the order of the galliforms, between which they find the pheasants, the turkeys, the partridges and other terrestrial birds as the quail. They are in general robust, of short wings in relation to the body with showy coloration, are not suitable for the flight. They are grain-eating, and complement its diet with insects. The males possess a plumage much showier than the females. Its tail is long and ends in top. It possesses feathers of a green brilliant and bluish color in the head and neck, with two red circles about the eyes. Its neck is surrounded by white feathers of minor size, like "necklace". The body is of a brown color with black spots. The females, on the other hand, have a plumage of more indefinite color, mixing dun and gray feathers. They devote themselves to take care of their nests and to their babies and its size is something minor that that of the male. It puts 40 eggs per year, with a period of incubation of 24-25 days. They are original of Asia, later introduced in other continents (in Europe in the 6th century), they adapted in many zones, reproducing well in captivity. They live in fields of cereals, or in the banks of the rivers, or bushes (in its natural way they live in forests of very much shrub). They measure among 50 to 90 cm.

Pheasant Nutritional Properties

The meat of pheasant is lean, juicy and nourishing. It presents a major content in proteins and a minor quantity of fats that other birds of corral like the chicken. Its proteins are of high biological value, since they contain a great quantity of essential amino acids. As it happens with other birds, most of the fat of the pheasant centers in the skin, for what the consumption of this meat without skin reaches less oily and, therefore fewer calories. Its content in sodium is very low, which turns out to be very adapted for hypertense persons. It constitutes in addition, an important source of phosphorus and vitamins of the group B. The pheasant adds to our diet considerable quantities of potassium, of calcium and iron. For all these reasons, she is considered to be a very complete food.

Curiosities

Always it has been considered to the pheasant as a luxury plate by the delicacy of its meat and is present in the menus most refined by the excellent flavor of its meat. The meat of the pheasant is considered from the antiquity as kings' delicacy. To say pheasant, in effect, that is to say prestige of the hunt, prestige of the cuisine. Inside the hunting world, this bird incites, still today evocations of exquisite plates. It is a present bird on the markets and the cuisine of the whole Europe. It is like that up to the point that from the Frenchman, and in all the languages, the term to define the rest to the one that is suitable to submit the hunt is called "faisandage", consistent operation in stopping to suit or to rest a piece of hunt in a fresh place (former even outdoors) in a certain time that softens the meat and improves the flavor.