Old-fashioned roast pheasant with bread sauce and chipolatas

Method

1. First make the bread sauce. Place the onion, nutmeg and bay leaf in a saucepan with the milk. Bring it to the boil and then set aside for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 170C/gas 3. Stuff each pheasant with a lemon and a sprig of rosemary. Rub both pheasants with half a tablespoon of duck fat and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

3. Roast the pheasants in the oven for 40 minutes, breast side-down on a trivet in a roasting tray, covered with kitchen foil.

4. After 40 minutes, remove the pheasants and turn them over. Cover each pheasant breast with the remaining duck fat, sprinkle with thyme, and wrap them in the bacon.

5. Place the chipolatas alongside the pheasants in the roasting, turn the oven up to 200C/gas 6 and roast for a further 20 minutes. Allow the birds to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

6. Ten minutes before serving, finish off the bread sauce. Remove the onion and bay leaf and add the torn pieces of bread. Bring the milk back up to the boil and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Stir for 5 minutes, add a knob of butter and serve with the roast pheasant and chipolatas.