Jack Hennessy brings us Pheasant Manicotti this week in “Braising the Wild,” mixed with memories from the south suburbs.
Here is the recipe:
PHEASANT MANICOTTI
Ever since my high school days working in Italian restaurants in the south suburbs of Chicago I have been a sucker for expensive Italian cheeses stuffed into pasta. There’s only one thing that could improve such cuisine: grilled pheasant.
How you grill your pheasant is up to you but I enjoy searing my skinless breasts over a charcoal fired topped with some mesquite wood chunks. This technique adds a subtle smoky flavor to the pheasant. (I’m not smoking the pheasant—just grilling them with some added smoking wood.)
You want your manicotti noodles on the al-dente side versus the softer side (but obviously not too hard). On the softer side, you risk them falling apart while stuffing. Also keep in mind: You’re going to be baking these noodles again in the oven, so they’ll get cooked a little more after boiling.
As always, inspect your wild game for shot as you hand-shred, and even despite thoroughly inspecting, remind your guests to “chew slowly.”
Ingredients (four servings):
One 8-ounce box manicotti noodles (14 shells)
16 ounces grilled pheasant, shredded
30 ounces ricotta cheese
24 ounces favorite marinara sauce
16 ounces mix of shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons freshly minced basil
1 teaspoon each of kosher salt, black pepper and granulated garlic
Grill pheasant until internal temperature reaches 160, let cool then hand-shred, removing any shot.
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Boil water and add manicotti noodles. Remove when they are al-dente (soft but not falling apart, still slightly firm), which might take 8-9 minutes.
Mix 30 ounces of ricotta cheese thoroughly with 2 tablespoons of freshly minced basil, 1 teaspoon each of kosher salt, black pepper, granulated garlic, and grilled shredded pheasant.
Stuffed cooked manicotti shells with ricotta mix and place in oven-safe baking tray.
Cover stuffed manicotti shells with marinara sauce and place in oven for 5 minutes.
Set oven to broil and add 16 ounces shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese and remove tray of manicotti once cheese brown and crisp.
Allow tray to cool a few minutes then serve, garnishing with more freshly minced basil.
