Five-bird roast
Item 1 of 1
- medium
- 6
- 1 hour 30 minutes
The 'Yorkshire pot' is a legendary roast, traditionally containing five de-boned birds in one enormous roasting joint. James Mackenzie's five-bird roast recipe can be made at home, cutting the meat into strips and rolling in air-dried ham. Better still, it can be prepared the day before cooking. Five-bird roasts often contain only game birds, but James adds chicken to lighten the flavour.
First published in 2015
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 2 duck breasts, large
- 2 duck legs, large
- 2 chicken breasts, large
- 4 grouse breasts
- 4 pheasant breasts
- 6 partridge breasts
- 300g of sausage meat
- 100g of cranberries, semi-dried
- 100g of pistachio nuts, chopped
- 1 tsp juniper berries, crushed
- air-dried ham, 16-20 slices, Parma ham or similar
SAVE RECIPE
Equipment
- Sous vide equipment
- Boning knife
Method
1
Ensuring your boning knife is very sharp, bone out the duck legs by cutting out and removing all of the bone and cartilage. Cut each of the duck breasts and chicken breasts into 3, lengthways, and slice the duck legs into strips
- 2 duck breasts, large
- 2 duck legs, large
- 2 chicken breasts, large
2
To prepare the stuffing, place the sausage meat, cranberries, pistachios and juniper berries in a bowl and mix thoroughly with your hands
- 300g of sausage meat
- 100g of cranberries, semi-dried
- 100g of pistachio nuts, chopped
- 1 tsp juniper berries, crushed
3
Lay several layers of cling film, measuring approximately 60cm x 30cm, out onto a work surface. Lay the slices of ham onto the cling film to form a rectangular base (smaller than the cling film) to start building the roast
- air-dried ham, 16-20 slices, Parma ham or similar
4
Lay the duck breast in a line down the centre of the ham, then lay a thin sausage of the stuffing mix (about half of the mix) either side of the length of the duck. Lay the chicken strips along one side of the stuffing, end-to-end to cover the exposed length of ham
5
Repeat with the grouse, pheasant and partridge breasts and duck leg until all of the meat (except the stuffing) is used up - the ingredients should all be laid out in even lines. Top with the remaining stuffing mix
6
To roll the roast, take one side of the cling film and roll and wrap the ham over to encase the meat and stuffing, forming a large sausage encased in the ham and cling film. Place in the fridge to rest overnight
7
To cook, preheat a water bath to 75°C, and making sure the roast is completely sealed in cling film, cook for 2 1/2 hours. After this time, remove from the cling film, place in a roasting tray and cook at 180°C/gas mark 4 for 1 - 1 1/2 hours. To check that it is cooked, slide in a sharp knife - the juices should run clear
8
If you don't have a water bath, remove the roast from the cling film and carefully wrap in foil. Roast in the oven at 160°C/gas mark 3 for 2 hours, then remove the foil and roast for a further 1 - 1 1/2 hours at 180°C/gas mark 4 until the juices run clear
9
Remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least 20 minutes. Cut into thick slices and serve
First published in 2015
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