1 whole pheasant
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 piloncillo cones — unrefined Mexican sugar (or dark brown sugar)
1 pint heavy cream
1-3 chipotles in adobo sauce
1 stick butter cut into its 8 tablespoons
2 to 3 to 4 tablespoons tequila
Preheat your oven to 400ºF.
Season the pheasant all over with salt and pepper. Put the seasoned bird in a roasting pan and place it the hot oven. Roast for 20 minutes and then turn the heat down to 350oF. and continue cooking for another hour. Let the cooked bird rest for about seven minutes and then carve it.
While the pheasant is in the oven put the piloncillo, the chipotle chiles, and the heavy cream into a sauce pan and simmer for 45 minutes. Occasionally stir the mixture to prevent it from burning and to also break down the cones. After the 45 minutes are past remove the pan from the heat and carefully pour the hot mixture into a blender (again, be very careful because this mixture will be really hot). Set the speed on low because it’s filled with a hot liquid and turn the motor on; slowly increase the speed to high. With the motor running add a piece of the butter. Wait until it has completely blended before adding the next piece. Continue this process until all of the butter has been added. This process is called “emulsifying.” The same can be done with a whisk but this is quicker, easier and makes a more stable sauce. Pour the tequila into the running blender; turn it off once the liquor is mixed in.
Serve the warm sauce aside the carved pheasant. The fowl will feed four – maybe.
The sauce is great over goat cheese for an elegant hors d’oeuvre, atop Dutch chocolate ice cream for a spicy-icy dessert, and roast duck, the way it appears in my cookbook entitled My Family • My Friends • My Food.