Barbecued pheasant in lardo with porcini, crispy garlic and truffle butter

This is like autumn on a plate: pheasant, one of the finest and most eagerly anticipated of the game birds, served with mushrooms and some decadent black truffle, all evocative of the season’s earthy charms.

Game is generally very lean, since it is constantly on the move and truly wild. With this in mind, it’s important to take care when cooking it to prevent the meat drying out. Here, the pheasant is brined and then wrapped in lardo (cured pork back fat) to baste and lubricate the meat during its time on the grill.

Serves 4

You’ll also need a lump of hardwood and a temperature probe

1 quantity Brine for red meat

2 oven-ready pheasants

50g (2oz) lardo or pancetta, finely sliced into strips

200g (7oz) porcini mushrooms, or other large meaty mushrooms, such as king oyster, cleaned and thickly sliced

2 garlic cloves, very finely sliced

olive oil, for cooking

sea salt and black pepper

For the truffle butter

100g (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

1 Tbsp white truffle oil

3g (¹/₈ oz) black truffle, finely chopped – optional, but delicious!

Submerge the pheasants in the brine in a non-reactive container and leave in the fridge for 2½ hours.

Light the barbecue and set for direct/indirect cooking. Place the lump of wood on the ashen coals to start smoking.

Make the truffle butter by mixing all the ingredients together and seasoning to taste.

Lift the pheasants out of the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Drizzle the pheasants with olive oil and season all over with salt and pepper.

Lay the strips of lardo out on a tray so they overlap and form two rectangles large enough to wrap around the birds. Spoon about a teaspoon of truffle butter onto the breast of each pheasant, then lay breast-side down in the middle of the lardo rectangle. Fold over the ends of the strips of lardo to seal, pressing carefully to ‘mould’ the fat to the birds, then transfer to the fridge and leave to firm up for 20 minutes.

Place the pheasants, breast-side up, on the grill in the indirect heat zone and close the lid (the temperature inside the barbecue should be about 170°C/ 340°F). Leave to cook for 25 minutes, then transfer to the direct heat zone, breast-side down, and cook each breast for 2–3 minutes to caramelize. Check the internal temperature: a temperature probe inserted into the leg should read about 60°C (140°F). Remove the pheasants from the barbecue, slather with plenty of truffle butter (but save some to cook the mushrooms!) and leave to rest in a warm spot for 10 minutes.

Place a heavy-based frying pan on the grill in the direct heat zone and add the remaining truffle butter. When it’s foaming, add the mushrooms and season well. Cook the mushrooms until tender and starting to caramelize, then add the garlic slices and continue to cook until the mushrooms and garlic are golden brown. Immediately remove from the heat and transfer the mushrooms and garlic to a serving platter. Pour the cooking juices from the pan over the pheasants.

Serve the pheasants whole on the platter with the mushrooms and garlic. Pour the buttery resting juices into a jug and serve on the side.