I recently spoke with Executive Chef Justin Sledge of the Salish Lodge & Spa which is consistently ranked among the best small resorts in the world; the AAA Four Diamond Salish Lodge & Spa overlooks the 268-foot Snoqualmie Falls. Each of its 89 guest rooms has a bedside wood-burning fireplace, two-person whirlpool tub, goose-down comforter, feather bed and balcony or window seat.
The resort offers a variety of recreational activities, treatments at the award-winning Spa, Executive Chef Justin Sledge’s seasonal cuisine, an award-winning wine list and personalized service. The resort is located 30 minutes east of downtown Seattle, within 40 minutes from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and three hours from Vancouver, B.C. and Portland, Oregon.
We asked Chef Justin about pairing with bacon and he told us that, “Pinot Noir is my go-to wine when I think about pairing with a bacon heavy dish. The deep fruit and subtle spice in pinot noir is able to progress through the rich fat of the bacon, and the smoke of the bacon compliments the bold depth and oak in the wine.” Chef Justin prepared the following dish for us based upon and evening of Pinot and Bacon.
Roasted breast of pheasant with smoked bacon lardons, fingerling potatoes, chanterelle mushrooms and a thyme butter sauce.”
Ingredients
4 cleaned airline pheasant breasts
12 oz. fingerling potatoes
8 oz. chanterelle mushrooms
8 oz. smoked slab bacon (cut 1 inch by ¼ inch)
1 Tablespoon chopped garlic
2 Tablespoon chopped shallots
3 Tablespoons of whole butter
2 teaspoons chopped thyme
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Method
Place the fingerling potatoes in a medium sized saucepot and cover with water and add 2 tablespoons of salt and bring to a boil. You want to cook the potatoes until tender and then cool them in an ice bath. When the potatoes are cool cut them into ¼ inch coins and set them aside. Season the pheasant breast with salt and pepper and sear in a hot skillet with the olive oil skin side down. Once the skin is golden brown flip the breast over and place in a 350-degree oven. In another skillet start rendering the bacon on a medium heat. When the bacon has released most of its fat add the garlic and shallots to the pan. Cook for about two minutes and then add the Chanterelle mushrooms. Finally add the sliced potatoes, thyme and slowly work in the whole butter.
For presentation spoon the ragout onto the center of the plate or platter using the excess liquid from the pan as the sauce. Place the pheasant on top of the ragout and garnish with a thyme sprig.
For more information visit http://www.salishlodge.com.
Signing off at Pigging out!
Rocco “Boss Hog” Loosbrock
(NewsBlaze readers use coupon code Blaze to get 10% off your next bacon order)
Rocco owns and runs a Bacon of the Month Club called The Bacon Freak Bacon is Meat Candy Club as well as a Wine Club called the Coastal Vineyard Wine Club
