Pheasant with Orange and Chestnuts

A friend of mine went pheasant hunting and bagged a few birds so I thought I'd share the AGA cookbook's Pheasant with Orange and Chestnuts recipe. This is the one that warns that if the birds are old or badly shot they will take 3-4 hours to cook. It actually sounds pretty good.

6 oz dried chestnuts soaked overnight in cold water (probably have to get this on line)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 oz butter
a brace of roasting pheasants
2 oz flour
8 oz good red wine
16 oz chicken stock
2 yellow onions, peeled and quartered
juice and rind of one orange - peel this like you do when making candied orange peel (see blog)
2 teaspoons red current jelly
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
Strain the chestnuts and set aside. Heat 1 tablespoonon of the oil in a large pan with the butter and brown the pheasants on all sides. Remove the pheasants to a plate and add the remaining oil to the pan. Add chestnuts to the pan and brown the chestnuts, then remove them to the plate with the pheasants. Add the flour to the pan and whisk it together cooking for a couple of minutes to cook the flour. Whisk in the wine and the stock and bring to the boil, stirring until thickened.  Add the onions to the pan with the orange rind, juice, red currant jelly and seasoning and blend well. Return pheasants and chestnuts to the pan. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Reduce to simmer and simmer for about 10 minutes on the stove top. Place the covered pan of pheasants in the oven and cook for 3-4 hours, depending on the age of the birds. Taste to check seasoning and remove the rind before serving.