Dan's Pheasant Rapure

There is no "one" recipe for Rapure. Subtle cultural differences between Acadian Regions have lead to many variables. Some regions prefer a soupier rapure while others prefer a dryer, firmer potatoe pie. Some regions vary the coarseness of the grate, ranging from the finely pureed potato stock used in this recipe, to loosly grated potatoe.

One this is constant: the potato is grated or pureed, starches removed, and reconstituted with boiling meat broth.

For this recipe, I am using a small pheasant, and the potato pulp is a commercially available product made specially for rapure and potato dumplings. It is found in the frozen food section of MOST Nova Scotia grocers.

Preparation time: FIVE HOURS.

First, you need a bird, in this case, pheasant. Also, butter, salt, pepper, fresh basil, fresh parsley, small greens, potato (cubed), garlic and onion, diced.

Brown all of these ingredients in a large soup pot.

Once the ingredients are seared enough to favour a stock, add six cups of water and boil the hell out of it.

When the meat is cooked, remove it from the broth and cool it.

DO NOT DISCARD THE BROTH.

Allow your potato pulp to thaw at room temperature. never attempt to thaw this stuff in the microwave. It looks rather unassuming, and so do the salted onion greens.

Carefully debone the pheasant, saving all possible edible meat. Rapure is intended to be a very frugal dish, making the most of its ingredients with very little waste.

Salted onion greens are traditional in Nova Scotia, but some variations of the dish in New Brunswick and the Magdeleine Islands use salted marsh grasses. Parsley is more commonly used in Nova Scotia, but in New Brunswick, you will likely see summer savory, particularily in the areas where the plant grows wild.

All of the Rapure's peices ready to come together: potato, pheasant, salted onion greens, onions and parsly.

Gather the potato, onion greens, chopped onion and parsley in a large bowl. Mix it all up together with your hands, making sure there are no large frozen potato clumps. A wooden spoon is the essential mixing tool.

Bring broth to a roaring boil. Add water if you need, because for this next part we need seven to eight cups of broth.

Add the boiling broth to the potato mixture two cups at a time. Mix together with the wooden spoon until consistant. Repeat for each two cups of broth.

DO NOT ADD ALL THE BROTH AT ONCE.

Continue adding two cups at a time, mixing thoroughly each time. Through the wooden spoon the mixture will at first seem to harden, then become runnier as more is added. This is where most people stop adding broth, and that is the most common mistake for a failed Rapure. Continue adding two cups at a time until the mixture begins to set. This happens because the potato has began to cook from the heat of the broth. At this point, when your mixture is ready, your arm will be sore. If it isn't, you have not mixed it enough. Because the potato has become more solid, the wooden spoon will have no problem standing up by itself.

Butter a large baking dish liberally. Fill halfway with the potato mixture. Add the pheasant meat. Do not mix.

Finish with another layer of potato, completely covering the meat.

Bake in a 385C degree oven for at least three hours, or until the dish is covered by a deep brown crust.

Serve with molasses, butter, salt and pepper.

Pheasant Rapure - served with pickled root beet & solomon gundy.
Top with whole butter, and molasses to taste.