Ingredients for the Known Ground reconstruction
Ingredient amounts shown for 8 servings.
Known Ground reconstruction
- 1whole pheasant, patted dry
- 2legally harvested snipes, boned; meat, clean intestines, and carcasses separated
- 1 tbspunsalted butter, for frying intestines
- heavy cream, one-half the weight of snipe meat
- unsalted butter, one-half the weight of snipe meat; softened
- 4 ozfresh black truffle, large dice
- 2 tbspunsalted butter, for cocotte
- 3 cupsunsalted chicken stock, for snipe fumet
- kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
Known Ground reconstruction
Only legally harvested, promptly chilled snipe with intact clean offal should be used. The source's exact relative cream and butter weights are calculated after boning the birds. This version has not been personally tested by Known Ground. Cook the bird and any poultry forcemeat to 165°F (74°C) in its thickest portion.
Instructions
1. Fry the clean snipe intestines thoroughly in 1 tablespoon butter and crush them to a paste. Finely chop the snipe meat and combine it with cream and softened butter, each weighing half as much as the meat; season and mix in the cooked offal and diced truffle.
2. Stuff and truss the pheasant. Brown it in butter in a cocotte, cover, and roast at 350°F until the stuffing centre reaches 165°F (74°C).
3. Meanwhile simmer the snipe carcasses in chicken stock until reduced by two-thirds; strain and degrease the fumet.
4. Rest the pheasant briefly, then sprinkle with a small amount of hot snipe fumet at the last moment and serve from the cocotte.
Historical formula
Method
Bone two fine snipes; empty them of their intestines; fry these in butter, and crush them on a plate. Chop up the meat of the snipes, combining half its weight of cream with it, and as much butter; season with salt and pepper, and add the crushed intestines and four oz. of truffles cut into large dice.
Stuff a fine pheasant with this preparation; roast it “_en casserole_,” or rather in a _cocotte_.
At the last moment sprinkle with a little _fumet_, prepared from the snipes’ carcasses.
Source
A Guide to Modern Cookery — Recipe no. 1971.
Updated since publication
Last revised 8/21/2026. Evidence and limitations should be interpreted as described in the article.
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