Lord Hamilton’s Apley Estate Smoked Pheasant

Smoked Pheasant is launched

Currently it’s only available as unsliced breasts, ready for the customer to slice as they wish at home

On Friday, we launched Lord Hamilton’s Apley Estate Smoked Pheasant at Apley Farm Shop. Here’s the press release with a brief version of the story:

“The ultimate free-range food has just been developed on an estate near Bridgnorth, Shropshire. Lady Hamilton has just launched a fine food, a premium product – Apley’s own smoked pheasant in a very accessible, ready to eat form.

Lord Hamilton inherited the 8000 acre Apley Estate in 2006 & after 10 years of trying pheasant cooked in dozens of ways, he found a new, tasty way to enjoy this game bird. Lady Hamilton has since spent 2 yrs testing & researching, until the launch in October.

Lady Hamilton explained “We had a golden ticket moment in 2016 when a London food shop expressed interest in the product putting us in the wonderful position of having identified the market & an outlet before we’d even fully developed the product.”

As the product carried very low food miles, its provenance is short & clear. The pheasants are reared on the Apley Estate by Apley’s gamekeepers then plucked & breasted out in Apley’s own game larder. The pheasant breasts (with skin on) are cured, hot smoked then cooked sous-vide at a local smokery in Worcestershire. They’re then sold as unsliced individual breasts, but multi-packs are also available on request. 

It hardly tastes like pheasant cooked in other ways & has a subtle taste of the beechwood in which its smoked. It’s very moist & succulent, full of flavour. It’s ready to eat, cold or warmed.

It’s currently sold through Apley Farm Shop which opened in 2011, www.ApleyOnline.com which was launched in 2016 & in local restaurants. Plans to sell it wholesale & more widely are in place.

“It’s all part of our wider remit to diversify the estate, to ensure its future viability.“ added Lord Hamilton.

It’s particularly good as a canape, snack, hors d’oeuvre, in picnics, salads or lunch boxes. Try it with Pinot Noir or Reisling. To fill a Smoked Pheasant hamper, add a chunk of Apley’s own cheese & some of Lady Hamilton’s own range of chutneys or horseradish sauce.

Contact www.apleyfarmshop.co.uk or call 01952 581 002.”