Roasted Pheasant with Wheat Berry Salad

Place wheat berries in a large saucepan and add water to cover them by 2 inches. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat; reduce heat, cover and simmer gently until tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Toss apples, shallots, oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Remove giblets (if included) from pheasant. Loosen the skin over the breast and thigh meat and rub the remaining salt and pepper under the skin; place the pheasant, breast-side down, on top of the apple mixture. Roast for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring cider and cinnamon stick to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Boil until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat; discard the cinnamon stick.

After 30 minutes, turn the bird over and baste with a couple tablespoons of the reduced cider, stirring it into the apple mixture. Continue roasting, basting with reduced cider every 15 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh without touching bone registers 165 degrees, 40 to 50 minutes more.

Transfer the pheasant to a cutting board; let rest for 10 minutes before carving. Transfer the apple mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the reserved wheat berries and any accumulated pheasant juices. Serve the pheasant with the wheat berry salad.