Pheasant?

[songdog]

Anybody got a good recipe for pheasant?  I got a half day pheasant hunt for a Christmas present so Im goin out this Friday. It will be my first time after pheasant so who knows if I will even bring anything home.
But just in case anybody got a favorite recipe for em?

[GrizzlySheep]

Brother Wolf is the professional pheasant hunter around these parts.  I expect he's got several.

[BigWolf]

I am hardly a pro pheasant hunter, but I can fold my share of em in flight though, LOL!!!

Pheasant hunting rocks!!!

Like myself, if you have not hunted birds in a very long time, It's like riding a bike, it all starts coming back to you once you get out afield and start flushing birds up, the natural instincts kick in and you quickly get your timing tuned in, and begin to fold em in flight.

I will ask the wife to get out that one recipe which involves using cream of mushroom soup and some capers and so forth, that is a very good recipe for sure.   It may take us some time to locate it and get it posted.

The one thing to remember about cooking pheasant is they dry out very quckly and turn tough as a piece of leather, so the key thing to keep in mind is keep them smothered in moisture and slow cook em.   

I can say some of the best pheasant I have ever had has been cooked in an electric smoker with a pan of water inside the smoker for moisture, and slow cook em for a few hours on a lower heat level.   And of course you can add what ever rub on em, or inject them with what ever flavoring you like best.

[wraith]

I know this is 2 years old, but I ran across it looking for a quail recipe. I found this recipe last week and tried it on a couple of pheasants I had left from a hunt last spring. It turned out really well although I substituted 1 tsp of ground black pepper for the peppercorns since my wife has developed a sensitivity to pepper. I also used deboned thighs and leg meat as well, couldn't see wasting any of it. Big Wolf is right about them drying out, too. The first two I did, I just wrapped the entire bird in bacon and slow cooked them on the grill. They were just ok, nothing to get excited about. With this recipe, they don't get a chance to dry out any.

Enjoy

Pheasant wrapped in Bacon with Green Peppercorn Sauce
Prep Time: 30 minutes Cooking Time: 1-2 hours
Servings: 4
Comments:

4 breasts Bacon wrapped pheasant breasts
2 Cups Red wine
1 chopped onion
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 Tsp Tarragon
3 Tsp peppercorns (ground)
2 cups whipping cream

Put in a cooking dish and place under the broiler till browned, turning once. Remove from broiler and set the breasts on paper towels to degrease. Remove excess grease from pan. Deglaze the pan with the wine and pour that into a pot to make sauce. Add onion, garlic, tarragon, and peppercorns. Bring to slow boil. Reduce the mixture by half. Return the breasts back to the cooking dish. After the mixture is reduced add the cream. Stir well and pour that over the breasts. Return the pheasant to the oven and slow cook at 250F-300F for about an hour or 2. Serve over a rice pilaf. Adjustments of more cream and wine may be added to increase the amount of sauce when preparing. Also, the green peppercorns may be left whole or crushed. If you crush them it tends to be a bit more peppery. Enjoy

 

[songdog]

that sounds amazing,  now I need to whack some birds.

[sly coyote]

Okay, I looked thru my recipes that I have and here are a couple for you;
First though, don't throw legs and thighs away. Boil them in water for an hour or so, until tender, let them cool, then remove the meat from bone and use it in soups or hot dishes. You can use it as a substitute for chicken in chicken soups or hot dishes.

Pheasant & gravy
Ingredients:
6 pheasant breast fillets
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk or cream
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup crisco or vegetable oil (less if you like)
1 sm. can cream of chicken or mushroom soup

Combine flour, salt, & pepper. Cover breasts with flour mixture. Brown floured fillets in heated olive oil until golden on both sides. Place fillets in greased baking dish in single layer. Combine soup & milk to pour over browned fillets. Bake covered 2 hours at 325ºF. Serve with mashed potatos, and you'll have enough gravy to use on potatos.

Pheasant & wild rice
Ingredients:

2 pheasants (cut up)
1 cup raw wild rice
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can mushroom stems and pieces
2 1/2 cups water chestnuts (optional)
1 package dry onion soup mix

Flour & lightly brown pheasant pieces. Mix rice, canned soups, mushrooms & water chestnuts in casserole dish. Add pheasant. Sprinkle dry onion soup mix over top. Cover lightly with foil and bake 3 hours at 300ºF.


Hope these help.