Pheasant Hunters Need Your Help

self | self

[meeps]

Pheasant Hunters I need your help. My husband and I went Pheasant hunting this year, but were unsuccessful in our hunt. Our best friends gave us two pheasants for Christmas. Would love to know some "tried and true" pheasant recipes. Happy New Year to all and thanks in advance for your help.

[meeps]

If you must...you can send pictures of the pheasants you shot. I would, if we would have been successful :)

[WackySam]

I used to brine them overnight and smoke them on a Weber bullet smoker at 225 until done. Came out perfect every time.

[navyguy]

This oughtta do it...

http://www.backwoodsbound.com/zpheas.html

Enjoy!

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

I’m away from home and my cookbooks.....

I’ve always had good luck with Stroganoff recipes

http://www.backwoodsbound.com/zpheas18.html

Smoked, is also very nice....

[meeps]

Thanks-I went there before I posted. The marinated recipes looked really good. Happy New Year!

[WackySam]

Here’s a grill version very close to the way I smoke them-

SMOKED PHEASANT

Ingredients:
1 whole pheasant (with or w/o skin)
wood chips (Cherry, Alder, or Mesquite recommended)
1/2 cup pickling salt
6 cups cold water
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp pickling spice
2 tbsp honey
3 tsp soy sauce
1 cup chicken broth

Directions:
In glass bowl or ziplock bag, combine pickling salt, water, brown sugar, maple syrup, vinegar, and pickling spice. Add pheasant and put in fridge for at least 4 hours, turning occaisionally. Drain, discard brine, let pheasant dry on paper towl for 30 minutes. In small bowl combine honey and soy sauce. start gas or charcoal grill on one side only and soak wood chips in water. Put wood chips on hot coals and put pan with chicken broth over coals. Brush pheasant with honey soy sauce mixture and place on grill on side opposite hot coals. Cover and maintain temp between 150-250 degrees, opening grill as little as possible. Smoke pheasant for 2-3 hours, adding more chips during the last hour. Pheasant will be ready to eat off the grill.

[LibFreeOrDie]

Well, I’ve never cooked them myself, but have enjoyed a pheasant-and-rice casserole at a Vermont church supper a few times.

Here’s a few tips about cooking them:

http://www.gourmet.com/foodpolitics/2008/10/four-farmers-project-cooking-pheasant

Here are recipes from Cooks magazine (including a few pheasant and rice bakes):

http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-00,pheasant,FF.html

[mamelukesabre]

I prefered to grill them PLAIN on a hibachi.

But I also have this recipe:

1 can cambel’s cream of mushroom
1 cup water
3/4 cup uncooked white rice
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 birds
2 quart baking dish
mix all except meat in the dish. Then put meat in it. Sprinkle additional paprika and pepper on top. Cover with tin foil
bake 375 degrees F for 45 min.

[50cal Smokepole]

I have a smoker. What do you do differently from what you posted? Your recipe looks like it would work nicely in a smoker.

[mamelukesabre]

Oh, I forgot to add that I never use charcoal. I always stoke my hibachi with wood...mesquite to be exact.

[enraged]

I had an awesome pheasant gumbo once, I guess you could just make chicken gumbo and sub pheasant for it.

I still have some bird meat in my freezer... hmmmm

[labette]

Unless you burn the thing, it’s hard to ruin a pheasant.

Makes domestic chicken taste like spam, IMO.

[webschooner]

Shoot them first. Then cook them.

Tasty!

[garandgal]

My husbands recipe (not really a recipe...he is just describing it to me from his chair on the other side of the room).

Remove breasts from the bone, and pound them flat. Cover with a mixture of cooked white and wild rice, dried bread crumbs, and melted butter (stuffing consistency); herbs to taste.

Roll them up; wrap with bacon, and secure with toothpick.

Bake at 350 in open glass baking dish for about 30 minutes. Remove pheasant from pan, and deglaze pan with white wine (1/4 cup); reduce mixture by half, turn off heat and whisk in 1 TBS butter. Serve over the pheasant rolls.

[WackySam]

I have a smoker. What do you do differently from what you posted? Your recipe looks like it would work nicely in a smoker.

Just ignore the grilling instructions and set up your smoker as you usually would for whole chickens. Most importantly, make sure you brine for at least 4 hours (I go overnight) and don't exceed 250 degrees. If you don't have good control over the temps in your smoker try and smoke at 225.

[x1stcav]

Pheasant Pie.

[50cal Smokepole]

Ah, Thank You! I was thinking along those lines.

[ThreePuttinDude]

Many years ago, I would skin the bird. Leaving a very good
looking feather pelt (so to speak).
After cleaning the bird, I'd soak it for about 2 hours in slightly salted water.

I would put the bird in a crock pot, then I would then take a can of Campbell Cream of Onion
& Cream of Mushroom soup, pour them in a crock pot. Season to your liking.

Let cook all day, and then I'd make sure to have 2 ladles to remove the bird.
The meat would fall off the bone.

[WackySam]

Ah, Thank You! I was thinking along those lines.

No problem.

Also, although the recipe specifies Cherry, Alder, or Mesquite, I use Hickory or Pecan exclusively as I'm addicted to both. I left the others in the recipe as they are the more traditional woods used with poultry (and fish).

[Philo1962]

Hi meeps. Roast them in the oven with stuffing, just like small turkeys. Be sure the stuffing has plenty of onion in it. You’ll be glad you did.