Assuming some of you QJrs also hunt pheasants, got any good recipes that produce tasty, moist meal?  Oh wait, this IS a website about fishing, so I'll take those recipes too!  (Good enough link there moderators?)   ;)

prouboy

I have no firsthand experience with pheasant, but I checked a couple of cookbooks and this is what I found.

First, there are only six pages separating "pheasant" and "pike" in my Larousse Gastronomique. In a 1000+ page encyclopedia, that seems really really close, so to my mind your post wouldn't count as off-topic. Besides, sometimes you see game birds on portages, so to me it seems only natural to wonder about how to cook and eat them.

My "Northern Cookbook" (published by the Cdn govt a long time ago) has a few recipes which look pretty boring, so I won't share them here. But mostly they suggest cooking for a long time in some kind of liquid: Flour and fry pheasant pieces in butter then cook in some kind of sauce or chopped vegetables and stock for 1 1/2 hours (or until tender) on top of the stove (covered frypan) or 1 hour (covered) or more in the oven at 350. I'd suggest you look for duck recipes that sound interesting and then use the above cooking times. That book also likes to add some sherry to the sauce near the end of cooking.

Larousse has a lot of interesting ideas (40+ recipes in 4 1/2 pages), but again, you may have to make some adjustments to their original recipes.

For example: "Pheasant a la Languedocienne": Joint pheasant and season with salt & pepper. Finely chop some carrot, celery, onion, and ham, and cook this in butter in a frypan with salt, pepper, powdered thyme and bay leaf until tender. Add the pheasant pieces to the pan. Brown and sprinkle with 2 tbsp flour, and cook until the flour is golden. Add 1 1/4 cups red wine, mix well, cover and simmer for 35 minutes. Strain the sauce (cheesecloth) and put aside. Put the pheasant in a ceramic or glass dish with 8 small mushrooms and 12 thick strips of truffle (You may have to substitute wild mushrooms if you haven't planned ahead and have run out of truffles when you make this.) Pour on 2 tbsp brandy, the strained sauce, and some more butter, unless your cardiologist has recommended otherwise. Cook in the oven for another 35 minutes.

Larousse Gastronomique is a worthwhile investment for anyone interested in French cooking. Not all the recipes involve truffles or red wine, some are quite simple, and they all work.

Besides, it's an interesting read. In the preamble to their pheasant section, they reference classic French cooking guru Brillat-Savarin (early 1800's): "Eaten at precisely the right moment, its flesh is tender, sublime, and highly flavoured ... This ideal moment is when the pheasant begins to decompose. Then its aroma develops an oily essence which requires a little fermentation to reach perfection ... " Yum!

They never miss chance to take potshots at the cuisine of inferior (non-French) cultures either. For example, "Pheasant a l'Americaine" is garnished with potato chips.

Your local library might have a copy, and there appear to be free pdf versions available on the net, though the legality of this latter source might be questionable. If you're not in a rush, PM me and I can probably photocopy a few pages and email them to you.

Bon Appetit!

Pheasants have little fat so if you can't find a recipe strictly for them you like, find one for Chicken that uses Braising to cook the bird.
You'll get your moist bird that way. Good for any game that is low in fat.

Thanks for the ideas!  I've concluded, as you commented, that the dry nature of pheasant meat requires two things: some kind of sauce and low heat for long periods of time. 

The photo is a picture of a recent dinner I cooked for wife and friends: stuffed pheasant breasts pan seared, then stuffed (with brie cheese, crimini mushrooms, shallots, onions, garlic, and wrapped in bacon), then baked in puff pastry.  Wonderful flavor, but the meat was still dry!  Putzy, but I did like the presentation, along with a wonderful 5 grain rice side my dearly beloved made. 

I'm going back to sauce and slow cooking!

prouboy

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Joe_Schmeaux wrote on Dec 7^th, 2012 at 4:27pm:

I have no firsthand experience with pheasant, but I checked a couple of cookbooks and this is what I found. First, there are only six pages separating "pheasant" and "pike" in my Larousse Gastronomique. In a 1000+ page encyclopedia, that seems really really close, so to my mind your post wouldn't count as off-topic. Besides, sometimes you see game birds on portages, so to me it seems only natural to wonder about how to cook and eat them.

Hey Joe_Schmeaux -- I like your way of thinking!!

prouboy

I have a book called " Game Cookbook" by Geraldine Steindler.
Every wild game you can think of.
Including Moose Nose :o
She has at least 7 recipes for young/old birds.
They have it at Amazon.

It seems from what I'm reading that much of the pheasant available is from game farms and / or hatcheries. So sometimes the recipes in various books might be assuming a yearlling, or at least a young bird, and you should be prepared to have to cook for a while longer than they say to get the bird tender. I'd guess braising for 60 mins is a minimum, 90 might be average, and you might have to cook the thing for two hours to get some birds tender.

Hanging the bird for a week will probably also make it more tender. This is getting into food hygiene territory though, and I'm no expert here. So please don't take that as a recommendation - rather it's a statement of what cookbook authors might be working with when they write up their recipes.

Thanks for all the advice/ideas!   

All my birds are wild, wiley MN birds.  Tough to hunt and tough to eat!  I'm resigned to low temps/long cooking times, immersed in cream/sauce.  Good on the taste buds, hard on the heart.

prouboy

Check out the Upland Game book here   (You need to Login or Register. Has an entire chapter on pheasant.

Thanks C_Cowboy.  I'll definitely check it out!

prouboy

If you want to eat it like you would a chicken (in pieces; not as a stock for soup or such) definitely part it out; breast meat cooks different than stringy legs. I've had moist; done breast meat at the expense of extreme diligence during the cooking process. (long time / low heat in a covered crock pot) even at that; it is the exception. Very fine line betwen done and over done. Once its done don't delay getting it to the table!  But once you hit the jackpot it is a dish to be relished.

Use it as a stock for soup / chili and a lot of the dryness factor is minimized. can still be dry depending on how you chunk it, but less noticeable in a moist medium. Flavor still comes thru.

My wife just made a batch of wild turkey (the fowl; not the beverage) soup Saturday; turned out quite good.

Thanks for the advice Gimp. 

Last night we made Pheasant Thai soup with noodles.  As you say, having the meat in a soup negates the dryness issue, or at least it did in this soup.  My wife made my day when she said, "It has everything I like about Thai food."

As for cooking the meat beyond a soup/casserole, I think I usually over cook it.  I haven't found that "fine line" yet.

prouboy

You'll know when you find that fine line; and drive yourself crazy trying to find it again!

A good rule of thumb for meat or fish is that when you think it's almost ready, pull from heat and let sit.
It will continue to cook after removed from heat source.
You ever try for that medium rare steak, you know what I mean ;)

I've got to put on my ruthless hat, and pull the meat before I (or my wife) think it's ready.  I plan to marinate, then barbeque some pheasant breast next weekend.

prouboy

Be interesting to hear how that works out. Me? I would be afraid to do that on the grill. The marinade could be the saving grace there.

RE: stopping the cooking too soon. I like my steaks medium rare; my wife will tolerate only the slightest hint of pink in the middle. So many times I err on the side of underdone for her using the logic it can always be cooked more but never less.

Any marinade that has citrus in it or salt will not only add flavor and moisture to the meat/fowl/fish, it will start the "cooking" process.
Generally speaking this means less cooking time.


Quote:

So many times I err on the side of underdone for her using the logic it can always be cooked more but never less.

I think that's good advice. I'd barbecue that pheasant and check with digital meat thermometer and pull it just before it hits the recommended temp.
Then tent with foil and wait a few minutes. Try a sample piece and if it's not to your liking, you can tent longer or return to grill ( cool spot), cover with the foil and cook some more.

"As for cooking the meat beyond a soup/casserole, I think I usually over cook it.  I haven't found that "fine line" yet."


look for cooking bags at teh grocery store - smaller versions than the turkey size - same concept, contain the moistrue in the bag         

I've only really used the Pot Roast variety, for elk or deer shoulder meat which is dry, and once the Chicken or Pork Chop variety for rabbit.  McCormick makes the package deal, with the bag and seasoning mixes.

All good advice, thanks!

I'll try your ideas and let you know. 

My "plan B" is to use pheasant as interchangeable with chicken and make pheasant burritos, pheasant stir-fry, etc...

But occasionally I like to highlight, or "celebrate" the pheasant as pheasant, and not hide it as just another white meat.  This is when I hope your excellent suggestions will carry the day.

prouboy

Puckster wrote on Jan 16^th, 2013 at 1:00am:

I've got to put on my ruthless hat, and pull the meat before I (or my wife) think it's ready.  I plan to marinate, then barbeque some pheasant breast next weekend. prouboy

Did you get to try this out? Wondering how it turned out.

Gimp -- thanks for asking.  Haven't done it yet.  I've decided that'll be a summer adventure/experiment. 

I'm going to be smoking pheasant legs/thighs next month.  I'll let you know how that goes!

prouboy