Pheasant

• Whole
• Smoked Breasts
• Young, Whole
• Boneless Thighs
• Boneless Breast
• Wing-On Breasts
• Smoked Whole

Lemon Pheasant

I was first introduced to this dish when I was 16 years old while visiting my parent's home village in the Kalamata region of southern Greece.  While not quite as famous as the local olives, this recipe is the favorite way of preparing pheasant.

Pour the remaining oil over the bird, season with salt and pepper, and add a little water to the roasting pan.  Cover and place the pan on the middle rack of the oven.  After 45 minutes, remove the cover, and continue roasting, basting frequently, for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the juices of a pierced thigh run pale pink and the skin is golden.  This dish is excellent with roast potatoes and, for a very Greek touch, rice as well!

Variation: Tarragon Roast Pheasant
Omit oregano, and combine 3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon with salt and pepper.  Rub the pheasant well with this mixture after pouring the remaining oil over the bird, and garnish with fresh tarragon sprigs.

Pheasant displays pictured are courtesy of Executive Chef Robert L Gamble of the Janesville Country Club
Permission granted by MacFarlane Pheasants, Inc.

Pheasant Cooking Tips

With pheasant careful attention must be paid to not overcook the delicate pheasant meat, particularly the plump, white breast meat. Although not necessary with farm-raised birds, the cook will be rewarded with separate cooking of the breast and leg-thigh pieces.  Breast meat benefits from sautéing and grilling; pheasant legs are better suited to braising in stews or using in terrines and pates. Test for doneness by feeling for a loose leg or by piercing the thigh with a fork; the juices run pink.

Roast Pheasant With Wild Rice Stuffing

Courtesy of Executive Chef Robert L Gamble of the Janesville Country Club
Permission granted by MacFarlane Pheasants, Inc.

1 dressed pheasant, 2.5 to 3 lbs, cleaned and lightly salted

1 cup wild rice (this makes 3 cups when cooked)

3 cups day-old bread - Cut in small cubes

1 cup onions - Slice paper-thin

1 cup celery

1 teaspoon leaf sage (or to taste)

1 1/2 cups good chicken stock or one chicken bouillon cube dissolved in 1/12 cups water

2 teaspoons of parsley, cut fine

This is sufficient stuffing for two pheasants.

Wash one cup of wild rice three times or until the rinse water comes off clear.  
Drop the wild rice into 4 cups of boiling water. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  Do not stir.

Sauté the onions and celery in 1/4 cup butter until translucent. Then add parsley and cook only until hot.

Combine all ingredients and fill slightly-salted bird.  

Use heavy cord and tie securely around tail and legs so as to bring them all together. Brush bird with melted butter and dust with salted flour.

Bake in 325 F oven.  A young, mature pheasant will require two hours in the oven. Any remaining dressing can be placed in covered baking dish and cooked in the oven alongside bird.  

Pheasant & Rice Supreme

4 pheasant breasts, boned

1 cup wild rice

1 cup sauteed mushrooms

Cook the wild rice and combine with the sauteed mushrooms. Then combine with 1/3 of sauce. Stuff each breast with the rice mixture:  wrap meat around rice mixture and secure with toothpicks. Place seam side down in a 13" x 9" baking dish on top of remaining rice.  Season with salt and pepper.

Sauce:

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 16 oz. carton of sour cream

1 cup cooking sherry

Pour the sauce over the breasts and rice.  Top with 1/2 cup of toasted almonds. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/4 hours.  Makes 4 servings.

Pheasant Casserole with Thigh Meat

8 pheasant thighs

1 large onion - cut in quarters

2 bay leaves

2 cans mushroom soup

1 can saved broth

Remove skin and fat from thigh meat. Place in pan with onion and bay leaves and cover with water. Bring to a boil - skim off bubbles.  Reduce heat and simmer until meat comes away from bone easily. Remove from burner and allow to cool. Put pheasant meat and onions through a strainer; save the broth. Discard onion and bay leaf. Remove bones and any fat from meat. Cut meat to serving size pieces. Place meat in a flat dish with 2 inch sides. Make a sauce of mushroom soup and 1 can of reserved broth; season to taste. Heat to just below boiling. Pour over meat and keep warm in 250 degree oven.