As a thank you for letting him train his German Shorthaired Pointer on our property, a friend left us three beautifully dressed pheasants. He suggested I brine them, which I have done.
Now what?
I’ve looked at a bunch of recipes, stuffing with an apple/date mix sounded yummy. Anyone with first hand experience have suggestions?
I would suggest braising, the one time we had pheasant they were absolutely delicious, like very fine-grained chicken. I just baked them as they were, with bacon strips, but they were exceedingly tough! We also had a wild turkey at one time, and that thing was tough, too.
Here’s my simple hundred-year-old prairie dwellers recipe:
Dredge pieces in seasoned flour and brown in equal parts oil and butter in Dutch oven. Pour a reckless amount of half and half over the pheasant and roast covered at 325 degrees until done.
I invariably slow-cook mine these days. Brown 'em in the pan with whatever fat or oil takes your fancy, or roast them in a hot oven for twenty minutes or so, then transfer to the crockpot on a mirepoix with a modest amount of stock and give them four hours on low and slow. They come out fall-off-the-bone tender and full of flavour, though a savoury stuffing wouldn’t hurt any.
Well, I’ll be saving these ideas for future use. I had to run into work yesterday, leaving my gf to cook the birds.
She wrapped them in bacon, made a mushroom/onion/cream sauce, and roasted them slowly. They were outstanding. We emailed the hunter our thanks, and he offered to get us a deer. He has given us steaks and roasts before, this year we will need to make room in the freezer for a whole deer.