A Guide for Cooking Pheasant
Cooking pheasant can seem like a subtle art if you are not sure how to do it properly, but in the end, it’s all just a case of knowing your “stuff”. The pheasant is a small bird and can easily lose its flavor and/or become overly dry if the right precautions are not taken during the preparation and cooking process. Lucky for you I’ve got a few tips to help you cook pheasant three different ways: roasting, slow cooking, and the stew method. Each of these methods is fairly basic but the end result is a juicy bird that you can make any time of the week. So get out your recipe book and start taking notes…!
The roasting method does not require that you de-bone and de-gut this little bird, but you really need to know how if you intend to cook it in a slow cooker (crock pot) or make it into a nice pheasant stew. So, we are first going to cover de-boning the pheasant to remove the meat. You’ll need a good knife for this… Start by cutting down the center of the pheasant’s back from the neck to the bottom. Spread both sides out to reveal the meat. Cut the meat out in portions—larger if you are going to use a slow cooker and bite-sized if you are making a stew. Once all of the meat is removed, you basically have a bag of skin and bones—literally! What you do with this is completely up to you, but I highly recommend that you do NOT feed it to your dog, as pheasant bones can easily sliver and can cause your dog to choke.
The first method we are going to discuss is the roasting method. Cooking pheasant in the oven would seem like a super simple task, but as I mentioned earlier, your pheasant can easily dry out if you don’t know how to properly cook it. This particular recipe is for two pheasants, but you can adjust it as necessary. Place the pheasants on the rack in your roasting pan. I like to add a little water to the bottom of the pan to add a little moisture, which I suppose has a roasting/steaming effect. You can chop up any vegetables you like, such as potatoes, celery, and carrots, and place them in the water at the bottom of the roaster (around the pheasants). Drizzle a bit of olive oil on the pheasants and spread it with a basting brush. If you don’t have one you can always use a bunched up piece of paper towel. If you like, you can cut an apple into very thin slices and dice up some celery and spread it over the pheasants for extra flavor. Now is also the time to salt and pepper and “lemon” your birds, if you so choose. Place the lid on your roaster and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cook for 2 hours, basting with a bit of butter during the last half hour. Be sure that the juices run clear and the meat is white all the way through before serving.
For a nice slow-roasted pheasant, you’ll need one and a half cups of chicken broth, a cup of white wine, a pheasant, and seasoning. I recommend mashing a garlic clove and chopping an onion, sautéing them in butter, then adding that to the broth with a little salt and pepper, but feel free to get creative with this. Pour half of the liquid mixture into the slow cooker, then add the pheasant to the pot. Pour the remaining liquid over the pheasant. Cover with the lid and then set the slow cooker to a low heat. Allow it to cook for about six to eight hours. This is perfect served on a bed of wild rice and can be “whipped up” while you do chores around the house.
If you want a nice stew recipe to tuck away for a chilly autumn day, then pay attention! Stew is a relatively easy dish to make and tastes great with virtually any meat! You’ll need a large pot or a slow cooker. Fill the pot about half way with water and chuck in the bite-sized chunks of pheasant meat. Cover and cook on a medium-low heat for about an hour. After an hour, you can start adding in your chosen vegetables. I recommend you start with chopped turnips or parsnips and allow them to cook (always covered!) for an hour. Then add in some diced onions and carrots. After an hour, you can add celery and large chunks of potatoes. You will need to top up the water level. In the last thirty minutes of cooking, prepare some chicken gravy but make it on the thick side. Alternatively, you can just buy a jar of the ready-made chicken gravy. Add the gravy to the stew and mix it well. If you find that you have added a bit too much water, just dump a bit out. The consistency all depends on how thick you like your stew to be.
Cooking pheasant doesn’t have to be tricky, nor does it have to be reserved for a special occasion. Pheasant is a very versatile bird and you should never be afraid to try out new seasonings and spices. This bird can literally be as “common” or “gourmet” as you make it!