I need help with Pheasant

[garethstroud 0]

I bought a pheasant tonight for my wife and I to have for tea tomorrow night, I've jointed it ready and was going to pan fry the breasts and roast the legs. I bought a pheasant years ago and braised it and the wife was not impressed

 

My parents are now coming to tea tomorrow, so I'm thinking of getting another pheasant and jointing it and cooking as above.

 

Do you think my cooking method will produce the best results? As wonderful as my father is, he can be very unforgiving when it comes to food placed before him that is not to his liking

 

I really fancy giving pheasant another crack and having jointed the first, I've got to say, it looks bloody nice!

 

Any advice appreciated, thanks!

[WelshVixen 4]

I bought a pheasant tonight for my wife and I to have for tea tomorrow night, I've jointed it ready and was going to pan fry the breasts and roast the legs. I bought a pheasant years ago and braised it and the wife was not impressed

 

My parents are now coming to tea tomorrow, so I'm thinking of getting another pheasant and jointing it and cooking as above.

 

Do you think my cooking method will produce the best results? As wonderful as my father is, he can be very unforgiving when it comes to food placed before him that is not to his liking

 

I really fancy giving pheasant another crack and having jointed the first, I've got to say, it looks bloody nice!

 

Any advice appreciated, thanks!

 

Cant beat Pie and chips to put a smile on everyones face. I made a really nice Pheasant pie whilst away in the caravan. It quick and simple to make, i'll write it down below.

 

1. Remove breast meat and dice (if you can get any more off go for it, i generally keep the legs for another day).

2. Give it a quick swill in a colander, and allow to drain.

3. Using a non-stick frying pan..... put enough water in to just cover the bottom of the pan and heat.

4. Chuck in the meat and gently fry in the water with a little salt (and pepper/onions if you like it) until it is sealed.

5. Get a pie dish, drain the liquid from the pan into a jug, put meat (and onions if you used them) into pie dish.

6. Add boiling water to the jug of liquid from pan and use bisto to make into gravy (as thick as you like it)

7. Pour Gravy into the dish over the meat.

8. Using ready made/rolled (didnt have a rolling pin in my caravan) puff or shortcrust (puff is better) pastry, make the lid by putting on top of pie dish, pressing around the edges and cutting of the excess. (cut it a little bigger as it will shrink in the oven).

9. Using a Beaten egg, paint the top thinly (though you dont really have to). Stick the knife in the top to make a hole for steam to escape.

10. Plonk in the oven, on about 190 in an electric, it was gas mark 9 in my caravan so clueless as to what in the house as i have electric. When its gone golden its cooked (or risen depending on what pastry).

 

Its a really tasty pie, chuck it with a few chips, cant go wrong really.... unless you dont like pie! lol.

 

Hope this helps.

[garethstroud 0]

That sounds nice, thanks for the info

[CUBE 0]

The main thing to remember with most game (but not all) is that there is not a great deal of fat on the animals.

 

Generally speaking with game birds I would always recommend cooking them fairly quickly, roasting or pot roasting, as longer cooking tends to dry them out.

 

And dont forget to rest the meat - for game birds about 5 - 10 mins with a dish towel over them.

 

If you have already jointed them I would quickly fry them in oil & butter with some garlic & thyme and plenty of seasoning - again, resting applies.

 

If you need any other help please ask

 

CUBE

[squint 17]

that sound well tasty vixen will be giving thata try.few spud and veg.just got to get me a air rifel now

[Jim Grant 4]

Gareth.

 

Too late to smoke them, mind a couple of hours will give a bit of flavour. Here is one I think ticks most of the boxes.

 

Coq au Vin

2Kg of Pheasant Breast and legs

40g Butter

1 TBLSP Olive Oil

100g Smoked Streaky Bacon, cubed

12 Shallots

2 Sticks Celery, finely chopped

175g Mushrooms, quartered

1 Garlic Clove, crushed

2 TBLSP Plain Flour

450ml Rough Red Wine

150ml Water

1 Bay Leaf

1 Sprig Thyme, or 1pinch Dried Thyme

Seasoning

 

Joint and breast the Pheasant pat dry .Put half the butter into a frying pan with the Oil . Fry Bacon until golden brown. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Brown the pheasant . Put the Pheasant and bacon into a oven-proof casserole. Fry the Onions and Celery until soft, then add to the casserole. Add remaining Butter to the frying pan, add the Mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Put to one side on kitchen paper.

 

Blend the Garlic and Flour in the frying pan. Cook gently until browned, stirring frequently. Add the Wine, Water, Herbs and season to taste. Simmer until thickened. Pour over the pheasant in the casserole. Cover and cook at 325F / 160C / Mark 3 for around 2 hours, depending on the age of the bird. When almost tender remove the Bay Leaf, stir in the Mushrooms and cook for a further 10 minutes.

[garethstroud 0]

Jim -

 

Thanks, that sounds a cracking recipe but one I'm going to have to try on the weekend, perhaps smoke them first. By the time I leave work tonight and get home, I just want to do something quick. Thanks for the info though, will definately give it a go.

 

CUBE -

 

Thanks, that sounds just perfect for tonight. As you say, it's very lean, so I'll give it a quick pan fry and let it rest. Just picked up another bird to feed my parents!

 

Thanks again - will let you know what it was like tomorrow

[garethstroud 0]

Thanks for all your help. I pan fried the breasts for about 8 - 10 minutes and then let them rest.

 

Everyone was very happy with the results, including me. The taste was superb, a good taste of game without being too strong. The wife is now happy to have pheasant back on the menu!

 

Thanks everyone, photo of the meal below

 

[CUBE 0]

Good man!!

 

If you need any cooking tips let me know.

 

CUBE out

[mooster 1]

That looks bootufull!

By the way,I once read a thread on here showing how to remove those long tendons from pheasant legs by cutting around the "ankle" joint then pulling them out on the end of the claw.Worth a look if you can find it.

Edited November 9, 2008 by mooster

[clay man 0]

you bought a pheasant

[Fat-Ferret 857]

you bought a pheasant

 

I was thinking that too....I wish I could sell the 9 in my shed, Im sick eating pheasant!

[Guest allroundhunter]

I bought a pheasant tonight for my wife and I to have for tea tomorrow night, I've jointed it ready and was going to pan fry the breasts and roast the legs. I bought a pheasant years ago and braised it and the wife was not impressed

 

My parents are now coming to tea tomorrow, so I'm thinking of getting another pheasant and jointing it and cooking as above.

 

Do you think my cooking method will produce the best results? As wonderful as my father is, he can be very unforgiving when it comes to food placed before him that is not to his liking

 

I really fancy giving pheasant another crack and having jointed the first, I've got to say, it looks bloody nice!

 

Any advice appreciated, thanks!

 

Cant beat Pie and chips to put a smile on everyones face. I made a really nice Pheasant pie whilst away in the caravan. It quick and simple to make, i'll write it down below.

 

1. Remove breast meat and dice (if you can get any more off go for it, i generally keep the legs for another day).

2. Give it a quick swill in a colander, and allow to drain.

3. Using a non-stick frying pan..... put enough water in to just cover the bottom of the pan and heat.

4. Chuck in the meat and gently fry in the water with a little salt (and pepper/onions if you like it) until it is sealed.

5. Get a pie dish, drain the liquid from the pan into a jug, put meat (and onions if you used them) into pie dish.

6. Add boiling water to the jug of liquid from pan and use bisto to make into gravy (as thick as you like it)

7. Pour Gravy into the dish over the meat.

8. Using ready made/rolled (didnt have a rolling pin in my caravan) puff or shortcrust (puff is better) pastry, make the lid by putting on top of pie dish, pressing around the edges and cutting of the excess. (cut it a little bigger as it will shrink in the oven).

9. Using a Beaten egg, paint the top thinly (though you dont really have to). Stick the knife in the top to make a hole for steam to escape.

10. Plonk in the oven, on about 190 in an electric, it was gas mark 9 in my caravan so clueless as to what in the house as i have electric. When its gone golden its cooked (or risen depending on what pastry).

 

Its a really tasty pie, chuck it with a few chips, cant go wrong really.... unless you dont like pie! lol.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Am gonna try that mate nice1

[Fidgety 8]

large knob of butter+ slug of olive oil in frying pan, get hot, fry breasts for about 2 mins, turn heat down, add 1/2 glass of wine, few slugs of soy sauce, finely chopped mushrooms, good couple of large spoons of cranberry sauce, few slugs of thai sweet chilli sauce, black pepper, simmer for about 10 mins until sauce is like gravy, serve with mashed potato, peas ..........loverly! Also works with slices of venison. You can muck about with the ingredients to your taste too.

[earth&hounds 94]

Thanks for all your help. I pan fried the breasts for about 8 - 10 minutes and then let them rest.

 

Everyone was very happy with the results, including me. The taste was superb, a good taste of game without being too strong. The wife is now happy to have pheasant back on the menu!

 

Thanks everyone, photo of the meal below

 

where is the rest that would not fill the hole in my tooth lol need a bit of steak with that and a few more tats and loads of veg