Oct. 15 National Roast Pheasant Day

donna

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
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May 12, 2010
Location
Now Florida but always a Kentuckian
I have never had Pheasant. It is not a common dish today. However in the Oregon Territory, the pioneers had pheasant as often as we have chicken to eat.

This recipe for Roasted Pheasant is from "West Coast Cook Book" by Helen Brown. This was recipe of one of the best known game cooks on the West Coast in 1940s and 50s. He was John Keller of Larkspur, California.

6 pheasants

Dressing

1 cup chopped apple
6 large green onions
3 ribs celery
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon salt
pepper
1/2 pound bean sprouts

Baste
3/4 cup French vermouth
olive oil

Make a dressing with 1 cup of chopped apples, 6 large green onions, chopped, 3 ribs of celery, dried. a clove of garlic, mashed in a teaspoon of coarse salt, a little black pepper, and 1/2 pound of bean sprouts. This is sufficient for six pheasants. Stuff and truss and bake in 375 degree oven for about an hour. Baste with olive oil and adding 3/4 cup of French vermouth towards the end.

This sounds like an interesting dish and maybe would be good for Thanksgiving instead of turkey. Now to find pheasants.
 
I have not seen a pheasant around here for many years but we used to hunt them. A good dog will find them and hold them - used to get a goodly number for a fine meal! Like any game bird they can be ruined with poor care, but done right they are most delicious.
 
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Does pheasant taste like turkey or duck? I've never had it, so I'm curious. One of the drawbacks being a city girl, you typically don't grow up eating wild game.

Well, it's definitely in that category but it does have a...well, distinct flavor! It can be delicate, like quail, or rather pungent - depends on how it's treated right after being shot in my humble experience. And the age of the bird. Like chicken - if you have an old hen don't lay any more, she's best not fried but stewed mostly for broth.
 
Pheasant has a rich gamey taste and the longer you hang the bird the stronger the gamey taste !
There is a famous story here in England back in Victorian times when the Butler on an old English Estate hung a Pheasant for too long , and he thought it had gone high and so buried it in the garden; that evening the Estate Owner queried why the Pheasant wasn't being served for his dinner and made the Butler dig it up and then cook it for him !!!
 
Pheasant has a rich gamey taste and the longer you hang the bird the stronger the gamey taste !
There is a famous story here in England back in Victorian times when the Butler on an old English Estate hung a Pheasant for too long , and he thought it had gone high and so buried it in the garden; that evening the Estate Owner queried why the Pheasant wasn't being served for his dinner and made the Butler dig it up and then cook it for him !!!

I'm not a fan of the gamey taste! Reminds me of the TV series Shogun, where Blackthorn had him a bird hung getting good and ripe for dinner, and one of his servants buried it for stinking up the place. Of course, he had to be executed for disobeying his boss but he was cool with that...somebody had to dispose of the dead critter! :eek:
 
I'm not the Pheasant Plucker,
I'm the Pheasant Plucker's Son,
I'm only Plucking Pheasants,
Until the Pheasant Plucker comes !

Say this very fast if you can - But be careful !!!
I totally rocked this the first time through, I'll have you know. :D With a mouth full of pizza yet!
 
I live in the Deep South, but my family travels to South Dakota every year to hunt pheasants. I find them to taste like a wild chicken -- much like properly cooked venison tastes like beef, but much leaner. We put a southern spin on cooking them, which involves fig jam, butter, stock and Cognac. The bird is pan seared and served over wild rice with the reduced sauce poured over the dish. Unbeilavable!
 
I live in the Deep South, but my family travels to South Dakota every year to hunt pheasants. I find them to taste like a wild chicken -- much like properly cooked venison tastes like beef, but much leaner. We put a southern spin on cooking them, which involves fig jam, butter, stock and Cognac. The bird is pan seared and served over wild rice with the reduced sauce poured over the dish. Unbeilavable!

Fig jam! Oooh...that would be delicious! :thumbsup:
 
Does pheasant taste like turkey or duck? I've never had it, so I'm curious. One of the drawbacks being a city girl, you typically don't grow up eating wild game.
It's not at all like duck (which I love). More like turkey or chicken. It'll have a stronger flavor than chicken, but it's very similar. After all, you could think of a chicken as a domesticated pheasant. The strength of the flavor is going to be dependent on what they've been eating. You can expect the legs to be darker (like a chicken) and tougher, because the pheasant walks and runs everywhere, so his leg muscles are very well developed and well supplied with blood. All the real colorful birds in the photos we've seen here are males. Pheasant season opens in a matter or weeks in most hunting areas, so if you're offered some birds, don't be scared to take a chance on them.
 
I have not seen a pheasant around here for many years but we used to hunt them. A good dog will find them and hold them - used to get a goodly number for a fine meal! Like any game bird they can be ruined with poor care, but done right they are most delicious.
We used to hunt them with our German wire haired pointers.they may have been champion show dogs but they all had their junior hunter degrees from the AKC.
 
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