General Tso's Pheasant Recipe - Hunter Angler Gardener Cook (2024)

FAQs

Which cooking method is best for pheasant? ›

Roasting the bird whole is probably the easiest and most popular way of cooking pheasant.

Cook until golden brown and no longer pink inside (roughly 8 minutes per side). Remove pheasant from skillet and set aside. Cook game meat thoroughly to an internal temperature of 165°F. Using the same skillet, melt butter over medium heat.

I personally like a little bit of the natural flavor, so I only soak for 12 hours before cooking. Leave as much of the skin on the meat as possible: Pheasants typically have very little fat on them, especially around the breast meat, so they can dry out quickly during cooking.

Cover and refrigerate at least 12 hrs (overnight is best to make for dinner the following evening). Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove pheasant from brine and discard brine.

Many people use heat that's too high or cook pheasant too long, Hill said. A slow cooker is a great way to help avoid that trap. Another method: marination. For his award-winning sandwich, Hill marinated his pheasant in Burgundy for about two days before cooking.

Once summer flocks fully disperse and roosters spread out, pheasant encounters become more likely. Persistence will put more birds in the bag than opening day luck. Here are a few reasons to embrace the midseason, and a few ways to increase your midseason success.

Do not be alarmed if the thigh meat is pink. As long as the internal temperature is at least 154° and the meat is not translucent, the thighs will be perfectly safe to eat and much tastier than if overcooked! Farm-raised or wild pheasant can be treated more as a red meat rather than a white meat in the kitchen.

A Guide to Plucking Pheasants. To hang or not to hang? The theory behind hanging a bird is to make the meat more tender and add depth of flavour.

Water becomes your friend when you are ready to cook or freeze your birds. Only then do you want to rinse or brine your pheasants or quail – and even then many people frown on that. I actually prefer the flavor of a pheasant that's only been wiped clean with a damp cloth.

Roberts said prior to cooking the bird, the gamey taste can be pulled out by soaking it in milk and the blood can also be extracted. "I normally soak them (pheasant) overnight in a salt water ... it pulls the blood out," Roberts said.

How long can you keep fresh pheasant in the fridge? ›

Game birds and ground meat can be kept refrigerated 1 to 2 days before cooking; game meat can be stored 3 to 5 days. After cooking, keep refrigerated up to 4 days. Raw and cooked game birds and meat can be frozen indefinitely.

Marinades, buttermilk, tomatoes, peppers, etc. all naturally contain acids. When grilling or roasting thighs, soaking them in your favorite marinade for a few hours beforehand is a great way to both tenderize the exterior and imbue with flavor.

Pheasant can be prepared in many ways, but roasting and grilling are the most popular cooking methods.

It adds flavor, seasoning from the inside out, but it also changes the meat's physical nature. The salt in brine denatures the meat's proteins to allow the cells to retain more moisture. Meanwhile, the brine also tenderizes meat by causing its muscle fibers to unravel and swell.

Brining is an old-fashioned technique that involves soaking meat or poultry in a flavorful saltwater solution to enhance its moisture and taste.

I generally take light-meat game birds out of the pan at 155° degrees Fahrenheit, which results in slightly rosy meat that is just cooked through but still juicy. With darker game birds, such as waterfowl and prairie grouse, I like a juicy medium—take meat off at 135°-140°.

Pheasant breasts only need a few minutes in a pan so keep a close eye on the clock to make sure you don't overcook them. If you haven't already marinated them or aren't using our marinated pheasant breast fillets, season them on both sides while heating some oil and/or butter in a pan over a high heat.

Lightly salt and pepper and cook to no more than medium-rare. Fun tip: Consider cracking fresh black pepper over the heart and fry in bacon grease. Neck: I rarely (if ever) save the neck on pheasants as very little meat exists here, but if you are persistent you can likely pick off some bits if you toss in a gravy.

Cook thoroughly until the juices run clear when pierced with a fork and there is no pink meat.