Brace of pheasant

LilSmoker · January 11, 2007, 12:39:03 PM

Hi all, i popped in to see a mate on the way home from work this evening, and he'd been pheasant shooting today, they had a good day, so there was a brace for me (what are friends for?) ;D

Anyway i'm gonna hang them till sunday morning, then i'll do the cleaning etc, well i've always roasted them in the past, but i'd like to do these BS style.
So i just wondered has anybody got any tips with BS pheasant?, i did the usual search which turned up a few posts, but if anybody can offer anything, i'd be gratefull, if not i'll let you know how it goes.

Btw, my pal also bagged himself a woodc0ck but i couldn't talk him into parting with it ::) ;D

Bye for now...........LilSmoker

Wildcat · January 11, 2007, 04:54:45 PM

Wow - I love those birds but unavailable to me here. I have eaten them with someone else roasting them, but absolutely no experience personally. I would guess that MW would probably know.

manxman · January 12, 2007, 01:44:06 AM

Quotebagged himself a woodc0ck but i couldn't talk him into parting with it

I was given a couple of these by someone who went out shooting on New Year's Day, they are now plucked, cleaned and gutted and sitting in my freezer waiting for some inspiration on my part on how to cook them.... any ideas LilSmoker? :)

winemakers · January 12, 2007, 05:06:35 AM

I have done breasted birds many times by gently flattening one breast, layer with stuffing of choice, feta, spinach, sage, thyme, s&p, then cover with breast #2. Bacon wrap and smoke at will. Never had the patience to pluck/prepare a whole bird. I anxiously await your results.

mld

LilSmoker · January 12, 2007, 12:01:32 PM

Quote from: manxman on January 12, 2007, 01:44:06 AM
Quotebagged himself a woodc0ck but i couldn't talk him into parting with it

I was given a couple of these by someone who went out shooting on New Year's Day, they are now plucked, cleaned and gutted and sitting in my freezer waiting for some inspiration on my part on how to cook them.... any ideas LilSmoker? :)

Hi manxman, well the last couple of times i've had them i used this recipe, it was given to me by one of the shooters, i like it, as it's very simple and tasty:

Roast Woodc0ck

Ingredients:
4 Woodc0ck
Salt; to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper; to taste
4 tablespoons Butter
4 pinches Dried marjoram or thyme;
4 slices Bacon

Directions:
Sprinkle birds inside and out with salt and pepper. Put 1 tablespoon butter with 1 pinch of herb in each cavity. Wrap each breast with bacon and tie it on. Put on a rack in a roaster and roast at 400 degrees, basting frequently with melted butter, until tender. If they are plump birds, it should take 20 to 25 minutes.

I've also pan fried them in a little red wine with herbs, which turned out nice, wonder how they'd be smoked?, i doubt they would take very long in the BS? ;)

Quote from: winemakers on January 12, 2007, 05:06:35 AM
I have done breasted birds many times by gently flattening one breast, layer with stuffing of choice, feta, spinach, sage, thyme, s&p, then cover with breast #2. Bacon wrap and smoke at will. Never had the patience to pluck/prepare a whole bird. I anxiously await your results.

mld

Hi winemakers, that sounds delicious!, i think i may give that a go, thanks ;)

manxman · January 12, 2007, 12:52:47 PM

Hi and thanks LilSmoker, think I will try the roast woodc0ck first time around, looks excellent. Perhaps try smoking them another time, never had woodc0ck before so don't fancy experimenting by smokin em just yet! :)

LilSmoker · January 16, 2007, 03:18:53 AM

@ winemakers, i did one of the pheasants to your recipe, i used feta and bacon, and also added some roasted peppers, it was delicious, i've never had pheasant done this way before, and i thought it worked very well, thanks ;)

The other bird is in the freezer, i think it's gonna get the same treatment ;D

winemakers · January 16, 2007, 05:58:43 AM

I am truly jealous :(. Haven't had the time to chase the fabled chinese chickens this year. Worst of all I have a new lab who is fantastic in the backyard, but untested where the rubber meets (meats in this forum) the road. The dog retrieves the dickens out of a pheasent wing, bumper, my small children.... but I digress... ;D

I can't claim an original recipe. I adapted the famed chicken rolls to the smaller breast size of the ringneck and got lucky.

Now I need to plan my escape..................to the land of milk and pheasent

mld

LilSmoker · January 16, 2007, 08:18:23 AM

QuoteI can't claim an original recipe. I adapted the famed chicken rolls to the smaller breast size of the ringneck and got lucky.

Well it was a good idea of yours to adapt them, i certainly enjoyed them and i think i'll experiment some more with chicken roll theme, maybe add some chili peppers :o

Anyway i'll let you know how the next lot goes, thanks again LilSmoker ;)

Quote from: manxman on January 12, 2007, 12:52:47 PM
Hi and thanks LilSmoker, think I will try the roast woodc0ck first time around, looks excellent. Perhaps try smoking them another time, never had woodc0ck before so don't fancy experimenting by smokin em just yet! :)

Hi manxman, yeah would be a shame to use that woodc0ck as an experiment, but my pal told me that on the last shoot, they bagged quite a few between them, so i asked him if there's enough next time, to send a couple my way ;D, i even offered to pay for them :o ;D
Anyway, if he should get some next time, i'll have a go at doing them in the BS ;)

That's what i love about the BS, all the experiments! ;D ;)

speltman · April 19, 2007, 10:29:50 AM

Hi LilSmoker I saw your post on smoking Pheasant and wondered how it turned out. I have about 20, pheasant breasts I want to smoke. Any advice from anyone? Thanks Scott

Wildcat · April 19, 2007, 01:31:28 PM

Wish I had some pheasant.

LilSmoker · April 19, 2007, 02:37:37 PM

Hi speltman, well i did the last pheasant (breasts) as winemakers suggested, i just varied some ingredients.
I used feta cheese, bacon, some roasted peppers, salt and pepper, a little rosemary and thyme, smoked with cherry until internal reached 165f

They were very nice indeed!

Hope this helps...........LilSmoker

speltman · April 20, 2007, 08:54:08 AM

Ok Thanks I will give it a try.

speltman · April 24, 2007, 12:43:39 PM

Hi, LilSmoker, Winemakers, I tried the Pheasant breasts as suggested, feta cheese, bacon, spices etc. I smoked with cherry for about 3 hours (165) I pulled them just in time for dinner, still a little warm. They had a nice, soft, brown color, and the juices were gently rolling onto my plate, I was way hungry. What a supprise, they tasted real gamey, almost like duck. They were so gamey we ate something else and I covered the breasts and stuck them in the back of the refer. This morning I went to throw them out, they still looked so good that I could not resist a nibble, and WOW, the flavor had totally changed. You could really taste the smokey flavor and the herbs. They were what I hoped they would taste like last night. So I guess I learned a lesson about smoking Pheasant. Thanks Scott

LilSmoker · April 24, 2007, 01:06:48 PM

Hi speltman, well i'm glad you got the desired result in the end, albeit a little later than planned.

Maybe the pheasant tasted a bit too gamey for you because the birds had been hung for a long time?, you're probably aware of this but the longer the birds are hung, the more intense the gamey flavour will be.
Also as you've discovered the smoke flavour seems to work it's magic on food that's spent some time in the fridge, especially if wrapped. ;)

LilSmoker