Farmed Pheasant

[BreezyCooking]

We were recently blessed (& I DO mean blessed) with a FABULOUS Wegman's supermarket, which opened last week. I'm still drooling after attending the grand opening.

Anyway, they had farmed pheasant that I'm very interested in trying in my good old Ron Popeil "Showtime" rotisserie, which so far has roasted the very best chickens & ducks I've ever had.

Do you think this would be possible? All the recipes I've come across for pheasant say that it must be either larded or wrapped in bacon, which I really can't do (husband can't eat pork products). Since I assume farm-raised means a grain-fed bird, is additional fat really necessary like it would be for a wild one?

Wegman's price for the pheasant wasn't all that much more than for duck, so I don't mind experimenting. Was just wondering what folks here who've cooked farmed pheasant before thought. I've had it in restaurants, but have never cooked it myself.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Are you kidding me? Not one person here has ever cooked pheasant? Not one?

 

[pacanis]

I have, but I guess it depends on how technical you want to get as to whether or not it was "farmed", so I didn't reply. I'm 99% sure it was stocked, so yes, it was raised on a pheasant farm before stocking, but I don't know if they feed or keep them differently than the ones raised for commercial sale. It was dry no matter how I fixed it, but back then I probably overcooked it.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Miss Breezy....I've eaten very few wild ones --Never a "Farmed" one --- My guess would be they would have a bit more fat than the wild ones --- Maybe use butter to coat/baste with ---Or EVOO/butter mix.......

Enjoy!

 

[MJK]

Wild or farm raised it shouldn't be too dry if you don't overcook it. That is the danger.

 

[pdswife]

Never tried it... but would like to.

 

[Constance]

I've cooked pheasant. Sorry I didn't see this before.

Pheasant needs to be braised or it will be tough an dry, farm-raised or not. Cut it up like a chicken, season with S&P and poultry seasoning, shake in a bag of seasoned flour, and pan-fry in a little oil until golden. Then pour off most of the grease, return pheasant to skillet and add a little water or chicken broth (1/4 cup), reduce heat, cover with a lid and let steam until tender.
Make mashed potatoes and gravy to go with.

If you want to leave the bird whole, it needs slow, moist heat. The way I did it was to put the well-seasoned bird in a roasting pan, stuck a quartered apple inside, added two boxes of Uncle Ben's wild and long grain rice blend, plus liquid called for, covered it and put in 325 oven until all was done. Add carrots and mushrooms if you wish.

 

[quicksilver]

Constance, that sounds so good.
I love and have done duck, even in summer if my taste buds won't behave, but never pheasant.
Any taste similarities?

 

[Constance]

I've never eaten duck, QS, but I understand that the meat is fairly dark and that it has quite a bit of fat on it.
Pheasant is a leaner bird, with lighter meat, I think. The ones I had were hunted at a game farm, so I don't know if that counts as farm-raised or not.

They sure are beautiful birds.

 

[Constance]

Here's a picture:

 

[BreezyCooking]

Yes, pheasant meat is much lighter than duck, which is all dark meat. I'd say pheasant is very similar to guinea hen. And they are very beautiful birds. Before Long Island, NY, became the wall-to-wall parking lot it now is, Ring-Neck Pheasants were EVERYWHERE. They visited the ground beneath our bird feeders daily, & the cocks crowing & wing-beating during the spring breeding season were wonderful to hear during my long morning walks. And once when the alfalfa farmer across the street from us accidentally semi-destroyed a just-hatching pheasant nest, I had the privilege of raising up the young ones for release - a real experience. In fact, that's what initially got me into raising chickens - lol!

However, like I said, although I've had it in a restaurant before (an upscale Chinese restaurant, of all places), I've never cooked it myself. Perhaps I'll have to fix it more than once so I can experiment. Maybe do it whole on the rotisserie with liberal basting one time; braise it cut up via Constance's directions another.

Will have to pick one up & report back.

 

[JoeV]

My whole family has hunted most of our lives, and we've harvested many pheasants, ducks and geese. We found that the wild birds always have a darker meat than domestic raised birds, and it tends to be drier than domestic birds. Mom cooked everything we brought home, and wild birds always went in a roaster with store bought roasting chickens, and were basted frequently with the chicken drippings to give them some moisture. She never used bacon because the chicken drippings were always sufficient. Farm raised birds do not fly very much, so the breast meat is lighter and the birds hold more fat to give flavor and moisture when cooked.

I's been years since I've had pheasant, but I do remember it as being delicious.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Pheasant is very lean to begin with. Farm-raised pheasant may have a little more fat on it than wild - but not much. Certainly not enough that you don't have to either bard or baste it while roasting - and you certainly don't want to overcook it (medium-rare to medium is what I've found to be the best degree of "doneness") if you want it moist.

Flintshire Farms has some recipes - including how to roast (scroll down the page and click on the "Great Recipes" box).

Sorry I didn't answer your post sooner - I was trying to root through boxes to find the recipe I have used the 2 times I've roasted pheasant. I'll probably find it in the first box I unpack when I get moved in the next couple of weeks.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Thanks Michael. Their roasting recipe is fairly basic, & I'm pleased to see it doesn't call for bacon, which I think would just overwhelm the bird. I'm thinking that if I try roasting one in my rotisserie, I'll just baste frequently with melted seasoned butter.

 

[Michael in FtW]

I don't know why I didn't remember this technique sooner. I have seen some chefs wrap game birds in pork caul fat for roasting. Would provide the fat without the bacon flavor. Just a thought. I don't know about your stores/butcher shops so it might be hard to find.