Pheasant

[mossymo]

I am not smoking anything tomorrow as it sounds like it will be cool and raining here. I will be reloading cartridges for the upcoming deer season instead. I have plenty of shot shells reoaded for pheasant season allready !!!

I am curious if anyone has any good smoking recipe's for pheasant because as of next weekend is pheasant opener in our state and I am planning a 3 day hunt for opener? I will be traveling 5 hours with hopes of bringing home up to 18 birds. After opener I usually pick up around another dozen pheasants during our deer season.

The last few years I have been cutting the breasts into large thumb size pieces and then marinating them in our favorite marinades, wrapping in bacon and grilling them; these are delicious (Kabobs are awesome also)!!! But I am starting to wonder if there is a smoking style they may compliment the pheasant breast even more?

 

[richtee]

Cure brine 'em, using onion, rosemary, thyme, celery salt or seed. rub entire bird with EVOO, smoke a couple hours low heat, mopping a couple times with your fav. mop, sweet or not. Foil wrap,and into the oven to finish..I like 'em to JUST about pull...it's game, so 170 anyhow. Chill or serve hot..DELICIOUS! Remember when brining poultry, they are mostly bone. Use 1/2 the cure called for by weight.

 

[mossymo]

Richtee
Thanks for the recipe, I will try !!!

The pheasants I keep are only breasted, there is no bone. Although I do keep a little of the upper thigh for bacon wrapping. But honestly, no bone. I am just an upper thigh type of guy !!!

 

[richtee]

I suppose then the standard cure amount would be applicable. I have only brined whole birds. Yeah, there's not much else on 'em, but smoked pheasant under glass looks SOOO much better when it looks like one...heh.

 

[skinnerc06]

I saw a guy do spatchcock chicken and layered bacon on top. Maybe try something like this with the pheasant. They arent quite as big as a chicken, so you could probably fit a bucnh on there at a time.. Remember to brine them though as others have mentioned. Good luck this season. I already dropped a decent 8-point last weekend during bow season. Lovveee hunting season