Pheasant Cacciatore Recipe - Chicken Cacciatore with Pheasant (2024)

FAQs

Do you have to soak pheasant before cooking? ›

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.

Along with whole birds, our butchers prepare boned and stuffed pheasants for easy cooking and carving. We recommend roasting these in oil or fat for one hour at 180ºC.

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.

Aside from the chicken, the basic ingredients in chicken cacciatore are: onions, herbs, tomatoes and sometimes mushrooms. Some variations will call for carrots and celery, while others call for bell peppers or other vegetables. Some even flavor the tomato sauce with anchovies, which I haven't tried yet.

For wet brine, add sugar and salt to water. Stir until dissolved. Add peeled, smashed garlic cloves and smashed ginger, along with peppercorns. Completely submerge one pheasant in brine and soak overnight, approximately 12 to 14 hours.

Soak the pheasant.

Soaking it in liquid before cooking can add more moisture to the meat, and this will make for a more tender bird. For younger birds, soak the meat for about four hours. While soaking will make the meat juicier, it will also add extra saltiness, so don't soak it for longer than necessary.

To cook: Preheat the oven to 220C, gas mark 7. Place the pheasant in a roasting tin and cook in the centre of the oven for 50 minutes. Baste frequently during cooking. Cook thoroughly until the juices run clear when pierced with a fork and there is no pink meat.

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.

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.

What are two preparation techniques would you use to cook pheasant? ›

One whole pheasant is generally the right size to feed two people. Younger hens should be cooked slightly pink, so are ideal for pan-frying or roasting. Wrapping the bird in bacon or pancetta is a tasty way of keeping the bird nice and juicy and preventing it from drying out.

Soak grouse, pheasant, quail, and partridge carcasses in cold water for one to two hours to remove excess blood.

You could also add a cornstarch slurry to thicken your sauce. Remove your chicken, and whisk together 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water and 1 tablespoon of your sauce. Then, stir this mixture into the slow cooker and let simmer until thickened.

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.

Add pheasant legs and thighs and season with salt, pepper, oregano, and paprika. 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.