Fried Pheasant Recipe - Pickle Brined Fried Pheasant | Hank Shaw (2024)

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5 from 13 votes

By Hank Shaw

October 24, 2022

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Yes, you fry pheasants! Here’s a recipe for pickle-brined, fried pheasant you’ll love. Works great with skin-on or skinless birds, as well as grouse or partridge.

Fried Pheasant Recipe - Pickle Brined Fried Pheasant | Hank Shaw (2)

So I’ll give you the caveat first: If you really want to enjoy fried pheasant as if it were chicken, you will want to use only young birds. There are three “tells” that you have a young bird:

  • They’re a lot smaller than older roosters, sometimes by as much as a pound.
  • Young roosters don’t have much in the way of spurs.
  • Their plumage isn’t fully in yet, and their tails aren’t very long, giving them a hen-like appearance.

OK, that’s four tells, but you get my point. Incidentally, most pen-raised birds will be young.

We shot a few really young roosters on Opening Weekend in North Dakota (the story of that hunt is here), and I knew I wanted to treat them differently. Fried pheasant was the ticket.

Much like my recipes for buttermilk fried quail and fried rabbit, this is a celebration of rarity: it isn’t often you come home with a wild game animal so tender you can just fry it.

I used kitchen shears to cut the breasts in half bone-in, and separated the thighs from the drumsticks. Alas, even on a young pheasant, the tendons in the drumsticks are a killer; save those for the crockpot.

Fried Pheasant Recipe - Pickle Brined Fried Pheasant | Hank Shaw (3)

The wings will work on a young pheasant, but I prefer to make a dish just of wings, like my pheasant Buffalo wings, so I kept them all together for later… likely the Super Bowl.

Now I hear you: What if I only have older pheasants? All is not lost: Make fried pheasant only with the bone-in breasts. It’ll still be good.

Fried Pheasant Recipe - Pickle Brined Fried Pheasant | Hank Shaw (4)

Prepping the Pheasant

I really prefer skin-on pieces because that skin adds fat and flavor to an otherwise lean meat, and the skin is something else for the breading to stick to. But skinless works, too.

(If you’re flummoxed on how to pluck a pheasant, I have a tutorial here.)

Don’t use shot-up pieces. A shot hole here and there is fine, but if the meat is pretty beat up, use it in soups or stew or for pheasant stock.

You really want to brine your meat when you make fried pheasant because it can tend toward dryness — and, well, every fried chicken place in America brines its birds. The pickle brine is my go-to.

Wha? Yep, the liquid in a pickle jar. Save it after you’ve eaten the pickles. And I am talking about a vinegar pickle, not a lacto-fermented pickle; that brine has a very different effect I’ll get into in another post.

This acidic brine is a perfect marinade for pheasant. You get the salt penetrating to the center of the meat, and the flavors in the vinegar all over the outside. I prefer to use a sweet and spicy pickle brine in this recipe.

How long to brine your pheasant pieces? Overnight, or at least 4 hours. Don’t go longer than about 12 hours or things will get a little salty and acidic.

Fried Pheasant Recipe - Pickle Brined Fried Pheasant | Hank Shaw (5)

Fried Pheasant Seasonings

So many people forget to season everything when they make fried chicken, or in our case fried pheasant. The act of frying dulls the impact of most spices so you really want to lay them on.

You already have brined the pheasant. My advice is to add lots of seasoning to the buttermilk you douse the pieces in, then a little seasoning to the flour.

If you want to add cayenne or paprika, it should go into the buttermilk; plain yogurt thinned with milk works, too. The reason is because if there’s too much in the flour itself, it will burn in the hot oil and get bitter.

The flour should get some salt, black pepper, and dried herbs like parsley, savory, basil, thyme, etc.

You’ll want to tinker with things as you make batches of fried pheasant over the season.

Fried Pheasant Recipe - Pickle Brined Fried Pheasant | Hank Shaw (6)

Frying the Pheasant

You’ll want a heavy pan, like cast iron, and about 2 inches’ worth of oil. Peanut oil is my choice, but anything with a high smoke point is fine. Heat it to just 325F. You want to cook the pheasant without darkening the batter too much, so this is the key temperature.

Always let the oil get back to this temperature in between batches.

I find that the thighs take about 6 minutes per side, and the breasts 5 to 6 minutes per side. Thighs have more connective tissue, but breasts are thicker. Don’t crowd the pan when you fry. The pieces should not touch each other.

When a batch is done, move it to a cooling rack set over a baking sheet. Set that in a 200F oven. This gives the fried pheasant air, and will keep it crispy.

If by some freak of chance you have leftovers, they are amazeballz cold for lunch the next day.

If you liked this recipe, please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below; I’d love to hear how everything went. If you’re on Instagram, share a picture and tag me athuntgathercook.

5 from 13 votes

Fried Pheasant

This is a pickle-brined fried pheasant recipe the same way you'd do with chicken, only with a few pointers to handle the wildness of the pheasant meat. The seasonings I have in this recipe are a suggestion. You can alter them as you see fit.

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Course: lunch, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine: American, Southern

Servings: 6 servings

Author: Hank Shaw

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Brining Time: 8 hours hours

Total Time: 8 hours hours 50 minutes minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 cups pickle brine (leftover juice from a pickle jar)
  • 2 to 3 pounds pheasant breasts and thighs
  • 2 cups buttermilk, or plain yogurt thinned with milk
  • 1 tablespoon cayenne, Cajun seasoning or Cavender's, or any spice mix you like
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 to 2 tablespoon Italian seasoning, or any combination of dried herbs (optional)
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup corn starch
  • Oil for frying

Instructions

  • Soak the pheasant breasts and thighs in the pickle brine in the fridge overnight. No less than 4 hours and no more than 12.

  • Mix the cayenne, Cajun seasoning or whatever spice mix makes you happy into the buttermilk. You can use 2 tablespoons if you want a heavily spiced fried pheasant. Put all the pheasant pieces directly from the brine into the buttermilk. Let this sit at room temperature for a few minutes, up to 30 minutes.

  • Mix the salt, Italian seasoning or other dried herbs, corn starch and the flour in a large, shallow container or a plastic bag. Put the pheasant pieces in there in batches and really press down on the flour to press it into the meat. You'll want to do this on both sides, pressing hard each time. Lift the pieces out of the flour and shake off the excess. Put them on the counter to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. You can also set them on a tray in the fridge for up to 6 hours. All of this helps the breading stick to the meat.

  • Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet in the oven and set the oven to 200°F.

  • Bring about 2 inches' worth of oil to 325°F in a large, heavy pan. I use cast iron. Fry the pieces in batches, not letting them touch each other, until they are golden brown, roughly 5 to 7 minutes per side. Put the finished fried pheasant on the cooling rack in the oven and repeat with the rest of the pheasant.

Notes

You can reuse the oil several times. Just strain it through a paper towel to remove all the debris.

Keys to Success

  • I prefer peanut oil for frying, but you can use anything with a high smoke point, like canola, vegetable or corn oil.
  • If you only have older pheasants, use a jaccard to tenderize the meat before you soak it in the pickle brine.
  • If you don’t have pickle juice lying around, bring to a boil 2 cups vinegar (any kind), 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, and any spices you like, such as mustard seed, allspice, cloves, black peppercorns, chiles, garlic, dill, etc.
  • Anything with paprika or chiles needs to go into the buttermilk, not the flour. If it’s in the flour, it can turn the pieces very dark and get bitter.
  • What I mean by dried herbs are things like dried thyme, oregano, savory, parsley, basil, cilantro, sage and rosemary.
  • Fried pheasant is amazing cold the next day, and will keep a week in the fridge.

Nutrition

Calories: 479kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 101mg | Sodium: 2688mg | Potassium: 495mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 951IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 129mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe? Tag me today!Mention @huntgathercook or tag #hankshaw!

Categorized as:
American Recipes, Featured, How-To (DIY stuff), Pheasant, Grouse, Quail, Recipe, Southern, Wild Game

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About Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet’s largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

Read More About Me

Fried Pheasant Recipe - Pickle Brined Fried Pheasant | Hank Shaw (2024)

FAQs

Fried Pheasant Recipe - Pickle Brined Fried Pheasant | Hank Shaw? ›

Make a brine solution.

This much brine will be enough to soak two small pheasants, or one large one. The pheasant will be soaked in this brine solution, which will make the meat juicier. At the same time, the salt will help dry out the skin, and this will make for a crispier and more delicious skin.

What do you soak pheasant in? ›

Make a brine solution.

This much brine will be enough to soak two small pheasants, or one large one. The pheasant will be soaked in this brine solution, which will make the meat juicier. At the same time, the salt will help dry out the skin, and this will make for a crispier and more delicious skin.

Which cooking method is best for pheasant? ›

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

Should I brine pheasant before freezing? ›

Brining wild proteins in salt water for a few hours is a great way to remove residual blood from any crevices or potential holes left behind from pellets. Before freezing, make an effort to thoroughly remove any feathers or hairs and rinse. If brined, make certain to thoroughly rinse off brine before freezing.

Why do you soak pheasant in milk? ›

I did some reading on how to get the best tasting results from a wild pheasant, and learned the following helpful tips (all of which I can vouch for!) Soak the meat in saltwater or milk to remove any gamey taste: Some people don't mind the “wild” flavor in pheasant (or duck or deer or what have you).

Does pheasant need to be brined? ›

"Brining really is the way to go with pheasant, to keep it moist and also to "cut" some of that rich gaminess.

How do you get the gamey taste out of pheasant? ›

The distinct game flavor of either birds or animals will be milder after soaking the meat overnight in the refrigerator in either a salt or vinegar solution. 2. Vinegar solution - 1 cup per quart of cold water. Use enough solution to cover the game completely.

How do you prepare pheasant before cooking? ›

Instructions
  1. Brine the bird. ...
  2. After the brining process, take the pheasant out of the fridge, and let it sit for 30 min - 1 hr to come to room temperature.
  3. Heat oven to 500°F (or at least 400°F).
  4. Oil the bird with butter or olive oil. ...
  5. Stuff the bird with apple or onion and fresh herbs.
Feb 11, 2021

Can you eat pheasant pink? ›

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.

Should you wash pheasant before cooking? ›

I actually prefer the flavor of a pheasant that's only been wiped clean with a damp cloth. I find that thorough rinsing and brining leaches flavor and makes a pheasant little more than a boring chicken. You'd think tossing the birds on a bag of ice in a cooler would be a good idea, right? It is and it isn't.

Should you rinse a bird after brining? ›

Do You Rinse a Turkey After Brining? You should always rinse the turkey after wet or dry brining. Once rinsed, you can let the turkey air dry, uncovered, in the refrigerator for several hours, or pat it dry with a paper towel.

Should I put ice in my brine? ›

Ice. The easiest way to chill a brine is by using ice. Replacing some of the water weight of your brine with ice will lower the temperature of your brine quickly and get it to that 32º F and under range. This can be accomplished by adding ice to your brine mixer or brine holding tank.

Do you refrigerate meat in brine? ›

Place the container in the refrigerator for the period of time specified in the recipe. The amount of time will depend on the type of brine you use; however, do not brine any longer than two days and always keep the turkey and brine refrigerated (at 40°F or less).

Can you dry brine pheasant? ›

For dry brine, mix all spices and rub down pheasant inside and out with entire spice mix. Leave pheasant to sit in refrigerator overnight, minimum 12 hours, uncovered to dry.

Should pheasant juices run clear? ›

To test when the pheasants are cooked pierce the thigh with a fine skewer, the juices should run clear. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with game chips (or use good quality crisps), bread sauce and a gravy made with the onion flavoured juices.

Can you eat freshly killed pheasant? ›

For such an elaborately plumaged bird, the flavor of pheasant can be underwhelming—I fully expect to receive grief from several of you for saying that. But let's be real: A freshly-killed pheasant can be described as neither tough nor tender, and flavor-wise, there are more interesting game birds I'd rather eat.

How long to soak game birds in salt water? ›

You may soak older birds in a solution of ½ teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon vinegar per quart of cold water for 4 to 12 hours in the refrigerator.

How do you clean and prepare a pheasant? ›

How to Clean a Pheasant
  1. First, remove the wings by cutting them off as close to the body as possible. ...
  2. Remove both wings.
  3. Remove the head by cutting thru the neck as close to the body as possible.
  4. The next step is to remove the legs. ...
  5. Remove the leg by cutting at the “knee” joint.

How do you make pheasant not tough? ›

Brown the pheasant all over in hot dripping then put in a casserole dish with onions, carrot & celery. Add chicken or game stock, put the lid on and braise in a medium oven for at least 2 hours. Cooked like that it will never be dry but it will be tender, moist and flavoursome.

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