Easy Roast Pheasant

Roast Pheasant slathered in duck fat then oven roasted is an easy pheasant dish perfect to serve up for family dinner.

Why You'll Love Roast Pheasant

I'm thrilled to finally share a simple and delicious recipe for Easy Roast Pheasant for all of you pheasant hunters and busy parents out there. With just a few ingredients and straightforward steps, you'll have a mouthwatering pheasant dish that you can serve up to those hungry kids with a side of mashed potatoes or another one of your favorite side dishes. Or you can transform the cooked pheasant meat and use it in Pheasant Fritters or a Pheasant Pot Pie.

A Roast Pheasant Recipe For People Who Do NOT Pluck Their Birds

Plucking a pheasant or a grouse isn't hard, but the reality is the majority of upland bird hunters don't do it. And that's ok. I'm not here to judge.

Does a perfectly plucked pheasant look a lot better on a plate when someone like me wants to take beautiful food photos? Absolutely! But I didn't create this pheasant dish for Instagram. I created this easy roast pheasant recipe for all of you hunters who have a freezer full of skinless birds. You could care less about how pretty the dish is. You just want your kids to love pheasant so they might grow up and become a pheasant hunter like you!

What Does Pheasant Taste Like?

Pheasant is a great alternative to chicken or turkey, especially for those of us who love to hunt them. If you've ever wondered, "What does pheasant taste like?" the quick answer is that "It tastes like chicken!"

Pheasant is an upland game bird found predominately in the Upper Midwest. Pheasants are close cousins to chickens. While pheasant meat is somewhat darker, denser and tougher than chicken, you can cook a pheasant pretty much any way you would a chicken. A great example of this would be my extremely popular Pheasant Florentine - a wild game twist on a Chicken Florentine.

This oven-roasted pheasant recipe brings out the best in this upland game bird. The pheasant brine is absolutely essential for success, and makes it tender, juicy, and full of flavor.

How to Make Roast Pheasant

Pheasant Brine

1. Pour 2 cups of the water into a 2-quart or larger saucepan (large enough for the brine and submerged pheasant) with the 3 Tablespoons of salt. Bring to boil and stir to dissolve salt.

2. Remove from heat, pour in remaining 1 cup water and stir well. Cool completely before using (I cool about 30 minutes at room temperature then refrigerate for 1 hour). DO NOT put pheasant in before completely cool. Getting the brine cold first helps to prevent bacterial growth.

3. Submerge pheasant in brine, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours, but no more or it will be too salty! For sure, do NOT leave it in the brine overnight.

Roast Pheasant

1. When you are ready to roast the pheasant, take the bird out of the refrigerator, rinse off the brine with cool water, and pat dry with a paper towel. Place it on a cast iron skillet and let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.

2. Brush the pheasant with duck fat. If you don't have duck fat, you can use olive oil or melted butter. Sprinkle the pheasant all over with kosher salt and black pepper.

3. Place the pheasant in a cast iron skillet and roast uncovered for 15 minutes at 475 degrees F. Lower the temperature to 350 degrees F, and cook about another 15 minutes until it reaches an internal temperature of 155 degrees F using an instant read meat thermometer.

4. Transfer pheasant to a cutting board and let rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

5. Carve pheasant, season with more salt and pepper to taste, then serve.

The Tough Truth About Roasting Pheasant Legs

I have colleagues in the wild game cooking world who have posted beautiful photos of roasted skin-on pheasant legs that look mighty appetizing. However, the truth is that roasted pheasant legs are tough as hell! If you or your family members attempt to gnaw through the sinew and tendons, you'll end up with a sore jaw.

Although I roasted the legs alongside the pheasant breasts for this recipe, you should not plan to serve them on a plate with a side of mashed potatoes like you would chicken legs or thighs. After roasting, pull the pheasant meat off the legs, dice it up, and incorporate it into a gravy to go on top of the mashed potatoes. Then serve that alongside those perfectly roasted pheasant breasts.

Use An Instant Pot To Make Pheasant Legs Tender

The only way I know how to make pheasant legs deliciously tender is making a Pheasant Confit (but I haven't gotten around to publishing that recipe - yet!) The other easier option is cooking them in an Instant Pot. Two of my favorite pheasant leg recipes using this method are Pheasant Pozole and Pheasant Pot Pie.

Tips For A Perfect Roast Pheasant

• Brining: Brining the pheasant is crucial for keeping the meat moist and flavorful. Make sure the brine is completely cool before submerging the pheasant to avoid any bacterial growth.
• Temperature: Using an instant-read meat thermometer ensures that your pheasant is cooked to perfection. Overcooking can make the meat dry, so aim for an internal temperature of 155 to 160 degrees F.
• Resting: Allowing the pheasant to rest after roasting helps the juices redistribute throughout the meat, making it more tender and juicy.

Pheasant Hunting in North Dakota

The beauty of pheasant hunting in North Dakota lies in its simplicity. It’s a walk with a shotgun. Your goal is to frighten a ground-dwelling bird into flight, so you can shoot at its green head with a distinctive red wattle. Even if you don’t find anything, you’ve had a nice walk in the fresh air. When you do find these upland birds, the jolt of excitement you feel as a hidden bird blasts off at your feet is only matched by the tasty reward of a pheasant on your kitchen table. 

More Ideas For A Pheasant Dish

If you are looking for more ideas for a pheasant dish, be sure and check out my Fried Pheasant Tenders and Buffalo Pheasant Dip and Pheasant Salad Sandwich and Pheasant and Potato Gnocchi Soup. Or you can find all my upland bird recipes here.

Come Pheasant Hunting in North Dakota

If you are headed our way for North Dakota pheasant season, check out the North Dakota Game & Fish Department website. And if you want me to come along with you as your camp cook, photographer, or butcher, you can find out more details here.

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