Pickle Brined Fried Pheasant Tenders are impossible to resist! Crunchy on the outside and juicy and perfectly seasoned throughout.
You know that Chic-fil-A place with the amazing pickle brined fried chicken nuggets that you can’t get on Sundays? Now you can! And you can use some of that pheasant you have in your freezer instead of chicken. Simply place the pheasant tenders in pickle juice in the morning and it will be ready to fry up at dinner time for a quick and tasty meal!
Pickle Juice Marinade
I love marinating pheasant tenderloins in dill-pickle juice for a full 8 hours so it has a chance to fully permeate the bird. It makes a huge difference on flavor and keeps them moist when frying. The pheasant tenders become crispy and golden brown after just a few minutes in the hot oil.
I like to feed my wife and daughter these pheasant tenders with some honey mustard or Yum Yum Sauce for dipping. Then I'll serve them up with a tasty side dish like a pasta salad. They’re also great thrown on top of a mixed green salad, or in a wrap.
For the best result, I prefer to let the pheasant tenders marinate in the dill pickle juice all day, but just 1 hour will work if you are short on time. But the flavor is SO much better after a few hours!
How To Make Fried Tenders
Every parent should learn how to make fried tenders for a quick weeknight dinner to feed the family.
1. Gather all of your ingredients.
2. Whisk together pickle juice and 1 egg in a medium bowl. Add pheasant tenders to the pickle juice mixture. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, ground rosemary, salt and black pepper. If you want to experiment a little with this fried tenders recipe, feel free to substitute Tony's Creole Seasoning or Old Bay Seasoningor another of your personal favorites for the garlic powder, paprika, rosemary, salt and pepper. Just be sure to stick with the base of flour, cornstarch, and baking powder so the breading sticks to the meal properly.
4. Set wire rack on rimmed baking sheet. Remove half of the pheasant tenders from the pickle marinade, add to flour mixture, and toss to coat, pressing to adhere. Transfer breaded pheasant tenders to wire rack. Repeat with remaining pheasant and remaining flour mixture. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. The pheasant tenders need to chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes after coating. This cooling time will help the layers of breading ingredients solidify and adhere to the meat better after the pheasant cooks.
5. Line a large plate with a few paper towels. Add oil to a large Dutch oven until it measures about 1 ½ inches deep. Heat oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees F.
Once you start frying the pheasant, be patient and don't flip them over too early. Wait until a golden rim appears around the edges of the pheasant before you turn it to the other side. You also want to make sure there's enough room in your cast iron skillet for the tenders to cook without overcrowding.
More Pheasant Recipes
If you are looking for more great ways to use pheasant in your diet, be sure and check out my:
- Pheasant Fritters
- Pheasant Pozole
- Pheasant Pot Pie
- Pheasant Florentine
- Buffalo Pheasant Dip
- Smoked Pheasant Tacos
- Pheasant Salad
- Pheasant Gumbo
- Pheasant Pizza
- Pheasant Olive Garden Gnocchi Soup
Come Pheasant Hunting In North Dakota
If you are headed our way to hunt pheasants in North Dakota, check out the Top 5 Places in North Dakota to Hunt Pheasants. And if you want me to come along with you as your camp cook, photographer, or butcher, you can find out more details here.
If you want to do a DIY public land hunt here in North Dakota, I highly suggest you take the time to read this article from Project Upland on "Tactics to Increase Public Land Hunting Success" written by Kyle Hedges.
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Pickle Brined Fried Pheasant Tenders
Ingredients
- 1 cup dill pickle juice (the leftover brine from a pickle jar)
- 1 egg
- 1 pound pheasant tenders, trimmed
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground rosemary
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 6 cups vegetable or canola oil
Instructions
- Gather all of your ingredients.
- Whisk together pickle juice and 1 egg in a medium bowl. Add pheasant tenders to the pickle juice mixture. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, rosemary, ½ teaspoon of the salt and ¼ teaspoon of the black pepper.
- Set wire rack on rimmed baking sheet. Remove half of the pheasant tenders from the pickle marinade, add to flour mixture, and toss to coat, pressing to adhere. Transfer breaded pheasant tenders to wire rack. Repeat with remaining pheasant and remaining flour mixture. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. The pheasant tenders need to chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes after coating. This cooling time will help the layers of breading ingredients solidify and adhere to the meat better after the pheasant cooks.
- Line a large plate with a few paper towels. Add the oil to a large Dutch oven until it measures about 1 ½ inches deep. Heat oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees F.
- Add half of the breaded pheasant tenders to the hot oil and fry for about 2 minutes until a golden rim appears around the edges before you turn them over to the other side to fry for another 2 minutes until deep golden brown.
- Transfer fried pheasant to the paper towel-lined plate. Return the oil to 350 degrees F and repeat the process with the remaining half of the pheasant. Sprinkle with the remaining salt and black pepper. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
Lauren says
Yum! Can't wait to try these in a few weeks when we go pheasant hunting.