So, I guess we're back to my original plan.

You guys go out and harvest the game (no rock crushing required) and then cook it up and serve it nicely with a good bottle of wine. No need to stomp the grapes yourself, you can buy the wine at the store. I'm nothing if not benevolent. ;)

I, in turn, will do my part by enjoying a great meal and applauding the cooks at the end.

Really, I can't see how that plan could be any better. In the absence of any mastadons or saber tooth tigers, it will just have to do.

By the way, skeet, how do you know what a saber tooth tiger would taste like. Do you have a time machine you're not telling the rest of us about? :D

And, lest we forget, the cooking skills of the cavepeople weren't all that advanced. I'm guessing "throw it on the fire and char it" was the best they could do. Doesn't sound all that appetizing to me.


GSG

Throw it on the fire and char it is about how blackened cajun anything goes :D

Besides some of the best meals I have ever cooked have been done on the fire.

GoodOlBoy

I won't deny you can cook a great meal over a fire. I'm just saying that cavepeople probably didn't have spices and regulated temperatures and all that sort of thing.

As to the cajun food, I'm from Michigan. We don't eat all that much cajun food up here. :D

GSG

Thats all I am sayin. . . .

Is that Nemo? :eek:

We do eat fish up here, and even some sushi on occasion. Fresh caught fish from the Great Lakes is pretty darn good.

GSG

GSP, Im not slackin- I volunteered to do the cooking when hunting and fishing season was out Skeet and I will bring home the bacon when season is in. AND GSG, I have no problem stomping the grapes, Im a WV hillbilly and everybody knows we dont wear shoes so I can just stomp away except for one problem, that is all living creatures including humans who come from WV have one leg longer than the other so we can walk around the mountain sides of course when we turn around and try to walk back it is quite a problem. I bet if we serve opossum stew, mushrat, and raccoon, we can get Larry Ours to help out (and he probably has a recipe). We can even have raccoon toothpicks beside the cash register for those who want them.

Do I want to know what a raccoon toothpick is?

I think we can dispense with stomping the grapes. I'm guessing the wine that resulted wouldn't be all that good. There are plenty of lovely wineries here where I live, so we won't be lacking for something to drink.

The next question would be what wine do you serve with opossum or raccoon? Just a note, anyone who says Boone's Farm or Thunderbird is going to be in serious trouble. In my world, we do not dignify those beverages by calling them wine. :D

By the way, what do raccoon and opossum taste like? Can't say I've ever had either.

GSG

Erm Mogen David's?

ya took away boones farm and thunderbird thats about all I got left darnit!

GoodOlBoy

Mogen David?

Oh dear. :D

GOB, if you feel that strongly about it, we'll have Thunderbird and Boone's Farm on the beverage menu. I'm nothing if not flexible.

Still wondering what opossum and raccoon taste like though. Also, how do you go about cooking them? Is there such a thing as opossum steaks?

I clearly have a great deal to learn.

GSG

Well now this is just getting worser and worser all da time. Not only do we have Skeet and Rubicon who want to do all the hunting, now we got GSG who wants to come by for some candle light dinner thingy. And on top of that Billy says I'm not purdy. I've got a notion to just stay home. Specially if there's no Boones Farm. :D

Hey, I can put on a pretty nice candle light dinner thingy, when I'm of a mind to do so. :D

And never mind what Billy says. As long as you think you're purdy, you are. ;)

GSG

1. Taste like--------chicken
2. Catawba Pink
3. Candle light THINGY (no way Im going there)

And all this started in a search for a good pheasant recipe.
LOL

It has migrated somewhat from the original topic.

Really, you had to go with tastes like chicken? I'm starting to think I could ask what blacktop tastes like and someone would say "chicken". :D

What is Catawba Pink? Is that some sort of wine? Are we talking Boone's Farm here?

Rubicon, do you have a bias against candlelight dinners? Or is it just the word "thingy" you object to? In my defense, Gspsonny used it first. So don't be blaming it on the girl. :D

GSG

Possum and coon
 

Possum sure don't taste like chikin...and neither does coon. Possum is kinda real greasy like and tastes a bit like pork. Coon...well he jus tastes lik coon er sumpin like groun hog..without the little bit o' musky flavor that dem ol groun hogs have..lessen ya git all dem musk glands off around da back. an as far as wine...what's the word??..Thunderbird... What's de price??...50 twice. BTW that ol Thunderbird wine..well it was made by Ernest and Julio Gallo...who sold no wine before it's time!! An ther is still a lot of wine in Europe that still gets stomped by womenfolk...and thingie is spelled ie on the end.....An Sonny..sombody don tol me you sho is purdy..so don'tcha lissin to Billy none. Wine?? wif dinner?? Who woulda thought? I thunk it was to be drinkin wile watchin football!!

I've got to say, possum and coon don't sound like they'll be on my top ten list of things to eat.

I also don't think I've heard of many people who drink wine while watching football. No reason why you can't I suppose. Guess I always thought of football as a beer sport.

Also, I've seen thingy (thingie) spelled both ways. I don't think the objection was to the spelling, it was to the use of the word. I imagine hunting forums probably don't play host to the word thingie too often. Although, in my defense, I wasn't the first to use the word. That should count, right? :D

GSG

Football an Beer??
 

Well heck. I didn't realize them ol boyz drink beer while watchin football. I don't really watch that either.. I go huntin:cool: :D

Candle light - wine = Good Grief !
Just plain old "Quail Shooters" Class of cheap beer + raw quail egg dropped in and down the hatch lol

Back to your Pheasant Recipe request....
 

Here's an absolutely awesome recipe that I have been doing for quite some time. Don't FRY your birds or dump them in with Cream of Mushroom! :rolleyes: Have some class with such a noble bird, Gang!!


Cranberry Pheasant & Pears

1/2 c. butter
2 lg. garlic cloves
2 Tbsp. shallot, minced.
4 whole Pheasant breasts, skinned, boned & halved (sliced in half, horizontally which makes them thinner), then floured.
1 c. cranberries, coarsly chopped.
3 ripe Pears, peeled and sliced to about 1/4".
2/3 c. brandy
1 c. heavy cream.
1 c. Sour Cream.
1/4 c. parsley
Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste.

Melt half the butter in a lg. heavy skillet. Add garlic & shallot - cook 1 minute.

Lightly season and then flour the halved Pheasant Breasts and cook in batches using the rest of the butter as needed, just until done, a few minutes each side. Remove to a platter & keep warm on a low setting in oven.

Add Cranberries to the remnants in the skillet, cook & stir 1 minute. Add Pear slices and cook until they are softened. Pour in brandy and get it to flame. Shake pan till brandy burns off. Add both creams to skillet, stir and heat but don't boil.

Pour sauce over breast halves and sprinkle with Parsley.

You'll love this one, it's fantastic! Works with Chicken, too.

Just for the record, and to go back to the original topic of this thread, we did have pheasant for Christmas.

Dad wanted to be traditional, so we had it slow cooked in the crock pot.

It was very yummy.

The good news is he has more birds, so we can try some of the other recipes.:)

GSG

Here are two for you Gunslingergirl:

Momma's Favorite:

One or two pheasants quartered (or cut into parts)

1 bottle of red french dressing
1 jar of apricot jam
1 packet of dry onion soup mix (I like Mrs. Grass)

In a greased (or cooking sprayed) 9x12 dish, arrange pieces and sprinkle soup mix over them. Mix the jam and dressing in a bowl and pour over pieces. Bake in a 350 degree pre-heated oven for 1-1 1/2 hours depending on your oven. Baste during cooking a couple of times.

Grandma's Pheasant (Grandma was born and raised on South Dakota pheasants):

You need pheasant pieces from how ever many pheasants you want to cook. Bread the pieces however you do it. I dredge in flour mixed with salt & pepper; drop in an egg wash; then dredge in bread crumbs with herbs and spices in it. My choices are curry cracked black pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley flakes, oregano, and basil. Experiment with that part and have fun with it. Anyways, pan fry the pieces just until the breading is golden brown on all sides. If you do it right, the breading will stay on the meat, but the meat will not be done. Fry on kind of high heat, but be careful not to burn the crust. Then bake the pieces for about an hour at 350 in a greased pan.

Either one of these recipes can be jazzed up or down at your preference.

Enjoy!
McPat

One more. This is for the birds old Munch Mouth gets his jaws on or the ones that get pummeled by two or three guns.


CREAMY WILD RICE AND PHEASANT SOUP


1 Pheasant
1 Large Onion, Chopped
1 Cup Celery, Chopped
1 Pound Fresh Mushrooms, Sliced
Margarine or Butter To Taste
1 Cup Flour
2 Cups Cooked Wild Rice
12 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
4 Cups Half and Half

Pressure cook or boil the pheasant until it is done (I put mine in the crock pot over night on low); chunk meat into small pieces. In a separate pan, saute onions, celery, and mushrooms in margarine or butter until tender. Sprinkle flour over vegetables until well coated (mixture will be pasty). To the freshly cooked wild rice, ad bouillon cubes. Add coated vegetables, pheasant bits, and half and half. Heat and stir to make sure the vegetables blend into the soup. DO NOT BOIL. Serves six.

MY VARIATIONS

I don’t use the bouillon cubes, but I salt and pepper to taste. I also use fresh garden herbs as available--thyme, sage, parsley and/or chives. These get thrown into the pot with the vegetables. I have also put broccoli and baby carrots in as additional vegetables, one cup each. Also I have added about a cup or two of the pheasant or chicken stock to the pot and topped the pot off with milk (you may also top off with more half and half). This will serve more than six depending on how big your pot is. (I always fill my biggest pot full.) By the way, you may substitute Rice-A-Roni or Uncle Ben’s wild rice mixes as the seasoning packets will help with the elimination of the bouillon cubes, plus they are easier to make than straight wild rice.

McPat

MCPat,

All those recipes sound good. Particularly the pheasant soup. I'll have to try that.

Thanks,

GSG

Gunslingergirl,

They are all very good. The soup is a little involved, but your patience will be rewarded. I have two for you.

Italian Pheasant:

One pheasant quartered or in parts
One bottle of your favorite italian dressing

Cover peices with dressing in a greased baking dish and bake at 350 for an hour or so in a covered baking dish, basting a few times during baking.

Chineese Pheasant:

One pheasant in parts
1 Tbls salt
1/2 cup flour
1 stick butter or margarine
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup catsup
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbls garlic powder
(I would personally add some curry powder because I like it!)

Season meat with salt & dredge in flour. Saute meat in melted butter until golden brown. Mix soy, ketchup, honey, & garlic powder in a small bowl. Pour over meat, cover & cook in a pre heated oven @ 350 for an hour.

I've been known to make chicken salad with leftover pheasant meat for the kid's lunches. I just think you need to have fun with it in the kitchen.

McPat

P.S. For those of you that like pheasant in the crock pot with cream of chicken and/or mushroom soup, try sauteing a cup of chopped carrots, celery each and two cups of onions with a few cloves of carlic and ground black peper and throw that in the pot too. Also whatever spices or herbs you have on hand that you like. I encourage you to experiment with the things you have on hand. Then get back to me and let me know what you come up with;)