Pleasant Pheasant

Just like the average American eater, I prefer to be a safe distance from the reality of the dead animal I am eating. I am usually comfortable with beef or pork bones and I love my baby back ribs, but poultry bones with the ligiments and tendons are a little too real for me. I like my buffalo wings boneless and my chicken breasts in boneless skinless form. So when my husband was given two whole pheasants by a coworker who had brought them home from a hunting trip, I was a little reticent.

I had never made pheasant before, so I did some online research to get some tips and a recipe. My husband butchered the little guys for me, and we invited the neighbors over. We were all a little nervous about eating these pheasants, and it was blatantly clear that I had no idea what I was doing. I definately had my own doubts as the sauce I was making had plenty of ingredients that I am not used to using in my cooking, such as gin and grapes. But we all dove in and tried this strange meal with teeny little bird parts. I'll be honest, we kind of looked like we were kings and queens chowing down on a hearty meal in medieval times. The only thing missing was a jousting competition.

The pheasant itself was flavorful and meaty, a little like duck but not as greasy. We also had a red cabbage and wild rice dish with bacon that was a big hit, but the real star of the show was the sauce. The sauce was fruity and bold, and complemented the pheasant nicely. I even ended up using the leftover sauce as a marinade for chicken kabobs later that week.

I don't know if pheasant will be making an encore performance in our house, but it definately opened my eyes to alternatives to the standard beef/chicken/fish rotation, even when they involve tendons and ligaments.