This was from a few weeks ago. We go to South Dakota every year to hunt pheasants with my cousins on their farms. It's always a great trip and even a bad year is a great year. This year was no different. Though we saw the fewest number of birds I can ever recall, we shot well and had our limit for the first three days, and came up 3 shy the last day. In this picture is my brother, my youngest son, my oldest son, and my cousin (and host), and me. These trips are a fantastic family event. Normally my Dad is with us but this year he was in hospice care and couldn't make it (he's gotten so much better though, that they kicked him out and now he's in rehab!). My oldest son started hunting with us 4 years ago and has become a pretty good shot. This was the first trip for my youngest. he was too young to shoot, but he loved going along and walking with, and seeing what a great hunting dog we have. My boys, dog and I will be back out there in two weeks to get the ones that got away this last time.
I do cook them and I think they taste excellent. My boys love to eat them, but my wife and daughter won't touch them (more for us!). The closest thing in taste & texture would be chicken, but chicken is very bland compared to pheasant, and pheasant is much leaner. You have to be careful not to dry out the meat when you cook it because it is so lean. The common way to cook it around here is to throw it in the crockpot with cream of mushroom soup and rice, but I usually cook it one of three other ways. My boys favorite way is when I debone them, cube the meat, lightly fry it in oil then spray it with lemon juice and sprinkle them with Greek seasoning. The bird never makes it to the table this way because my boys are literally standing next to the stove, plates in hand, waiting for it to be done. The second way is to make Pheasant Fingers (like chicken fingers). I really like these and any leftovers make a great lunch the next day. Rarely do we have leftover though. Finally, I like to make pheasant noodle soup. What I want to get is a recipe for pheasant sausage. The thighs are full of tendons and difficult to eat. I figured if I could take all of those, cook them up, and grind them into some sort of sausage, it would be a great way to use that meat.
Pheasant noodle soup! Da' bomb! You, sir, are a true gourmand. And pheasant is truly the food of kings.
I don't eat much fast food anymore. I love eating wild game. I've only had pheasant once when I was a little kid. I just saw the meat and scarfed down a whole bunch of it. To me, it's pretty similar to dove which also makes for a good staple food. I also like that you are taking your boys out, it's a good bonding experience. It's also a good skill to know how to hunt and field dress your kills. Your kids will remember that and appreciate you for it when they look back on their childhood.
Thanks for the comments, guys. Tonight I cut up some venison and browned it, and cut up the potatoes and vegetables so I can make a big pot of venison stew tomorrow. Food tastes better when you've worked hard to obtain it, be it wild game or something from the garden!
And you can literally say you put food on the table. That's my favorite part about going out and killing an animal. I'm also really thankful that I got one even if it isn't a trophy buck. My uncle is taking me squirrel hunting and rabbit hunting so I can learn how to field dress those animals and prepare them.
