Pheasant Stew Recipe - How to Make Pheasant Stew (2024)

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4.90 from 29 votes

By Hank Shaw

December 27, 2018 | Updated June 16, 2020

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Pheasant Stew Recipe - How to Make Pheasant Stew (2)

When you decide to make pheasant stew you can go in any number of different directions. But you might as well go classic French and make your pheasant stew a real-deal coq au vin.

Coq au vin simply means “rooster in wine,” and it has historically been made with an old, usually troublesome rooster chicken. And when I say historically I mean it: This recipe has been around since Roman times.

Most people make coq au vin with a store-bought chicken, and this is OK, but nothing like the real dish, which needs an old bird. A stewing hen is a good option for non-hunters, but a pheasant is better. After all, it’s a rooster, a coq.

Yes, you can make this stew all at once, but it’s better if you marinate the bird in de-alcoholized wine for a day or three. What’s that mean? Wine you bring to a simmer, then cool. Why bother? Fully alcoholic wine as a marinade can impart a weird, tinny flavor to the meat. It’s not so huge that you’ll hate your pheasant stew if you don’t do this, but it is noticeable enough to make the extra effort worth it.

What wine? Something you’d drink on a Tuesday, which is to say decent enough to drink, but not that $100 bottle of Châteauneuf du pape you have hidden in the cellar.

What if you don’t have a pheasant? Any white meat works. I’ve use grouse of various species, partridges, rabbits, even quail. Wild turkey would be OK, too, as would the aforementioned stewing hen, which if you’re looking are best bought in Latin markets.

This pheasant stew, unlike some of my other recipes on this site, is easy-peasy to make and needs only your time to be wonderful. Be warned: If you are actually using really old chicken roosters, as I’ve done before, they can take a powerful long time to get tender. I once made this with a five-year-old chicken rooster that took nearly 7 hours to get tender. Your pheasant should take about 3 hours.

And keep in mind this is a hearty stew, where the broth is cooked down to make a sort of hybrid broth/sauce. Serve it in shallow bowls.

Serve your coq au vin with a nice red wine, crusty bread, maybe a salad.

4.90 from 29 votes

Pheasant Stew

This is a simple pheasant stew based on the French coq au vin, which means rooster in wine. Make it on a lazy weekend day in winter. Serve with more wine, lots of crusty bread and a big green salad.

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Course: Soup

Cuisine: French

Servings: 6 people

Author: Hank Shaw

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours hours

Total Time: 3 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 or 2 whole pheasants, skin-on or skinless
  • 1/3 pound diced bacon
  • 1 pound mushrooms
  • 1 large sweet onion, sliced thick
  • 2 large carrots, sliced into coins about the thickness of your pinky finger
  • 1 head garlic, cloves peeled but whole
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • Salt
  • Black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced fine
  • 1 bottle decent red wine, something you would drink
  • ½ cup brandy
  • Pheasant or chicken broth

Instructions

  • Marinate the pheasant in wine, bay leaves, and thyme for a day or two in the refrigerator.

  • When you’re ready to cook, cook the bacon over low heat in a heavy, oven-proof pot, ideally a brazier or a Dutch oven. When it’s crispy, remove the bacon with a slotted spoon. Turn the heat up to medium.

  • Pat the pheasant pieces dry and brown them in the bacon fat. Take your time, and do this slowly but surely. It could take 15 minutes. Remove pheasant pieces to a bowl as they brown.

  • Brown the onion and mushrooms. Once they’re just turning color, add the carrots and garlic. Cook another 2 minutes.

  • Sprinkle the flour over everything and stir to combine. Cook this, stirring often, until the raw-flour taste cooks away, about 10 minutes.

  • Pour in the brandy, and stir it in to incorporate. The stew will become very thick. Add the wine from the marinade, and stir that in, too. Return the pheasant to the pot, along with any juices that accumulated. If you need it, add enough broth to cover everything by an inch or so. Stir in the herbs and add salt to taste.

  • Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for at least 90 minutes, then start checking to see if the leg/thighs are tender. You want them almost to the point of falling off the bone.

  • When the meat is tender, remove it, along with the mushrooms and onions, and put them in a bowl. Put foil over them to keep them warm.

  • Turn heat up to high in the pot. Boil down the liquid by half or until it thickens to the point of being a sauce or loose gravy. I like to put everything through a food mill’s medium plate for a smooth and silky sauce, but that's not strictly necessary. You could strain it to get the loose bits out if you wanted.

  • Return the vegetables and meat to the sauce and serve at once.

Nutrition

Calories: 434kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 231mg | Potassium: 538mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 3625IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe? Tag me today!Mention @huntgathercook or tag #hankshaw!

Categorized as:
Featured, French, Pheasant, Grouse, Quail, Recipe, Wild Game

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About Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet’s largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

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Pheasant Stew Recipe - How to Make Pheasant Stew (2024)

FAQs

Which cooking method is best for pheasant? ›

Along with whole birds, our butchers prepare boned and stuffed pheasants for easy cooking and carving. We recommend roasting these in oil or fat for one hour at 180ºC.

How do you prepare pheasant? ›

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add pheasant legs and thighs and season with salt, pepper, oregano, and paprika. Cook until golden brown and no longer pink inside (roughly 8 minutes per side).

Do you have to soak pheasant before cooking? ›

I personally like a little bit of the natural flavor, so I only soak for 12 hours before cooking. Leave as much of the skin on the meat as possible: Pheasants typically have very little fat on them, especially around the breast meat, so they can dry out quickly during cooking.

How to cook pheasant stew in slow cooker? ›

Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2min, then gradually stir in the hot stock and the cider and bring to the boil, stirring frequently. Carefully pour the mixture over the pheasant pieces in the slow cooker, season well, then cover and cook on Low for 6-7hr until the pheasant is tender.

What are two preparation techniques would you use to cook pheasant? ›

While pheasant meat is versatile, it has less fat than other meat, so care must be taken during the cooking process to ensure that the meat stays moist, otherwise it will dry out and overcook quickly. Pheasant can be prepared in many ways, but roasting and grilling are the most popular cooking methods.

How do you boil pheasant meat? ›

1) Start by slow boiling the pheasant legs in water for roughly 15 minutes / or slow cooking in a crock pot for an hour. 2) Remove the legs from the broth and let cool. 3) Reduce the remaining broth to simmer.

What is the cooking time for a pheasant? ›

To cook: Preheat the oven to 220C, gas mark 7. Place the pheasant in a roasting tin and cook in the centre of the oven for 50 minutes. Baste frequently during cooking. Cook thoroughly until the juices run clear when pierced with a fork and there is no pink meat.

What pairs well with pheasant? ›

Cranberry Sauce: The tartness of cranberry sauce can provide a delightful contrast to the rich pheasant meat. It's a classic pairing that many enjoy. Green Vegetables: Steamed or sautéed green vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus, or green beans add a fresh and vibrant element to the plate.

Why do you soak pheasant in salt water? ›

Roberts said prior to cooking the bird, the gamey taste can be pulled out by soaking it in milk and the blood can also be extracted. "I normally soak them (pheasant) overnight in a salt water ... it pulls the blood out," Roberts said.

Why do you soak pheasant in milk? ›

The point is to make sure that you're using the dairy to enhance the dish you plan on cooking with your wild game. Neutralization Some folks don't like what many identify as “gamey” flavors. If you've ever eaten venison that didn't quite taste right, I'm willing to bet you've looked into the milk-soaking method.

Can pheasant be cooked pink? ›

Do not be alarmed if the thigh meat is pink. As long as the internal temperature is at least 154° and the meat is not translucent, the thighs will be perfectly safe to eat and much tastier than if overcooked! Farm-raised or wild pheasant can be treated more as a red meat rather than a white meat in the kitchen.

Should pheasant juices run clear? ›

To test when the pheasants are cooked pierce the thigh with a fine skewer, the juices should run clear. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with game chips (or use good quality crisps), bread sauce and a gravy made with the onion flavoured juices.

Do you need to brown stew before slow cooker? ›

While this step isn't essential, and you'll still get a perfectly good meal at the end, browning your meat and veg beforehand is a complete slow cooker game changer. Why? This simple step intensifies the flavour of a really amazing stew or casserole.

Is stew better in crockpot or stove? ›

While you can make a beef stew on the stovetop or also in the Instant Pot, I'm partial to using my slow cooker for beef stew, to give the ingredients that long, unattended time they need to become really tender and delicious.

Is stew better in the oven or slow cooker? ›

You can make a good stew in either a slow cooker or on the stove. The big advantage of a slow cooker is that you can safely put your ingredients in before you leave for work then after work your dinner is done.

What cooking methods are used for game birds? ›

Because farm-raised game birds are usually young and tender, they can be roasted, sautéed, grilled, and barbecued. The most important thing to remember about them is they are usually very lean. Therefore, they are best served slightly rare. If cooked to well done, they become dry.

How should most game birds be cooked? ›

Heat all game bird meats to 165°F (74°C) to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. Use a calibrated food thermometer to ensure proper cooking temperature is reached. If you will be stuffing birds, stuff just before cooking.

How do you make pheasant not tough? ›

Many people use heat that's too high or cook pheasant too long, Hill said. A slow cooker is a great way to help avoid that trap. Another method: marination. For his award-winning sandwich, Hill marinated his pheasant in Burgundy for about two days before cooking.

How should you cook game birds? ›

Moist cookery methods, such as stewing or braising, are appropriate for older birds. To decrease the distinctive taste of some wild game, trim off as much of the fat as possible. Older or skinned birds may become dry during baking. You may want to wrap the birds with bacon to prevent them from drying out.

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