Pheasants are one of my favorite game animals to cook and have a delightful flavor. The problem is that without the skin and fat left on them they tend to dry out when cooking and aren’t as juicy as I like. The recipe below solves this problem and is one of my favorite ways to prepare this tasty bird.

Wild Pheasant, Bacon and Wild Rice Casserole

Ingredients

– 2 Dressed Pheasants
– 2 Cups Wild Rice
– 1 Container (3 cups) Baby Portobella Mushrooms
– 3 Small onions
– 1/4lb of Bacon
– 1 1/2 quarts Chicken Broth
– 1/2 stick of Butter
– 1 cup white wine
– The Following Spices and Seasonings: Thyme, Sea Salt, Oregano, Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Olive Oil

Preparation

Set oven temperature to 300 and allow to warm while preparing the Pheasants for baking.

Wash and dress Pheasants in halves or quarters and place on a large cookie sheet pan. Season Pheasants with garlic salt, black pepper, thyme and sea salt then rub with olive oil. Place Pheasants on cookie sheet on the lower rack of your oven and allow to cook while you prepare the remainder of the ingredients. Remember to pull the Pheasant out of the oven just when the first signs of golden brown are showing.

In a medium pan add 2 cups of brown wild rice, 3 cups of chicken broth and butter and bring to a boil. Follow instructions on rice for cook time. Remove from heat and let stand until you are ready for mixing.

While the rice and pheasants are cooking it’s time for the fun part. Slice up the onions, mushrooms and bacon into a large sauce pan with a 1/2 cup of olive oil and place over medium heat. Sauté until the mushrooms are tender and the onions are glazed. Since you are preparing the meal it is ok if you pick out a few pieces of bacon at this time for “sampling”. Add remainder of chicken broth and 1 cup of white wine and bring to a boil. At this point add a pinch of oregano and ground pepper to taste. You can also add camp dog Cajun seasoning or crushed red pepper while it simmers if you like your food a touch spicier like me. Let boil for several minutes and then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes.

By this time your Pheasants should be done and ready for pulling. On a cutting board debone all the pheasant meat and dice into bite size pieces and place in a large mixing bowl. Once again this is a good time for the chef to “sample” the meat. It is ok if some of the meat is undercooked, that is what you want.

Return to your saucepan of mushrooms, onions and bacon and slowly lay in corn starch to thicken. I suggest placing 3 tablespoons of corn starch in a small glass and adding water then slowly pouring into sauce while stirring. You want your sauce to be the consistency of mushroom soup. Once thickened remove from heat.

Add your cooked wild rice to the large mixing bowl with the pheasant and stir until evenly mixed. Now pour the mushroom, onion, bacon sauce over the rice and pheasants and stir until even.

Scoop the mixture into a 3 inch or so deep casserole dish and sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top. When you are ready to serve place the dish in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until the edges are bubbling.

Remove from the oven, serve and watch the happy faces of those eating this fine dish.

This dish is Gluten Free.

Hope everyone enjoys.

Opie