Cleaning pheasants

https://honest-food.net/on-hanging-pheasants-2/

Please try it. It makes me shudder to think that none of you knows what real, aged pheasant tastes like.

No more dry as the Sahara breasts. No more flavor less meat.

Do yourself and anyone else who is going to eat pheasant with you and follow his advice. I hang my pheasants anywhere from 3-7 days depending on the temperature outside (in garage) or 4 days in my wine cellar (55 degrees) but wife doesn't like me to do that. She doesn't go in there often so I sneak them in on occasion but if she walks into a dead pheasant in the dark I hear about it.

And you don't have to pluck after hanging but if you take the time to hunt you should set some time to treat the birds like they should be treated.
 
https://honest-food.net/on-hanging-pheasants-2/

Please try it. It makes me shudder to think that none of you knows what real, aged pheasant tastes like.

No more dry as the Sahara breasts. No more flavor less meat.

Do yourself and anyone else who is going to eat pheasant with you and follow his advice. I hang my pheasants anywhere from 3-7 days depending on the temperature outside (in garage) or 4 days in my wine cellar (55 degrees) but wife doesn't like me to do that. She doesn't go in there often so I sneak them in on occasion but if she walks into a dead pheasant in the dark I hear about it.

And you don't have to pluck after hanging but if you take the time to hunt you should set some time to treat the birds like they should be treated.

This hunter knows of what he speaks. I’ve been hanging pheasants for aging for years. I hang them in the garage when it gets below 40F. Just a suggestion if you do this. Don’t hang them where they’ll hit your new bride in the face as she gets out of her car. I hear about that every season...

Those of you that cut out the backbone, how do you do that? Just cut through all the ribs them through the neck Amat the top? Any additional details would be greatly appreciated!
 
I hang them by the head. I make sure there’s adequate air flow around all the birds. I just goby a 3 day rule of thumb. I’ve gone ove that by a day if I got busy but not any longer. I clean them after they’re done hanging. I used to worry about leaking innards tainting the meat but it’s never happened to me.
 
Game shears for removing the backbone. Slicker than snot on a doorknob !!

First I've ever heard of yanking out the backbone. Tried it today and holy cow was that slick! Used a fillet knife instead of game shears but still worked really good. One yank and the spine came out with all the innards. Wish I'd known about this trick years ago! Just wanted to say thanks for the information. I'm the only hunter in the family so I'm self taught to put it generously. I appreciate you guys and gals sharing your knowledge on this forum.
 
In my younger and lazier years I just breasted them, and that appears to be what most people still do. I now skin them and keep them whole. I have really gotten into throwing a whole bird into the crockpot, then shredding the meat and using for a variety of things year round. BBQ sandwiches, putting on salad, tacos, chili, really anything you could use any other cooked or shredded meat for. A pheasant breast sandwich is still my all time favorite meal, so a few of them I'll breast out to save for that, and then freeze a few birds legs/thighs together to add to crockpot meals later.

For getting bones/tendons/junk out of the legs, I have found this trick to help A LOT! Except I never get them to come out as simple as they do in this video, I usually step on the legs and pull and then it all slides out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgE71ZtwRNI
 
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