Lets talk cleaning/processing after the hunt

B

ben ji

Member
I normally hunt about 5 hours away from where I live and throw all the birds in the "garage/workshop" fridge from 1975 until the day before or day that I leave.

Then I do a rough clean outside, breast them out and take the legs then do a little more cleaning inside (rinsing off feathers etc but just really trying to get on the road).

Throw the meat in the the cooler for the ride back then a 12-24 hr salt water brine when they get "home".

After that I get down to the nitty gritty and do a little more cleaning/processing (not sure of the correct term but I cut out the inside breast sliver and some tendons on the legs). Any breast or leg that is shot up I cut out some good chunks to ground into sausage or make into the pheasant nuggets. After another quick look over/cleaning at home I put the nuggets/breasts/legs in the freezer on a cookie sheet for about 1 hour before throwing them in a ziplock bag until I need them.

I found out that if you throw them all in the ziplock bag around room temp they will just stick together so I like to give them a quick freeze before throwing them in.

Tell me what you do or where I could improve.
 
The best thing to do, is clean them, and put them in the fridge, in cellophane, and cook them within 3 days 3 or 4 days. Don't freeze, they are better eating.
 
Cleaning for me depends on how lazy I'm feeling at the time. At the end of every day (or midday if it's hot and again in the evening if I get more) I just quickly breast the birds leaving both wings on, place into a zip lock then in a cooler/hotel fridge until I head home.

When I get home, I either do one of 2 things. It I'm not too lazy I cut the wings off with a tin snip and fillet the 2 breasts off the bone, rinse all the blood and feathers off, pat dry with a paper towel then vacuum seal and into the freezer. If I'm feeling real lazy or I get home real late, I just vacuum seal the breast "whole" with the wings and all attached. Then do a big clean of the breast once I've thawed them to cook. Either method, I don't notice a difference in taste with the vacuum sealer.
 
Remember that you need to follow transport rules depending on where you're hunting. That may vary by state.

I shoot mine and then clean them at home, but my house is only an hour away. I vacuum seal mine with the date on them and then put them in the freezer.
 
If I'm going home at the end of the day I'll clean them in my garage. I filet out the breast meat and take the thighs if the femurs are intact. Drumsticks go in the trash. Thighs get frozen separately for one big batch of carnitas at the end of the season. Breast meat gets frozen in water in a quart bag after a couple days in salt water in the fridge. One of the better, but more subtle, things about my home is that Monday is trash day.

If I'm headed to a hotel, birds are field dressed--wings and one foot removed, skinned, gutted--and put on/in ice in a cooler.
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
I most commonly lay them or hang them someplace 35-55 degrees for 3-5 days with feathers on & guts in. Then clean them, rinse well, vacuum seal, & freeze.
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This is the only correct answer. if you are not aging your birds, you don't really know what good pheasant tastes like. It would be like butchering cattle, taking the prime rib and throwing it right on the grill. You wouldn't like that!

As for the butchering, after 3-6 days of aging i will either filet out breast meat, then remove legs/thighs whole or take out the whole breast with bones. A quick clean up with a wipe down and portion birds one to a bag. I just bought a vacuum sealer so going to use that. I was angry with myself for finding two bags that made their way to the bottom of the freezer and got burned.
 
AtTheMurph said:
This is the only correct answer. if you are not aging your birds, you don't really know what good pheasant tastes like. It would be like butchering cattle, taking the prime rib and throwing it right on the grill. You wouldn't like that!

As for the butchering, after 3-6 days of aging i will either filet out breast meat, then remove legs/thighs whole or take out the whole breast with bones. A quick clean up with a wipe down and portion birds one to a bag. I just bought a vacuum sealer so going to use that. I was angry with myself for finding two bags that made their way to the bottom of the freezer and got burned.
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Interesting, leaving the guts intact doesn't seem natural. Beef, deer, and elk are skinned and gutted before "cooling". I can get behind this, but not sure I'm ready to eat it if the guts are intact through the process!
Tell me more/why... I'm genuinely curious.
 
gim said:
Remember that you need to follow transport rules depending on where you're hunting. That may vary by state.

I shoot mine and then clean them at home, but my house is only an hour away. I vacuum seal mine with the date on them and then put them in the freezer.
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Same. I love writing details in addition to the date. Maybe who hunted with me, or reminder of a great retrieve, or shot a double on a flush. Then when I pull out to cook I can relive a memory or two from that particular hunt.
 
I have a 12v fridge in both of my hunting vehicles. So far this season, birds that I've shot have been in one of those fridges for 2-3 days until I get around to cleaning them. It's pretty much staying below 50 degrees in my garage all the time now, so I'll start putting them in there for few days from this point on.
When I clean them, I filet the breasts and vacuum seal. I cut the legs quarters off with game shears and vacuum seal those separately. Cooked a few of those in the crock pot today and the meat will be used in a stir-fry tomorrow. I also like to use the leg meat to make soup.
 
Carguy2Banker said:
Interesting, leaving the guts intact doesn't seem natural. Beef, deer, and elk are skinned and gutted before "cooling". I can get behind this, but not sure I'm ready to eat it if the guts are intact through the process!
Tell me more/why... I'm genuinely curious.
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Great article: Hanging Game Birds

I really got interested after my mom said she liked pheasants. She didn't like any other game and wouldn't eat it. She reminded me that when my dad hunted (he stopped when I was about 10) he would hang his pheasants in the shed in the back. I had forgotten about that. So I went about finding what I could about it and gave it a try.

Like her, pheasant butchered the day you kill it is dry, tasteless, tough. Would have to use all sorts of mixes, covering agents, stewing for hours, etc to make it edible. I think that's why most recipes you see for pheasants include things like condensed soups, BBQ sauces, cream sauces.

A properly aged bird doesn't really need any of that, but if you want to make those then it's better in any event. I make Indian/Thai curries, Chinese stir fry, Pheasant noodle soups and simply roasted pheasants (after plucking, a PITA). Everyone I have served roasted pheasant to is shocked because they are all pheasant hunters. I just throw them in the oven with salt/pepper, like a chicken, until done. Rub a little butter on them when they are close to done to crisp up the skin
 
I quick clean, cutting away any shot up pieces. Into the Ice filled cooler, If I'm out west. When I get home, cleaned a little better, pick random feathers and into the fridge in salt water. Then after a day or so, into the sink for final cleaning. Ten smash dry in towels. Then into the vacuum sealer and freezer. I always do the salt soak before freezing. That way I know not to let them soak to long after thawing.
 
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