Plucking a pheasant

B

Bob Peters

Well-known member
I've got a bird hanging that I plan on plucking tomorrow. Any good recipes for a whole plucked bird? Preferably easier ones. P.S. I looked for a cooking section and didn't see any so I posted here.
 
Soak in buttermilk for 10 or so hours, then pat dry, let dry in the fridge for 10 hours and roast it in the over until the breast meat is 165 degrees.
 
Good luck plucking a pheasant. They are very difficult to pluck due to their thin skin. Best done immediately after harvesting while they are still warm. Hope it works out for you.
 
How long are you hanging? Can you or others with hanging experience shed some light on your experiences? I am intrigued and plan to try as soon as I can. Im seeing 3-7 days at 50-55 degrees with guts intact.
 
MinnHunter said:
How long are you hanging? Can you or others with hanging experience shed some light on your experiences? I am intrigued and plan to try as soon as I can. Im seeing 3-7 days at 50-55 degrees with guts intact.
Click to expand...
Depending on how warm or cold I will hang from 3-7 days. Warmer = shorter.

I just cleaned 2 birds I shot Sunday. Short time for me but it has been warm and I am going to be away for work this week. Last week I shot two on Friday and cleaned on Wednesday.
 
My late Father refused to let me skin a pheasant; so through my youth and well into H.S., I was a plucker. At the time of plucking, water was boiled and put into a bucket. Each bird was dipped into the bucket and a plucking, I would go. The boiling water helped minimize the skin tearing.
 
When I was a kid in the early 60s, I would have probably gotten the belt if I breasted out a rooster. Pheasant roasted with the skin on & stuffed with sweet dressing, or fried and gravy made from the drippings. Man, I don't know if food gets better than that...
 
Labs said:
When I was a kid in the early 60s, I would have probably gotten the belt if I breasted out a rooster. Pheasant roasted with the skin on & stuffed with sweet dressing, or fried and gravy made from the drippings. Man, I don't know if food gets better than that...
Click to expand...
I have always wanted to try a whole bird fried but never pursued it. worth it?
 
Well worth it, Hoster...
 
Labs said:
When I was a kid in the early 60s, I would have probably gotten the belt if I breasted out a rooster. Pheasant roasted with the skin on & stuffed with sweet dressing, or fried and gravy made from the drippings. Man, I don't know if food gets better than that...
Click to expand...

Haha. The first time I breasted a bird, my dad was not happy. When my mom stated how much easier it was for cooking certain pheasant dishes, plus the space I saved in her freezer, he changed his tune. I will have to say that the skin on, roasted pheasant with gravy sounds like something I will have to try.
 
Dakotazeb said:
Good luck plucking a pheasant. They are very difficult to pluck due to their thin skin. Best done immediately after harvesting while they are still warm. Hope it works out for you.
Click to expand...

If you hang a pheasant to age, then you have to dry pluck. I start from the bottom and end at the head. It takes a little while but it is actually easier to dry pluck after aging than it is to dry pluck when freshly killed. The skin will tear on a fresh one if you dry pluck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top