On Hanging Pheasants
Nov 27th, 2008 | By Hank | Category: Wild Game | Comments | 50 Comments |
I have for several years recoiled at the idea of hanging game birds. The idea of hanging shot pheasants or partridges undrawn and in the feathers for days and days just did not seem terribly hygienicor sane to me. Old texts wax rhapsodic about the sublime flavor of “high” game, which usually means pheasants and usually means birds that have hung for more than a week. This, I decided, was madness.
I was wrong.
I apologize for not posting in nearly a week, but life has been busy and I am in the middle of two experiments: One involving a pig’s head and various offal I will write about soon. The other has been a systematic look at the science of hanging game birds.
Nearly everyone who reads this space would probably agree with me that dry-aged beef is the finest expression of that meat. It is concentrated, savory and tender — and very expensive because dry-aging necessarily means a layer of crusty, slightly moldy ick on the outer edges of the meat. This is cut off before selling or serving.
Hanging beef — and especially venison — is important in part because beeves tend to be dispatched at about 18 months to 2 years old, old enough to get a tad tough on the teeth. A whitetail buck sporting trophy antlers is likely to be 3-6 years old. Why not hang pork, you say? Hogs are slaughtered young. Ditto with domestic chickens. Young animals are already tender, so that aspect of aging isn’t needed.
Enter the pheasant. A pheasant really is a “ditch chicken.” It is a close cousin of the domestic chicken and when eaten fresh has, as Brillat-Savarin puts it in his The Physiology of Taste
Plucking a pheasant is also less than a joyful experience, so I had shied away from them in favor of ducks, which are better tasting fresh and which pluck far easier. But our friend Peter invited us to the Camanche Hills Hunting Preserve last weekend to chase pheasants, and after about 6 miles of tramping around, we managed to put four birds in the bag.
Now after the Adventure of the Unkillable Pheasant, I was ready to get down to some serious pheasant business. That bird I did not hang, and while it came out well roasted simply, I knew there had to be something more to what LP De Gouy 
I put our four pheasants in the salami fridge, which is set at 55 degrees. One had a big open spot on it where the breast skin had been ripped, so that bird I plucked after just one day. More on him later.
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Off to the library. One of my idiosyncrasies (I have many) is that I collect game cookery books. I have many, and several discuss hanging game birds.
The great Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin doesn’t give a timetable, but says, “the peak is reached when the pheasant begins to decompose; its aroma develops, and mixes with an oil which in order to form must undergo a certain amount of fermentation, just as the oil in coffee can only be drawn out by roasting it.” Sounds pretty hardcore.
Roy Wall wrote in 1945: “The flesh of either wild game or domesticated animals and fowl can certainly be improved by aging, but it is my opinion that there must be a limit to the aging process…aging in the open air for 10 days or a month, according to weather conditions, is, in my opinion, most beneficial to domestic and wild meat alike.”
Don’t freak out. Roy doesn’t specify what game he’s talking about there, and aging an old buck deer in proper conditions for a month isn’t such a crazy idea, although I’d prolly cut it down after two weeks. More recently, Clarissa Dickson Wright
The current Authoritative Source on All Things Meat is Englishman Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, who in his River Cottage Meat Book
This is what the food writers say, but to me that’s only a piece of the puzzle. What about science?
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Fortunately science exists on the topic of hanging game birds. My best source is an Australian government publication that did some rigorous experiments. For example:
Pheasants hung for 9 days at 50°F have been found by overseas taste panels to be more acceptable than those hung for 4 days at 59°F or for 18 days at 41°F. The taste panels thought that the birds stored at 59°F were tougher than those held for longer periods at lower temperatures. Pheasants hung at 50°C became more ‘gamy’ in flavour and more tender with length of hanging.
Aha! One issue solved. Food writers rarely talk about temperature of hanging because most of them think about hanging pheasants outside, which is fine if you don’t live in California; even now it is too warm to properly hang game. It seems 50 degrees is ideal, and the 55 degrees my fridge is set at is acceptable.
Furthermore, an English study from 1973 found that clostridia and e. coli bacteria form very rapidly once you get to about 60 degrees, but very slowly — and not at all in the case of clostridia — at 50 degrees.
That same study found that field care of the birds is vital. Under no circumstances should you allow pheasants to pile up in warm conditions because doing so will slow cooling so much that the dead birds will develop bacteria in their innards. This is no bueno.
All the bacteria and taste tests converge on two things: 50-55 degrees and 3-7 days. That’s your takeaway, folks.
Left undiscussed is the importance of feathers and innards. Brillat-Savarin speaks about a mysterious “oil,” and Wall talks about bacterial decomposition. Here’s my take: The feathers provide protection for the skin against drying out during aging. Pluck the feathers right away and you can still age the bird, but the skin will be unacceptably dried out and unusable.
As for the guts, I am on the fence here. I think they do add something: Fish guts will affect the fillets because of the animal’s digestive enzymes. No reason to think land animals aren’t the same way, although at 50-55 degrees this is going to take some time to develop — for what it’s worth, a pheasant’s body temperature runs about 105 degrees.
Yet, when I plucked and gutted my pheasants this week I noticed two things: One, they were pretty dry inside, and two, the innards in three of the four birds looked fine and wholesome, not ratty and stinky. Maybe this je ne sais quoi does not appear until later.
* * *
All of which brings me to my own first experiments with hanging pheasants. Like I mentioned before, I had one damaged bird I let hang for only a day. This bird’s body was drier and tighter than a fresh-killed bird, and I dry-plucked it because of the damage.
This pheasant went into a pheasant and pork pie, which turned out to be an outstanding dish. Hat tip to Fergus Henderson
That left three birds. I plucked the next one at three days. This is the beginning of the sweet spot in the Australian study. I noticed that this bird was pretty limp, but there was no bad smell and the fat and giblets looked pristine. I was, honestly, pretty shocked. I jointed this bird because that’s what I do with most pheasants; the legs and thighs always need more time than the breast.
The aging really came into play with the breast. It was soft, not unpleasantly so, but definitely less firm than the day-old bird or a fresh one. Hmmm…
Then it hit me: These Camanche pheasants are pen-raised and have only been wandering around wild for days or weeks (months at the most). They were all young birds. I had originally planned to leave one bird for a full week, but scotched that idea immediately. I plucked the next two birds at 3 1/2 days and 4 days. I kept both whole.
A few things you should know. Don’t try to wet-pluck an aged pheasant as I instruct you to here. You must dry-pluck these birds because the skin gets looser and scalding did not seem to help one bit with the feathers. It was a major bummer to scald one bird and rip some of the skin. Dry-plucking, you should be warned, sucks. It takes forever, but is worth it for the results.
To eat the giblets or not? I’d say go for it for birds up to three days, if they have not been shot up. Any sign of ickiness in the innards and toss them at once. One way to tell if you are unsure is to render the fat the way you would with a duck. If it stinks, toss it.
So, to wrap up, here’s what I found:
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Keep your birds as cool and as separate as possible in the field. Use a game strap, not the game bag in your vest. Separate your birds in the truck or put them in a cooler — do not get them wet!
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Hanging your birds by the neck or feet does not matter, as several studies has shown.
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Hang the birds between 50-55 degrees for at least three days, up to a week with an old rooster. Old roosters will have horny beaks, blunt spurs and feet that look like they have been walked on for quite some time. They will also have a stiff, heavy keelbone. Hen pheasants only need 3 days.
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Do not hang any game birds that have been gut-shot or are generally torn up. Butcher these immediately and use them for a pot pie.
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Dry-pluck any bird that has hung for more than 3 days.
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Wash and dry your birds after you pluck and draw them. Only then should you freeze them.
There is a final test I have yet to do: Eat the birds. As this is Thanksgiving week and I am about to head out for a major duck hunt, this will have to wait. I will be sure to report back when I cook them.
This makes for fascinating reading, and I look forward to your taste test results! I was going to refer you to Fearnley-Whittingstall but I see you have already availed yourself of that and more resources. I haven’t read closely enough to understand why hanging makes such a difference but clearly it is the preferred method for serious game lovers. Good luck, good eating, and happy Thanksgiving!
–Andrea
So what are your thoughts on grouse then? Worth trying, I suppose? And come on, how do you get your bird dry-plucked so cleanly…the ducks I did recently don’t look nearly that pristine! Good luck on the duck hunt!
I’d hang grouse 3 days; 5 days tops. As for the dry-plucking…practice and patience, man, practice and patience. You just have to let yourself go zen about it…
I’m a duck hunter in Florida. I know hunters with generations of experience who mock me for plucking, gutting, rinsing, and freezing my birds the day they are killed. Most of them
leave their ducks in the fridge for several days. And they never ever rinse a cleaned bird.
I’ve resisted this because too many birds end up gut shot and I wasn’t sure if that flavor would foul the fowl. What’s your take?
ofs
OFS: I would think “mock” is too strong, but you can definitely hang ducks, although most sources I read say don’t hang them for more than 3 days.
As for not rinsing them, I’ve heard that, too. I won’t rinse a nice bird that was not gut-shot and that plucked cleanly — a rarity, to be sure, but you get a stronger, “duckier” flavor by not rinsing.
I typically pluck and gut immediately and age the plucked birds in the fridge (covered) for up to 5 days before freezing.
Okay Hank, not that I’ll ever actually use this info (maybe, who knows) but I’m unclear about a particular point. Do you gut the birds right away? Or do you just let the entire ungutted, unplucked bird hang in the 50-degree fridge for several days, and then gut it?
Man, this is about the most informative site I’ve ever read. I ruined ducks by hanging them, and was worried and turned off of ever hanging anything again, but this thread makes many things clear.
Now, if I can only shoot a bleeping pheasant.
One question: What about us who don’t have a salami freezer or extra refrigerator?
Thank you – I’ve always wondered about hanging wild birds – it’s always seemed a little bit wrong to me – and have been meaning and meaning to research the science. And now you’ve kindly done it for me in this most interesting post.
Great information! I like to let quail sit in my fridge for 5 to 7 days undrawn and still feathered..boy do they taste great! My favorite is to smoke them for about 30 mins than grill with bacon!
Wow! This is a fascinating post, Hank. On a semi-related note, I have a large elk sirloin roast (about 4 pounds) that I can’t possibly eat fast enough (I’ll be out of town all week). I was going to dry age it in the fridge.
I have heard about terrines made by Frenchmen using well-nigh rotten ducks that are evidently amazing.
totally fascinating and I don’t even eat the darn things. they are pretty though.
Great work, Hank. This is really interesting and makes me even more eager to take up hunting.
Elise: Yep. Ungutted. You can of course gut your birds, but then you have opened a path to bacteria, or at the very least you have a cavity that will dry out. Some people do this, and I would for an especially long hanging…
Josh: If you don’t have a proper place, hang them in the garage or basement at night and in the morning, then in the fridge when it gets above 60 degrees in your space.
Shawn: Nice idea — that’s a long time for quail, but I may try it. I think you are getting away with such a long hang time because it is so cold in the fridge.
Heather: DEFINITEY dry age that puppy. It is a perfect cut and weight for this. Make sure your fridge is humid by putting an open bowl of water in there. Air circulation is important.
An awesome post – I have learnt a ton here – in adidtion to the info in Hugh’s Meat book.
The Two Fat Ladies were amazing. Like you, one of my favorite food shows, heck one of my favorite TV shows ever!
OUTstanding! My friend Jaybird intro’d me to this site. Been hunting birds for 51 years and you have finally addressed ALL my hang-ups! I’m HOOKED!
What would you recommend for my usual Duck Breasts routine: I skin the fresh duck exposing the breasts, fillet out the breasts, and freeze them in mild salt water solution. Result is a “mild” duck flavor, “fresh” smelling even after 2+ years in the freeze. No Freezer Burn. Great for Duck Scallopini or Duck Stroganoff. Would I “enjoy” them more by hanging first? Whole duck or just breasts?
Teach an old dog some new tricks, please!
Cheers, Donny B.
Off topic — but it would be great it you’d add an e-mail subscription to your site. I bet there’s lots of game/fisherman/etc folks who’d appreciate it! (Okay, I know just one but HE would love it.) Thanks!
I didn’t see Janie Hibler’s classic “Wild About Game” on your list. Do you have it? If you’ve seen it, what do you think? I’m thinking about getting it for someone for Christmas.
At home, in England, the local lord had a weekly hunt and the gamekeeper would always hang the birds for eight or nine days, guts and all, in a stone shed attached to his house which always felt just cold (50 F). They were around the walls on what looked like coat hooks and I suppose replaced the next week by the new birds. All bred for the sports.
Great taste and not too hard to pluck. The traditional gift at Christmas was a brace (cock/hen) unplucked. Not had the chance since I moved here but long for that well hung bird.
Rfrancis: I am suprised that pen-raised pheasants would stand up to 8-9 days of hanging. I’d stick to no more than 5 for a pen-raised bird, but I would go more than a week for an old rooster.
KAB: I am not a fan of that book, as it focuses on farm-raised game animals.
Alanna: I’ll work on it. It is a great idea!
Donbny B: I am not an advocate of skinning ducks, as the flavor is in that yummy fat (stinky divers would be the exception). You can hang ducks for 2-4 days, but not much longer, as the fat goes off. As for freezing, buy a vacuum-sealer. Best hunting investment I’ve made since I bought my shotgun.
Hi Hank. Great site, and a great article on hanging and plucking. Quick question. I went beating for the first time on Saturday (it’s now Monday evening) and was given a few pheasants from the shoot. They were stored in a bag in my friend’s shed overnight and have been in the boot of the car since (the shoot was in Scotland, I live in the south west of the UK). The outside temperature has not been higher than 50 degrees, but do you think the birds will still be ok to eat, and should I bother hanging them for another few days or get straight down to plucking them in the morning. By then they will have been stuffed together in the bag in the back of my car for a couple of days! Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks, Rich
Rich. Glad you noted that you are from the UK. “Beating” here in America means something quite different…How warm did the birds get? I am a little concerned they were in the truck in a bag — no air circulation, possible warm temps from the motor — I’d say dry pluck them carefully and use common sense: You will be able to tell if they’ve gone off by smell.
I was fortunate to have caught this post as my three young sons just took several pheasants and chukar yesterday. I gutted all the birds but left the feathers on. I just finished hanging the m in my garage at 45 degrees it is a mite cool. I tried hanging birds many years ago and I do recall a much better flavor and texture. I plan to take at least one more trip this year and will try hanging undrawn birds. The weather has been very erratic in southern MD with temps up into the sixties. I think that January will be good for hanging birds in the garage.
Carlos: 45 degrees is just fine for hanging. Are they wild birds? If so, you can get away with hanging them more than 3-4 days…and since they are drawn, you can always shove a wad of paper towels into the cavity to keep it dry.
Found your posting on hanging game birds very interesting.
As a falconer in my first season with ‘Skadi’ a fairly large Female Harriss Hawk she took her first pheasant today, a large but extremily attractive cock. Your article is therefore going to be quite useful!
As a ‘foody’ family just beginning to get into the grow your own and wild food approach my daughters and their guys will all find this site useful.
All the best for 2009
Hello all,
A friend guided me to this link at the forum I frequent (The Snipe Hunter’s Forum) and I must say I am very glad to be here. This post about hanging game just about explained nearly everything to me about the subject.
However, living in Southeast Asia, where temperatures are (now) in the high 80s and low 70s (the coldest here since Magellan rediscovered these beautiful isles), hanging game is generally not done. We tend to stick it in the freezer and get it out when one decides to cook it. So, to hang game, which I think is a must to get the most flavor out of it, is necessary, for me at least.
As my username suggests, I tend to have plenty of snipe – and doves, moorhen and ducks, actually – in the fridge. In the future, I would like to hang the birds, as the ones in the freezer are dressed already. What would your suggestions be regarding hanging these smaller birds?
Warm regards,
Snipe Shooter
Snipe Shooter: Thanks for coming by! I hope to hunt more snipe next season (ours ends next weekend). Ducks and moorhens should not be hung more then 3 days, in my opinion, because the fat tends to go off in that time.
Doves don’t need hanging at all: They are always young birds (less than a year old) and are so small they really don’t need it.
Snipe and woodcock, however, reportedly do well when hung for 3-5 days, from the neck, in the feathers.
In your weather, I’d say hang in the fridge.
Hank,
Thank you for the prompt reply.
I may have to look for another fridge to age the birds, the wife and daughters may freak out if they see whole birds with feathers and everything hanging among the left over pasta…Pity, our fridge would be just right with the temperature adjustment and everything…
The Pho recipe looks really good. Got to try that. It is quite different from the Thai kind, though they do have similarities.
Congratulations on a really good site! I know I will be around more often.
Regards,
Snipe Shooter
very informative site. thanks. always arguing with my dad who says not to hang pheasant. i always do, and will have great pleasure presenting this to him.
aldo
england
Thankyou very much for a great article this cleared up all my questions on hanging pheasants Gary
I can’t fathom the idea of aging this chickens or game fowls. I really thought that day old food are not safe to eat. It’s like preparing a spoiled “food for lunch”. Anyway, it seems you substantiated your claims might furthermore learn from this way.
I’m enjoying your site, very informative and entertaining to read. My dad used to hang pheasants in our garage in the midwest for about a week, sometimes longer if it stayed cool/cold, less if it warmed up outside. We skinned the birds tho, never thought of plucking them, at least I didn’t. Washed, dried and froze them or smoked then froze them. Tasty memories. I miss eating them, no natural pheasants here in AK but I do still have some of the pelts from those beautiful birds from years ago.
Long hung game birds are very much an aquired taste and in my mind slightly dangerous. I hang my Phesants in a cool place for 4 or 5 days and if not roasting them I skin them which is quicker and easier than plucking.
You don’t eat “Hung ” Pork as pork develops toxins very quickly. Probably the origin of the pig prohibition of the Jews and Muslims.
Adrian
Haa many thanks cleared alot up for me as a first timer on game and hanging. I`ve just been givern a brace of pheasants by my gaffa of a shoot he done yesterday and as a semi skilled cook i was a bit nervous about all the hanging etc that goes with them so once again cheers.
Some years ago I read a magazine article that was similar to this one. That year I had bagged many phesants so I thought that I would sacrafice 2 of them and try this hanging thing. So I hung two of them in my garage where flys and other insects couldn’t get to them. After 7 days I could barely get close to them because of the smell, they were field gutted but were fully feathered. I had to skin them as I couldn’t stand to be around that smell long enough to pluck them. Anyway, I roasted them in the oven like you would roast a turkey. They were absolutely the best tasting pheasant that I have ever eaten. So try it.
great advice, i am now hanging 2 roosters and 1 chukar and plan to leave them undrawn and unplucked for a total of 3 days. I’ll let you know how it works out but without a gut shot etc, i imagine they will be delicious. Paul
Paul: You bet they will! I ate a pheasant from last season tonight that I had hung for 3 1/2 days before vacuum sealing and freezing. It was the best pheasant I’ve ever eaten.
Hanging a brace of roosters right now. Planning on 4 days for them. Young birds…
This is the exact reason I want a wine cooler specifically for meat…
We were just given three male pheasants, shot today.
This thread is very useful to know what to do & the u-tube videos inform about skinning.
One thing though :- how does the meat taste differ between gutted before hanging and gutted after hanging?
Jules: I honestly don’t know. I never gut before hanging because the science shows you’re OK without gutting. I do know there are enzymes in the gut cavity that help the aging process and enrich the flavot, though — remember this is controlled rot…
My son is being given two brace of pheasant which were not hugn before being dressed and frozen. He has been told that if they are thawed slowly they can be left for several days to achieve a similar effect to hanging them. They will be taken from the freezer Friday and we will not cook them until the following Friday. My husband, who always hangs them for around a week before dressing is not too keen on keeping defrosted birds so long. Any comments welcome.
Joy: No, leaving thawed plucked and gutted pheasants will not recreate the effect of hanging. I agree with your husband. Eat them sooner.
Took two birds today. Over coffee this morning before we headed out to the fields, I told my buddies that I planned on hanging birds ungutted for a few days. They thought it was the wrong thing to do. I’ve been doing some reading on it on your site and some others. Very excited to try this, they are hanging in the fridge now. One question I have is the effects of 35 degrees or so out in the garage. I am sure my wife is fine with me using our extra fridge but just checking. Thanks for all the info.
Hank: Excellent site. I was given a brace last week. kept in the cellar at around 50 degrees C, Today I plucked and gutted both, skin tore a little but ok. They were a little smelly, but they’re in the fridge now and waiting to be cooked in 2 days time. that is 7 days hung and 2 in the fridge. My question is, is that smell just the ‘Gamey’ quality or is it too long hung? all the best Hank
Graham
Russ: 35 degrees is pretty cool but not too bad; I like hanging a little less time at a little warmer temperature — about 45 degrees.
Graham: I assume you mean 50 degrees Fahrenheit, right? Seven days at that temperature is a little long; I’d normally do just 3-4 days in that. However, it is not uncommon to hang pheasants that long in that temperature. You did rinse them well in cold water and then dried them off after plucking and gutting, yes? Are they still smelly?
There is a fine line between aging and rot, and I suspect you are close to it. As for eating the pheasants, use your best judgment. I’ve heard people rhapsodize about week-old, smelly pheasants that cook up beautifully — but I’ve also heard about people who stank up their whole kitchen cooking a semi-rotted bird. Whatever you do, cook the pheasant past 165 degrees F, just to be safe.
hi hank, im from Ireland & have 2 teal hanging outside in a cladding shed for the last 10 days where temperatures have been freezing & not above 4 deg c. would they be ok? I have cleaned a pheasant that was hanging for 7 days in the same place and there was ice inside when i cleaned it. Any comments welcome. reggards
George: 10 days?! That is an awful long time for a little teal. Remember the smaller the bird, the shorter the hang time.
That said, 4 degrees C is pretty cold. Give it a go and see would be my advice. I would not eat the innards, though. 10 days is too long for them to sit inside the bird.
Pluck the bird, toss the innards, rinse it well in cold water and dry it well. Take a deep sniff: It should smell gamey but not rotten (you’ll know the difference). If it smells funky in a way that your mind says, “Hmmm, I bet this would taste wonderful,” try it. But if your senses say ROTTEN!! Toss them.
I don’t like hanging ducks and geese more than a few days because they have fat, which can go rancid — at least California waterfowl are fatty. Dunno about Irish ones.
BTW, would LOVE to travel to Ireland to shoot snipe and woodcock someday – my favorite game birds at the table.
Thanks, for your quick reply, I think you spelled out what I had thought.. Hence why I read this on hanging game. Know now for future reference…
On the snipe & woodcock, Iv met alot of snipe especially with this long cold snap, but don’t bother shooting as have’nt a nice recipe. woodcock only met one myself, “so far”
On traveling to Ireland your more than WELCOME.
For the record, (or your amusement…) 5 days indoors at 75F is way out
On Monday, my boss very kindly gave me a brace of pheasants he had in the boot of his car after I asked how his shooting trip had gone at the weekend. He said I should be sure to eat them within a week as the taste would become too strong but he may have forgotten that I live in a flat with my pet snakes and would therefore be hanging them indoors at a warm room temperature.
For what it’s worth, I was always going to be doing some research before risking eating them… but Fate had nevertheless decided to teach me a lesson in hygienic food storage: if in doubt, look it up on the internet ASAP.
The following morning I crashed the car and since work was busy after the holidays, I decided to stay in a hotel near the office for the rest of the week rather than taking the train.
This evening, the unmistakable stench of dead stuff greeted me at the door. By the time my stomach contents had returned to their normal equilibrium, the smell’s origin had already been deduced.
What did take me by surprise was the force with which the female pheasant must have expelled her own stomach contents to leave such a fine ochre sheen on the walls, door and carpet.
The neighbours across the hall must have thought I’d killed someone and fled the country and they’re now about to see me leave in the middle of the night carrying a black bin bag.
But I will close my tale with the happy image of a four-year old cornsnake waiting patiently in the same room, being as good gold, all week, nose pressed hopefully to the side of his tank, with his eyes fixed on the most gorgeous meal he had ever seen.
[...] On the other hand, pheasants, along with waterfowl, can often be improved by leaving the innards in during the aging process. You simply hang them whole up in a cool, airy place. This is Hank Shaw’s preferred method. [...]
Hank,
What would be the longest that I could hang pheasants before it becomes no good. My wife likes a very gamey taste but I want to make sure they are not rotten. is two weeks too long?