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Photo by Holly A. Heyser
It’s hot. I don’t feel like cooking outside much. And I have lots of wild game in the freezer still. What to do? BBQ! I’ve been doing a lot of grilling and barbecue over at Simply Recipes with Elise, and nearly everything I do there with domestic meats translates well with wild game.
Actually, the first grilling experiment I did with her this summer was a wild game trick I modified to work with a domestic turkey. One of my favorite ways to cook pheasant is slow and low on the grill, using indirect heat to coax the often sinewy legs into tenderness; you can do this with wild turkey legs, too. For flavor, you paint the legs with a barbecue sauce toward the end of the cooking time.
Here’s how to do it:
- Brine the legs with a solution of 1/4 cup kosher salt to 4 cups water, plus a couple seasonings (I use bay leaves and cracked black pepper a lot). Don’t go nuts on the seasonings because you are going to use a barbecue sauce later. Brine the meat for up to 12 hours.
- Build a wood or charcoal fire on just half your grill area, or turn on just one burner on a gas grill. Let the coals or wood burn down to a steady heat, then put the pheasant or turkey on the cooler side of the grill. Cover and let this cook slowly for at least 30 minutes before checking.
- After 35 minutes, turn the legs and move them around so they cook evenly. You will probably need an hour to 90 minutes for pheasant legs, up to 2 1/2 hours for wild turkey legs. Remember, slower is better.
- When 1 hour has elapsed, paint the legs with your favorite barbecue sauce and continue cooking. Let them cook 5-10 minutes before painting again.
- Once the pheasant is done, paint it one more time with the sauce and move it to the hot side of the grill to get a little char. Don’t walk away at this point, because the sugar in the sauce can blacken in a hurry; a little black is OK, but you don’t want a wild turkey briquette.
The result is fantastic: Wild game bird legs will always be denser and more flavorful than domestic meats, and this slow-and-low technique helps retain moisture and break down the considerable connective tissue in wild turkeys and pheasants.
You can use any barbecue sauce you want, but here are three I developed for Simply Recipes:
- South Carolina style barbecue, which is mustard based
- A rich and tomatoey Kansas City style BBQ sauce
- My own bourbon-based barbecue sauce
Photo by Holly A. Heyser
Elise and I also played around with a beer can chicken recipe, and it was so good I knew I had to try to make beer can pheasant, using my last remaining whole pheasant.
If you’ve never eaten beer can chicken before, you are missing out. It may be the second greatest thing the NASCAR crowd has brought to American cooking, behind true barbecue itself. Done right, you get a crispy skin, meltingly tender breast meat, and the legs and thigh meat practically falls off the bone. It’s the perfect chicken. But would it work for pheasant?
Photo by Holly A. Heyser
First problem: Pheasants have slim hips. Too slim to jam a regular beer can up inside them. Hmmm… what sort of can might fit in a pheasant? I got it! Red Bull. Now I detest this stuff — tastes like sweet tarts — so I poured it all out and washed the can well to get rid of the Red Bull taste, then I filled the can up halfway with beer.
I just managed to get the Red Bull can up into the pheasant, as even it was slightly too wide. But it works.
Oiled up and dusted with salt, black pepper and thyme leaves, I closed the lid on Mr. Pheasant and set the burners to keep the temperature up at about 500 degrees for the first 10 minutes or so. I then dropped the heat to roughly 450 for the next 20 minutes, then dropped it again to about 400 degrees for another half-hour.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser
Turns out a pheasant cooked this way needs only about 45 minutes. I overcooked mine by thinking it would need an hour. But, the skin was crackling crispy, and the legs looked fine. I let the pheasant rest for 10 minutes before cutting into it.
The moment of truth: When I sliced into the breast, it was, miraculously, still juicy! Definitely cooked more than I wanted it to be, but it was not dry at all. All the steam coming out of the can kept the breast moist. Thank you, Red Bull can!
Could this work for other game birds? Maybe. The key is the can. I’d try a Foster’s Lager “oil can” for a wild turkey, and I bet the Red Bull can would work on a large grouse. Not sure who makes cans small enough for partridges or quail, however.
Hunters out there: Do you grill or barbecue your game birds? If so, care to share any tips and tricks?
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BEER CAN PHEASANT
Beer can chicken is one of the best ways I know to roast a chicken, especially in summertime, when you can do this recipe on the grill. I made beer can chicken for my friend Elise recently, and I immediately thought it might work for pheasant, too. It does. But you need to do a few modifications. First off, while you can jam a regular beer can into a pheasant, the birds are generally too small. But a Red Bull can will fit. Fill it halfway with beer.
I designed this recipe for young birds, but I have also found that ranched birds are ideal; you can often find whole pheasants in places like Whole Foods, or you can buy a whole pheasant online from MacFarlane Pheasants.
You also should consider brining your pheasant first, especially if it was a wild bird, and definitely if it was an old bird. Mix 1/4 cup of kosher salt with 4 cups of water and add some seasonings: I like bay leaves, rosemary and cracked black pepper. Submerge the pheasant in this brine for 4-8 hours, then drain and let sit in the fridge uncovered the next day — this helps you get a crispy skin. After that, you can do this like a regular beer can chicken. You do not need to brine ranched birds or young pheasants. This recipe would also work with large grouse.
Serves 2.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time:
- 1 empty Red Bull can
- Enough beer to fill half the can (use any beer you want)
- 1 whole pheasant, plucked and gutted
- 2 tablespoons olive oil to coat bird
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves
- Take the pheasant out and let it rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Bring the beer out, too, as you don’t want cold beer in the can.
- Prepare your grill for indirect heat. If you are using charcoal, put the coals on one side of the grill, leaving another side free of coals. If you are using a gas grill, fire up only half of the burners.
- Rub the pheasant all over with olive oil. Mix the salt, pepper, and thyme in a bowl and sprinkle it over the pheasant.
- Fill the Red Bull can halfway with beer; it doesn’t matter what kind. Drink the rest of the beer. Put the can inside the pheasant’s cavity and place the pheasant on the cool side of the grill. The legs and the can will act like a tripod to keep the pheasant upright.
- Cover the grill and come back in 40 minutes. After that time, check the pheasant and add more coals if needed. Stick a thermometer into the thickest part of the pheasant’s thigh — you want it to read 160 degrees. If it’s not there, close the grill lid and come back in 15 minutes. Keep checking this way until the pheasant is done. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, poke the spot between the leg and breast with a knife and look for the juices to run clear, not pink.
- Carefully move the pheasant to a pan. Let the pheasant rest for 10 minutes. Carefully lift it off the can and carve up into serving pieces.
I’ve never had pheasant in any form, but would love to try this. We’ve made beer can duck (which we didn’t use beer for, but instead used a marinade my husband mixes up). The duck came out beautifully! I’ve been experimenting with a lot of different barbecue sauces and rubs this summer, and I look forward to giving yours a try. Do you enjoy agua frescas? I would think they would be very nice with the heat you are getting up there, and that you’d probably come up with (or have already) some wonderful recipes for some. We’ve yet to realize it is summer down here in L.A. yet, but I made some watermelon agua fresca yesterday hoping to encourage some summer sun today – to no avail. The agua fresca is still very nice though, but more refreshing when it is hot outside
Small cans of Vitamin C are popular in Korea — the cans would be perfect for small birds. I don’t expect a trip to Korea soon, else I’d be glad to bring some cans (and help test them!).
Maybe they’re available in the US somewhere?
I just made beer-can chicken as well after seeing Elise’s post and had a similar overcooking incident, but still plenty of good juicy meat! As for the smaller birds out there, Coke now makes little mini coke, diet coke and dr. pepper cans, they come in a 10 pack and would probably fit a small bird. I’d love to hear if you give this a try (as I unfortunately do not have any wild game in the freezer!)
What a great way to adapt beer can chicken! I’ve never tried cooking pheasant on the bbq, but it looks like you had some great results.
Thanks for the shout-out, Hank. A fan of low and slow for moisture and softening tough cuts, I’m surprised I didn’t even think of the practice for wild turkey legs–definitely going to give it a try on some pesky vineyard turkeys this fall!
Right now just recovering from the realization that I’m no longer a kid after a knee and ankle tweaking crawdad hunting expedition with a buddy in a mountain stream on Saturday…but we did get 286 of them, up to 9 inches long from tail to tip of claws–there’s definitely a difference between a slow and muddy water crayfish and a fast and clear water crayfish, the latter being so much sweeter!
Cheryl: Never made agua fresca. What is it?
MikeW: I will look for some. Another reader suggested those narrow glass canning jars you sometimes see. I have one or two and will give it a go.
Cork: Nice haul! 286 crawdads, eh? Worth a little knee and ankle injury, I’d say.
I’ve found some birds take high heat better, while others are more suited for indirect heat. Dove, quail, chukkar, and wookcock I prefer to blast over a hot fire…taking care not to over cook. Turkey, pheasant, rail, and grouse I’ve had more luck searing then moving away from the fire for an indirect cook (or hot smoke after throwing on some hickory or oak). Not saying that you can’t slow cook a dove or sear a turkey….just some methods that have worked well for me. Regardless of the grilling application, I prefer to always brine and grill the whole bird butterflied.
You likely had or saw some while in Mexico(?). They are pretty common here at farmers markets and other places where there are street vendors in so cal, so maybe up north too? They are a mixture of fruit blended with water and sugar, and other things. Kind of like lemonade if you used the fruit itself, rather than just the juice. Here’s a link to a recent post (where I discovered an agua fresca made with a vegetable (cucumber) – hadn’t seen that before but it sounds really good!): http://gabrielaskitchen.com/2010/06/24/testing-contemporary-aguas-frescas-for-food52/
Hank,
What about one of those small V8 cans? I think they are 5.5 oz size.
Regards from Music City, USA
My first thought was a tomato paste can for the small birds. I’m thinking this post will give us all reason to spend some unusual time in the canned goods aisle…
Funny, Holly!
V8 sometimes comes in a very slender can, perhaps small enough for game.
Another place I would recommend looking for cans would be a Chinese or Japanese market. I see small cans there frequently for vitamins, iced coffee, and even candies.
Carolina Rig: I do the butterfly thing on the grill, too — the birds cook more evenly. I think the key is that you want some birds medium-rare, and others medium.
Cheryl: The Hmong make a cool drink with cucumbers. I will have to check out more on agua fresca!
Chris: Shit!! I coulda had a V8!!
Sarah: Good idear. Lots of Asian markets around here.
Hank, thanks for mentioning the cucumber drink! I just found it in my Hmong cookbook (which I heard about on Elise’s site, btw). I wasn’t able to make the one on Gabriela’s site because I didn’t have the lemon verbena leaves – or know where to get them, so I will try the Hmong one first.
Those pineapple and v-8 cans (think airline size) that come in 6-packs work for quail.
Am definitely trying a pheasant. I adore it and get tired of braising it all the time.
Can it be harmful to cook over aluminum like that? It’s so good, I hesitate to ask but always wondered.
The big juice cans (46 oz?) work for the biggest domestic Turkeys those 25-pound or bigger monsters. I prefer to do this rather than deep fat fry them for Thanksgiving like so many others. I also find that it really doesn’t matter what liquid you use for the can – it’s really just ballast and doesn’t give much flavor – most of it is still in the can when the bird is done.
Anyway – thanks for the tip – I’ll have to try this on a Pheasant – although since I don’t live in Kansas anymore when I do get Pheasants I tend to do the spatchcock thing (saving the spine for stock) and grill them quick and hot with just simple seasoning.
Never get tired of it.
I can’t wait to try this recipe..Here’s a trick I use with my beer can chicken. I cut a wedge of citrus fruit (usually lemon, but I have used lime and orange) and stuff it into the neck cavity. This helps seal in the bear steam and aids moistness while adding a nice citrus note to the bird.
Trying it now
the bullet shaped coors tall cans 19oz fit that little bird *PERFECT*
Leftover beer?
We make beer can pheasant all the time. We use glass beer or soda bottles, we soak off the labels and let the bottle and drink come to room temp. we have never had a bottle break. If you like to try different kinds of beers and don’t like them for drinking they work for BBP. Cherry and lemon lime sodas or Mikes hard lemonaide are good too. I don’t like the idea of heating the can, it’s a soft metal and they usually coat cans with plastic on the inside.