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Home » Wild Game » Pheasant, Grouse, Quail » Pheasant with Apples

Pheasant with Apples

By Hank Shaw on January 22, 2013, Updated April 29, 2020 - 20 Comments

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4.91 from 10 votes
pheasant with apples recipe
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pheasant with apples recipe
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

There is something about the combination of pheasant and apples that just sings. For that matter, chicken with apples, or hell, any poultry with apples is pretty awesome.

I have no idea why it works, but it just does. Duck and Apples is another one of my go-to dishes in winter. This dish is properly called Pheasant Normandy and is a wild game variation of a French classic done with chicken.

I first learned about chicken Normandy while watching Emeril Lagasse, of all things; he made it on his stand-and-stir show nearly 20 years or so ago. Been making it ever since.

This recipe is a simple mix of sweet onions, gently cooked apples, cider, cream, brandy and chicken… or pheasant in this case. There is no special technique involved here, no great difficulty or esoteric ingredients.

Obviously you will want decent ingredients: Brandy you’d be happy drinking, good cream, fresh cider — regular cider, not hard cider — as well as cooking apples like Fuji or Gala. Granny Smiths work, too.

You will enjoy this more if you use pheasant thighs, leaving the legs, with all their sinew, for another dish. That said, as you can see from the picture, legs are fine, too, especially if you know the trick to removing pheasant tendons.

This is comfort food, and all it asks of you is a little time.

Pheasant with Apples
Print Recipe
4.91 from 10 votes

Pheasant Normandy

I designed this recipe for skinless pheasant legs, which can be cooked entirely on the stovetop. If you have skin-on legs, you can crisp the skin in at 375°F oven at the end. Obviously this will work with chicken, but it's also great with partridges or ruffed grouse as well. You could also use wild turkey thighs.
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time2 hrs
Total Time2 hrs 15 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: French
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 651kcal
Author: Hank Shaw

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 cooking apples, cored and sliced into wedges
  • Flour for dredging
  • 4 to 6 pheasant legs with thighs
  • Salt
  • 1 large onion, sliced root to top
  • 1/2 cup Calvados or other apple brandy
  • 2 cups apple cider
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Instructions

  • Salt the pheasant legs and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
  • Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a Dutch oven or another large, oven-proof pan over medium heat. Add the apple slices and sauté until they turn a little brown around the edges, turning occasionally. Sprinkle the apple slices with a little salt. Set aside on paper towels.
  • Dust the pheasant in flour and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan. Brown the pheasant for 3 to 5 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside.
  • Add the onion and increase the heat to medium-high. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until they just begin to brown, about 5 to 8 minutes.
  • Take the pan off the heat and pour in the brandy. Put the pan back on the heat and, using a wooden spoon, scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Let the brandy boil until it has reduced by about half. Add the cider and bring it to a boil. Add the thyme. Lay the pheasant legs in the pan, cover and simmer gently until tender, anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 1/2 hours.
  • Fish out the pheasant legs and strip the meat off the bones if you want to. Turn the heat to high, add the apples and boil down the sauce by half. When the sauce gets a little syrupy, turn off the heat and add the cream. Add salt to taste. Serve by spooning some apples and onions on everyone's plate and topping it with the pheasant.

Nutrition

Calories: 651kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 192mg | Sodium: 126mg | Potassium: 564mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 730IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 2mg
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Filed Under: Featured, French, Pheasant, Grouse, Quail, Recipe, Wild Game

Avatar for Hank Shaw

Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet's largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

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Comments

  1. Avatar for LorneLorne says

    December 3, 2022 at 9:35 am

    I first saw a recipe for this in a fancy cook book belonging to a friend. It called for two whole pheasants , which were browned on the range top, and then onion, apple, brandy, some lemon juice and the cream (no cider that I remember) were added and is was slow 300-325 in the oven in a dutch oven. The liquid, which was well curdled, was then run through a blender or food processor to get a smooth appetizing finish. The result was delicious old school French. I would move that way for whole pheasants, but Hank’s approach looks like the way to go for pieces.

    Reply
  2. Avatar for JasonJason says

    August 9, 2022 at 5:14 pm

    This recipe is great, one of my favorites to make every year.

    Reply
  3. Avatar for Eric JohnsonEric Johnson says

    September 8, 2021 at 4:17 pm

    Excellent recipe!

    Reply
  4. Avatar for KelleyKelley says

    November 7, 2018 at 4:42 am

    I had boneless, skinless pheasant breasts from a friend’s recent hunt, so I did a riff off your recipe. I pounded the pheasant breasts thin (like a veal cutlet), lightly dredged them in flour with salt, and pan fried them quickly in butter (just 2-3 minutes cooking time per side). Once done, I set them aside and used a used a little brandy to deglaze the pan. Then, I reserved the sauce (in a small bowl). Next I cooked the onion with a little more butter, then added the apples with the time and sautéed for a few minutes. Finally, I added back in the reserved sauce (from deglazing) with a little extra water and chicken base (I didn’t have any cider on hand); I rapidly simmered until the apples were soft and the sauce was the consistency of a thin gravy. I added the whipping cream and nestled the breasts back in the pan to warm up a little. My family RAVED about this dinner. Thanks so much – I know you cooked yours a little differently, but this is an AMAZING recipe for pheasant! Very versatile!

    Reply
    • Avatar for Bruce LindsayBruce Lindsay says

      October 14, 2021 at 6:32 pm

      If you want to take it up a nautch try this: 1) dredge the apple wedges in cinnamon. allspice and real nutmeg. 2) Fry the wedged apples each side to get a crust on each. 3) use calvados instead of brandy. 4) after cooking legs use calvados flambee’ the plan. 5) do not add apples back into this stew until legs are soft and ready. I cook this with Shallots, sometimes add celery too. but its always good. If you have a good source of hard cider use that instead of plain. cheers

      Reply
  5. Avatar for Michael NadeauMichael Nadeau says

    December 15, 2016 at 3:02 pm

    Made this a few weeks ago. Was very approachable for a French recipe. My wife and I both loved it. Doing again tomorrow night to share with friends.

    Reply
  6. Avatar for Diana EmmonsDiana Emmons says

    March 23, 2014 at 9:00 am

    I have fallen in love with this website and all the recipes just leave me feeling sooo hungry. I have a friend whose hunting trip yesterday yielded 7 undressed pheasant for my deep freezer. I am looking to use one whole one skinned and am wondering if I can do this recipe with a whole skinned pheasant if cut into pieces?. Would I need to add breast meat last to the pan? Or should I just roast the bird and make a apple/cider gravy for the side?

    Reply
  7. Avatar for DonMDonM says

    December 9, 2013 at 1:14 pm

    I made this recipe last night and served it with pan fried rosemary potatoes, oven roasted carrots with peas, and a bottle of Albemarle Ciderworks Virginia Hewe’s Crab hard cider. My wife declared it one of the best meals she’s eaten, and who am I to argue? The meal was made even more satisfying by the fact that almost all ingredients were our own.

    Thanks Hank!

    Reply
  8. Avatar for Andrew VidalAndrew Vidal says

    November 6, 2013 at 5:56 pm

    Made this today and it was fabulous! Both my little ones mopped up their plates. Amazing flavors!

    Reply
  9. Avatar for Adam KnewtsonAdam Knewtson says

    April 9, 2013 at 8:17 am

    Best website ever!
    I’m a farmer and an avid outdoors man who loves to cook.
    This is simply the best site ever.

    Reply
  10. Avatar for TheFormerVegTheFormerVeg says

    January 26, 2013 at 11:54 pm

    So would this recipe be doable with pheasant leg confit?

    Reply
  11. Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

    January 25, 2013 at 1:45 pm

    Allan: Either way is fine.

    Reply
  12. Avatar for AllanAllan says

    January 25, 2013 at 11:39 am

    Do you leave the skin on the apple slices?
    Thanks

    Reply
  13. Avatar for StephenStephen says

    January 23, 2013 at 8:12 am

    That’s some darned rustic looking flatware! I like it.

    Reply
  14. Avatar for emilieemilie says

    January 23, 2013 at 2:42 am

    We just happened to have all the ingredients for this in the house….(well, not calvados, but we have a great neighborhood liquor store just around the corner)…it was wonderful! Great start for cooking up my son’s first few pheasants, I hope he has a long life of such tasty eating before him. Thank you!

    Reply
  15. Avatar for AngelaAngela says

    January 22, 2013 at 11:18 am

    This is one of my husband’s signature dishes and it is truly delicious. Pheasants are quite hard to come by in Provence, but in the UK in the countryside they are very cheap during the pheasant shooting season. We usually eat this at least once during the season, haven’t had it yet, so think it will be on the menu soon!

    Reply
  16. Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

    January 22, 2013 at 10:50 am

    Noah: Yep. It’ll work, but don’t cook them long. Maybe 15 minutes, tops.

    Reply
  17. Avatar for NoahNoah says

    January 22, 2013 at 10:04 am

    Hank,

    Would this recipe work for pheasant breasts? I have some in the freezer (used the legs to make pheasant and dumplings). I have a couple of whole birds that I plucked, but have other plans for them.

    Thanks

    Reply
  18. Avatar for Debbie CaldwellDebbie Caldwell says

    January 22, 2013 at 8:29 am

    Oh Thanks. I have been dreaming of a recipe for using my raw milk/cream and my cache of brandy, and you nicely shared yours. Thanks.

    Reply
  19. Avatar for JamesJames says

    January 22, 2013 at 5:11 am

    Great idea, I’ve just got myself a couple of partridges so ill try it this week end. Here in the uk there’s a food writer called Diana Henry. In her book “food from plenty” she does a similar dish with apples and cider, I add some stock and pearl barly to it. She also does a variation with ale
    And bacon which is worth checking out. It’s a great book.

    Reply

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Hi, my name is Hank Shaw; I’m a James Beard Award-winning author and chef. I started this site back in 2007 to help you get the most out of all things wild: fish, game, edible wild plants and mushrooms. I also write cookbooks, have a website dedicated to the intersection of food and nature, and do a podcast, too. If it’s wild, you’ll find it here. Hope you enjoy the site!

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