Butter Poached Pheasant Breasts (Photo courtesy of David Draper)
By David Draper
Print Recipe
There are a ton of proven techniques and recipes for cooking upland game, but I’m sold on sous vide as the best. Although it may sound fancy, this technique is actually relatively easy. Simply seal the bird in a vacuum sealed bag and submerged it in a hot water bath. A dedicated sous vide machine or less-expensive immersion circulator makes the job even easier, but the same effect can be achieved with a pot of hot water on the stovetop as long you’re able to maintain a controlled temperature of 160 degrees for at least two hours.
The downside to sous vide is the birds come out of the bag looking a bit peaked and pale. I remedy this with a quick burst of flame from a blowtorch, though searing them for a few seconds in sauté pan works too.
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Serves: 2 Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 2 hour
Ingredients:
2 pheasant breast halves 3 tablespoons butter 2 teaspoons herbs de Provence Pinch kosher salt Fresh ground black pepper
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Directions:
Set the sous vide machine or water circulator to 160 degrees, or pre-heat a pot of water on the stovetop to the same temperature. Set the temperature to 160 degrees. (Photo courtesy of David Draper) Pat the pheasant breasts dry and season each with a pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the breasts in a vacuum seal bag, along with the butter and herbs. Remove air and seal. Immerse the bags in the hot water and cook for two hours. After two hours, remove the pheasant breasts from the bag and brown lightly with a blowtorch or sauté in a light film of olive oil until browned. Serve Butter Poached Pheasant Breasts over greens or with a side of rice. (Photo courtesy of David Draper)
David Draper
Editor-in-Chief
An avid hunter and accomplished writer, David Draper has traveled the globe in search of good stories and good food, yet his roots remain firmly planted in the soil of his family's farm on the High Plains of Nebraska. As a young man, his dreams were fueled by daily trips to the original Cabela's retail store, which stood a short four blocks from his childhood home. The ensuing years spent chasing his passions for adventure and the outdoors have taken him from the shores of Africa's Gambia River to Alaska's Brooks Range. He has hunted birds and big-game on five of the seven continents.
A 20-year industry veteran, Draper has worked in communications, writing and editing roles for the biggest names in the industry. In addition to bylines in scores of publications, he also served as the editor for the hunting journals of Dick and Mary Cabela and contributed to several books on the outdoors. Draper is Editor-in-Chief of Petersen's Hunting magazine, where he also writes the Fare Game column covering all aspects of processing and cooking wild game.
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