This recipe will season 3 – whole Pheasants (skin on or off)

Injection ingredients:

• 1 tsp – ground chili paste
• ¼ cup – Ponzu Sauce
• 1 tsp – ginger powder
• 2 Tbls – Sesame oil
• 2 Tbls – brown sugar
• Squeeze of ½ lime
• 1 tsp Salt
• Peanut Sauce (Epicurious.com):
• 1 tsp – ginger powder
• 1 tsp – garlic powder
• ½ cup – crunchy peanut butter
• 2 Tbls – reduced sodium soy sauce (your call if you want regular)
• Squeeze of ½ lime
• 1 tsp packed – light brown sugar
• ½ tsp – red pepper flakes
• 1/3 cup - water

First of all, if you want to brine your birds, feel free to do so. Personally, I wanted something that was quick, easy, and would not hold my fridge hostage for a day. This fit the bill and was a crowd pleaser as well.

I like to use Pheasant cut in half at the backbone between the breasts and thighs. This allows you to position the legs splayed out on the grill and the breast to be cooked whole. If you prefer a less primal cut, feel free to cut out the backbone and separate the legs. I suggest leaving the breast meat on the bone, since I find the bone helps hold some of the injection. If you absolutely want to cook the breast boneless, understand some flavor loss may occur. 

Once you have the cuts to your preference, begin mixing all of the injection ingredients together in a small bowl or glass that will allow you to suck them up into an injector. The widest mouthed injector you can find will be better here, because the red pepper flakes and seeds from the chili paste have a tendency to clog the syringe on narrower setups. 

Take each piece of Pheasant and begin injecting the marinade. Try to keep as much of the injection in the meat as possible, and back off when the injection begins to burst from the meat. You can then place the birds in the fridge to marinate for a couple of hours, but I have thrown them on the grill shortly after injecting and found the results to be great. 

Fire up the grill to a medium heat, but avoid too hot as you can quickly dry out these lean birds. The idea is to get the birds to 160 degrees at the deepest point near a bone, but to do it at a medium heat and steady pace. Use your meat thermometer here to avoid overcooking, or more importantly, under-cooking. Once at 160, take the birds off the grill and allow them to rest for 10-15 minutes. 

During this resting period you can make your peanut sauce. Combine all of the ingredients into whatever food processor you have on hand, get the sauce to a nice smooth consistency, adding small amounts of water if needed. I try to keep some of the peanut chunks around, but that’s a personal preference. Set aside for spooning onto your plates or for dipping.

From here you can serve the meat however you decide, on or off the bone, and allow your guests to choose their sauce approach. I highly suggest you take the opportunity to tear the meat from the bone and enjoy it as our ancestors would have,. Bonus points if you can stand around a fire with family or friends. 

Enjoy!

-Kevin Johansen, Fall Obsession Field Staff