May 27 2008
Smoked pheasants
The idea that it might be a feasible proposition to smoke pheasants was entirely my own. I am not a fisherman myself but I do shoot and cc-isequently have a fair quantity of game through my hands every season.
We are quite fond of pheasants, but after a time we become tired of them. My wife has managed to purloin a recipe from the daughter of one of the hereditary Scottish clan chiefs, which involves doing a roast pheasant up, off the bone, with cream, garlic and button mushrooms and serving the result on a bed of savoury rice. This alters the character of the pheasant completely, to such an extent that it is unidentifiable as pheasant, making a welcome change from pheasant done in the conventional manner. We are not keen on keeping pheasants in deep freeze over the summer. There seems to be something not quite right in eating roast pheasants during the close season, so the idea was formulated that it might be possible to smoke pheasants as an alternative.
There is no question as to the success of smoked pheasants,but some care should be exercised over the choice of birds for smoking. The young, comparatively fatless birds of October and November are not at all suitable, unless very early hatched and consequently more mature. I would recommend that the pheasants shot during the first couple of months of the season should be utilized in the ordinary manner. Ideally, a pheasant for smoking should be mature with plenty of fat on it. Young birds tend to go dry during the process and are not so full flavoured as the adult birds. An appreciable advantage of smoking pheasants is that old birds can be utilized, as smoking tenderizes elderly game, and the final hot smoking can be slowed down and lengthened until the bird is completely tenderized. A heavy, fat old cock can be ideal — this kind of bird can be difficult to deal with by other methods: apart from casseroling him in cider or white wine for several hours, he is fit for little else.
The pheasants should be hung in the feather for 3 days before plucking and drawing, and never allowed to become `high’. They should then be either deep frozen until required, or processed fresh.
They should be pricked with a fork in the regions of breast and thighs and covered in brine, weighted down. The brine can either be 90% (3 lb 134 oz per gallon of water) or 80%, prepared as specified for salmon. If 90% brine is used, the birds will require soaking for 11/4 hours. They will require 2 hours in the 80% solution.
The birds should be prepared for hanging by fastening ashort piece of string to the upper wings, then doing the same with the other end of the string to the opposite wing, thereby forming a loop. The birds should be hung, wet with brine, to drip and pre-dry for 24 hours. They should either be hung in the kiln by their string loops, or placed on wire racks, in which case one need not bother to string them. I favour the former course as this allows for the free passage of smoke through the interior of the bird, which should have an opening at the neck end. The pheasants should be cold smoked for a period of from 24 to 48 hours, according to the size and condition of the birds. The larger and fatter the birds, the longer I suggest they are given the cold smoke. It does not matter if smoke temperatures in the kiln are low, say 50° F, but they should not exceed 80°F. Any birds which appear rather lean will benefit from the application of a painting of olive or vegetable oil over their skins. After cold smoking the birds should either be hung in the hot smoker by their string loops or placed on their backs on wire racks.
As pheasants tend to be rather dry fleshed birds, I believe it is wise to avoid excessively high temperatures during hot smoking. I regard as ideal 180 - 190°F for a period of 3 - 4 hours, depending on age.
After smoking, the pheasants should be cooled on wire trays and allowed to mature for at least 24 hours before any attempt is made to eat them.
Smoked pheasants are ideal as a meat base for summer salads and make a first-class filling for sandwiches. In fact I can think of nothing better when grouse shooting than sandwiches containing smoked pheasant from the previous season. They have a very delicate flavour and highly flavoured additives should be avoided. Horseradish will effectively mask their flavour and should not be used. Only a little lemon juice should be added, or even nothing at all.
Storage
They have a shelf life under ordinary refrigerated conditions of 10 - 14 days and lose nothing in quality if deep frozen for many weeks, provided they are wrapped in tin foil.
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