doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT: The care and handling of pheasants

Brine formulas available at http://www.melindalee.com/recipearchive....;imageField.y=0 although quantities may be large as some of them are for turkeys. The one for pork roast may have smaller amounts, but flavoring agents for port. Salt, sugar, and water ratios would be most important.

I recall our Thanksgiving turkey brine contains onions as well as citrus. I looked at one of the brine formulas in the link JH provided and they used an apple cider. I think the point is that the citric acids and onions breakdown the meat to be more tender. The type of citrus also imparts a flavor, but I think it's very mild.

I skin most birds (for casseroles and terrines) to save time; some, usually hens, I pluck for roasting. I freeze the carcasses until I have several, then roast them and boil them to make game stock. (Do not add vegetables, it can make the stock bitter.) When roasting, birds should be covered with bacon (not smoked, that invariably is a chemical process.)
It is true that most of the chemicals are stored in the liver and subcutaneous fat tissue, but I would suggest that what is added to feed for steers in the US is probably as harmful as any pesticide residue in game – my guess is that game would be healthier.
A lot of nonsense is spoken about hanging game. As mentioned by others above, it is to allow rigor mortis to pass and relax the meat muscle. Two days in a reasonable temperature is sufficient. “High” game became a fad in 18th century France but was despised by most gourmets. Later it became a fashion in the UK, and it has been suggested that it was due to the length of time it took to get the game from the country estates to city houses. Some of the old classic chefs advocated making a salmis (mincing the cooked entrails) and spreading them on a chapon (slice of toast) upon which the bird was served. They usually did this with woodcock. I pass that one by!

Marinating anything in brine is a nonsense, it may add some water to the tissue and does not do anything other than leach out some surface blood and add salt to the meat. It is used commercially to increase the weight of the product, (some producers even inject chemicals to make the meat more water absorbent) thereby increasing the profit margin. Consumers are so used to it now that they will not buy pork if it is too “red” i.e real!
Using citrus (or pineapple or vinegar) as a marinade to “tenderize” the meat is also a nonsense – only the very outer layer can be tenderized, unless you leave the meat in the mix for weeks when it will be reduced to mush. I have used buttermilk to “soften” the flavour of venison (lactic acid activity) but cannot state that I’ve noticed any difference. Haunches should be larded with bacon fat.

Roast young pheasant should be served “pink”; old birds should be casseroled (with three bottles of wine, one for the chef when cooking, one for the casserole and one for the table.)
There are some great American chefs (the late Julia Child, for one; Sara Moulton is another.) David Rosengarten writes with great feeling about food. However, there are many charlatans – Emeril Lagasse used to be a great chef until he went on TV. Most of the foodie programs are junk “menutainment”
When I read a recipe and I see “add a packet of…” my stomach can often heave.
Go out, shoot, cook simply and enjoy.

K.

Thanks, I am very fussy about fish that I eat. So I asked the question on pheasants. On fish if we let them sit the little critters (worms) crawl into the intestines and that gets rid of some. I was wondering if that was true with birds?
The birds are pen raised by the state of Washington and they seem like the wild birds I shot in Montana. Some of the local pheasant hunting farms have birds that can hardly fly..
john

Interesting comment about bacon labeled as "smoked" being flavored with chemicals. The US FDA has regulations on this very thing. The regulation says that if bacon is labeled "smoked" it has to be hardwood smoked. The two major brands that I commonly buy have websites with statements confirming their products are indeed hardwood smoked. Possibly a problem that we already addressed in the States.

Kerryman has apparently never had "Chitlins" or more properly chitterlings. We even have a festival called the Sally Chitlin Strut here in the last bastion of the Confederacy.Regards (I can smell those chitlins now!)Best regards and keep those hog intestines coming!

Chuck H - correct that the FDA has rules about labelling; however, AFIK they relate to pyrolignious acid flavors and use of the word "True" - label can say "smoked bacon" but cannot say "True smoked bacon";

John D - Yes, I have enjoyed chitlins, a friend in Duke treated me to some on a visit there. However, ingredients are not the same as those of a salmis. In France the nearest to chitlins is the andouillette, best ones come from Chablis. In Ireland there is no real equivalent, although white pudding has similar ingredients. I also love our black pudding, for which Sneem in Kerry is (justly) famous.
Km.

To quote James Joyce:
Would you like a bite of something? None of your damned lawdeedaw airs here. The rich of a rasher fried with a herring. Sure? So much the better.

Drisheen! Drisheen! Up to this moment I'd forgotten "Packet & Tripe" down in Cork. Wonderful. Got me slobbering now and recalling such good things as "Tripes a la mode de Caen" in a little place in the Loire.

Woolworths in Bootle used to do tripe and onions, bread and butter, plus a cup of tea for 55 pence.

I feel better already.

Eug

Hi All,

Could not agree more on DON'T OVERCOOK or it will be dry and unappealing.
I have conducted a few tests and hanging a bird for 3-5 days in 40 ish degrees will make the meat much more tender and tastier. If you temps are warmer place in a paper bag (not plastic) in the refrig for a number of days. In Sweden they use a 120 degree rule for hanging 3 days @40 deg=120 or 2 @ 60=120 etc. I think it makes sense. I only draw if it has been gut shot.
I will get back with receipes later.


Jeff G.

There is bacon, ham and sausage available that is not cured with chemicals. We use http://www.scotthams.com . Only salt and smoke are used in the bacon and country ham. The cold smoked pork sausage is to die for. I give out slabs of bacon or 2# rolls of sausage to the people whose properties I hunt on. Never had a complaint and am always welcomed back!
I agree about not brining, it is a sad state of affairs in our meat industry today. If you go into a Walmart, not only is the pork and chicken adulterated but so is the beef! -Dick