Pheasant Casserole

Polish Pork Sausage, 12 oz (remove)Mushrooms, fresh, .5 cup, pieces or slices (remove)Waterchestnuts (water chestnuts), 0.5 cup slices (remove)Onions, raw, 1 large (remove)*Uncle Ben’s Long Grain & Wild Rice, 3 cup (remove)*Flour, white, .25 cup (remove)Butter, salted, .25 cup (remove)Milk, nonfat, .5 cup (remove)Chicken Broth, 1.75 cup (8 fl oz) (remove)*Lemon Juice, 1 lemon yields (remove)Salt, 1 tsp (remove)Pepper, black, .5 tbsp (remove)Pheasant, 4 breast, bone and skin removed (remove)

DIRECTIONS

Saute sausage, add onion, mushrooms, and cook. When almost done add water chestnuts. Squeeze lemon juice over mixture.

Cook rice according to directions.  

Make a white sauce with the flour, butter, milk, chicken broth, salt and pepper.

Mix all ingredients and place in 9 x 13 pan. Then place white sauce over mixture.

Bake @ 350 for at least 1 hour
Makes 8 servings

Photos

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Zerkowsky’s (Nilo’s) Pheasant Potpie

Ingredients:
1 Pheasant
2 Leaf stalks of celery
2 Medium sized onions (diced)
1 stick of butter
3 tablespoons of flour
Worcestershire (to taste)
Mushrooms (to taste)

Directions:
-Boil pheasant until tender with onion, celery stalks, salt and pepper (to taste)
-When pheasant is tender (usually 20 minutes), remove from broth, strip meat from bones and dice in large pieces.
-Strain and retain 3 cups of broth

-Dice celery stalks and mix with 1 diced medium onion, sautéed with 1 tablespoon butter until onions and celery are tender but not browning.

-Melt 1/2 stick of butter in saucepan and add 3 “heaping” tablespoons of flour
-Stir until well blended but not browning
-while hot, add pheasant broth ad bring to boil
-Stir until thick and smooth

-Remove thickened broth from heat and add a little Worcestershire sauce to taste
-Add sautéed onion and celery to mixture

-Placed diced pheasant in pan or casserole dish, pour in thickened broth and cover with a rich pie crust.

-Bake at 450 until pie crust is brown and done.

**Serves 4

Wine Selection

Many of us have heard that white wine is supposed to be served with poultry. It is, unless you are talking about wild-grown poultry, in which case wild birds, like pheasants and grouse, are strong enough in flavor to push a delicate white wine all over the table.

The most appropriate pheasant wines are the lighter reds. Of French wines, that might be a Beaujolais or one of the lighter Bordeaux wines. Of the more attractively priced California wines, a light Cabernet, Gamay, Zinfandel, or Barbara would be an excellent choice. A nice Rose or Chianti won’t go wrong either.

A final word about wines: suit yourself, but I have found that cheap wines taste cheap, even when used in cooking (and “cooking” wines taste WORST of all!).

Smothered Pheasant

Ingredients:
2 Pheasants
1 Medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup dry white wine

Directions:
-Cut 2 pheasants into serving pieces
-Shake pieces in seasoned flour and brown in hot fat on all sides
-Move pheasants to large casserole and add onion, celery, cream of mushroom and wine
-Cover and simmer at 375 for 90 minutes (or until meat is tender)

Pheasants in Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients:
1 or 2 pheasants
2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can sherry or dry wine
1/2 can water or chicken bouillon
Pinch of sage or poultry seasoning
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 lb fresh mushrooms (cleaned and sliced thick)

Directions:
-Disjoint birds and brown quickly in butter.
-While birds are browning, mix remaining ingredients in a greased 2qt casserole dish
-Once the birds are suitably browned, stir in meat and pan drippings, cover with foil and bake @ 350 for 1 hour.

-Serve over rice or stuffing (optional)

Pheasant Worcestershire Sauce

Ingredients:
8 filleted pheasant breasts
1 stick of butter
2 cups onions, chopped
1/2 Worcestershire sauce
salt (to taste)
white pepper (to taste)

Directions:
-cut breast filets in half and pound with meat hammer to tenderize
-In large skillet, melt 1/2 stick of butter and brown the cut down and tenderized filets
-salt and pepper to taste.
-Remove browned filets and place on separate plate
-In the same skillet, melt the remaining 1/2 stick of butter and brown the onions.
-Pour in the Worcestershire sauce and put the browned filets back in the pan, simmer on low, covered for 1 hour.