roasted meats

Follow these general instructions and you will get a lovely, moist bird. This technique also works with ruffed grouse, chickens and guinea hens. Serve with a nice white wine, some mashed potatoes and a vegetable of your choice. A good option is to cut up some carrots, potatoes, parsnips, celery root and turnips and roast them with the birds. I have a similar recipe for roast partridge, if you are looking for something a little different.

Roast Pheasant

pheasants

water

salt

sugar

bay leaves, (optional)

crushed juniper berries, (optional)

olive oil or softened butter

Black pepper

Brine the bird. Make a brine by bringing the water, salt, bay leaves, juniper and sugar to a boil. Cover and let cool to room temperature. When it cools, submerge your pheasant in the brine and keep it in the fridge for 4 to 8 hours. The longer you brine, the saltier the pheasant will become. I brine pen-raised birds for 4 hours, old roosters for 8 hours.

Optional step: If you really want a crispy skin, take the birds out of the brine and set them uncovered in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours. This dries out the skin (but not the meat} and helps you get crispier skin.

When you are ready to cook, take the pheasant out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour. Heat your oven. Get it to 500°F if possible, but at least 400°F. Give yourself at least 15 minutes of preheating, and up to a half hour. Oil the bird. You can do this with olive oil or you can smear butter all over it. Crack some black pepper over the bird.

Stuff with a piece of onion or apple and a few fresh herbs. A cut lemon is a good choice, too. Do not pack the cavity. Truss the bird if you want. I do this often because it helps the pheasant cook more evenly. (Here's a video on how to truss a chicken, which is basically the same thing as a pheasant.)

Roast the pheasant uncovered for 15 minutes at your high temperature. Take the pheasant out and lower the temperature to 350°F. Leave your oven door open to speed this process.

Optional step: Baste the bird with either butter or a glaze. When I do this, I like to use a boiled-down combination of butter and maple syrup.

Return the pheasant to the oven and roast uncovered for 30 to 45 minutes. You want the internal temperature of the thigh meat to be about 155°F to 160°F and for the bird’s juices to run pretty clear. A little pink in the juice — and in the bird — is what you want. The higher end of this cooking time will give you a well-done bird, which I try to avoid but many people prefer.

Remove the pheasant and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes. This resting time is vital, as it lets the juices redistribute within the pheasant. It will also finish off the cooking process through carry-over heating.

Hank, can you dry brine instead of the wet brine? We have some pheasants to butcher that we didn't use to train dogs. I've started dry brining instead of wet brining most meats.

thank you so much for the recipe and the method!

this is the first time I ever tried to roast a pheasant on my own and it came out lovely! carry on! well done!

Got a “you have to do this again” from the bitter half! Unfortunately have not plucked many birds. It is a pain but need patience to keep from tearing the skin. My oven is convection so fortunately checked at 20 minutes in 350 mode and was well over 165 but it was still moist and with positive response I will be plucking more birds from now on. Aged 4 day with feathers and 3 days before brining for 8 hrs and dry 8 hrs. This was a young wild SD bird.

This was excellent!   I used apple for the stuffing.    It came out delicious.

I have used this recepie multiple times, one and 2 birds. Consistently excellent results. I use a little less salt for brine but otherwise everything the same. I also use apple and sometimes orange slices for stuffing with some lemon juice.  Love your recipe. Best out there! Truly best!

Tried this recipe twice, both times DELICIOUS!

This method can be done with really any small game leg. Duck and goose is a natural because they often have a lot of fat under the skin. But you can do this with pheasant legs, grouse legs, turkey legs, or even rabbit and squirrel legs. Obviously you&#039;ll need some extra fat with the skinnier animals, though. (Here&#039;s how to render your own duck fat) Butter or lard are good substitutes if you can&#039;t get duck or goose fat. And yes, olive oil works, too.

Easy Roast Duck Legs

duck legs ((or goose legs))

Salt

Duck fat, (butter

Pat the duck or goose legs dry with paper towels. If you have store-bought duck legs, prick the skin of the duck all over with a needle or the point of a sharp knife. Do not pierce the meat itself. Piercing the skin gives the fat a place to seep out. Salt your duck legs well and set them aside, skin side up. Let them come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 90 minutes.

Put the legs in a small casserole. How small? You want the casserole to be just big enough to hold the legs. Now you need some fat. If the legs themselves are fatty, you will only need to pour a thin sheen of oil or melted duck fat on the bottom of the casserole, then place the duck legs close together, but not overlapping. If the legs are skinny, add enough fat to come about 1/4 inch up the sides of the dish.

Put the casserole in the oven and turn it to 300°F; if you have a digital oven, you could even go down to 285°F. Do not preheat the oven. Every duck has a different level of fat, so doneness is more an art than a science. But it will take at least 90 minutes, and probably two hours, and even 3 or 4 hours won't hurt them. After 90 minutes, check the duck: It should be partly submerged in melted fat and the skin should be getting crispy.

When the skin is starting to look crispy, turn the heat to 375°F. Check after 15 minutes. You’re looking for a light golden brown. Remove the casserole from the oven and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before eating. Save the accumulated fat for cooking vegetables, other meats or for keeping your skin shiny. I strain the fat through a paper towel, but you really only need to do this if you are saving the fat for several weeks or months; strained, it will keep for 6 months tightly covered in the fridge. Well wrapped, the duck meat itself will last up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

OMG was this the perfect recipe for duck legs! I followed it completely and we feasted on duck legs that were as wonderful as any duck confit I've had at a restaurant. THANK YOU. This will be my go-to way to cook duck legs from now on.

Came out perfectly. I did it at 285 for about 2 hrs for two legs. I tucked a few potatoes and some garlic cloves with their paper on. Finished at 375 for 15 mintues. Made a simple sauce of mirin and pomegranate molasses (Lebanese/middle eastern stores) and fantastic!

Absolutely magnificent! I’ve confited duck legs before, but this is almost as good and WAY easier. Came our perfect. The wings were amazing done this way as well. Many thanks.

WOW! Delicious and easy to make. Thank you for coming up with this technique. I used my air fryer/oven for this duck. I set the super convection temp at 280 degrees for 60 minutes. The skin was light brown and crispy. I then raised the temp to 350 degrees for 15 minutes for extra crispness. Wonderful flavor, fall off the bone delight.

Made two duck quarters last evening using this recipe.  It's easy, it works, and the duck was fall apart tender, succulent, the best duck or any fowl we've had ever!  Can't wait to make it again.  And it only took about 2 1/4 hours and less than 1/2 cup of fat (used lard, didn't have duck fat--it was still delicious!).  Duck legs and this recipe will now become a staple in our household.

Superb! First time trying duck like this. Gosh! What a difference in flavor and texture! You rock, Hank!

Oh My GAWD! I FN love duck, and almost all of Hank's recipes... However, this is next Ducking level!! H.S. I have no idea how many times you had to screw this up to get it so perfect! My new favorite way to cook farmed duck legs!! I never have enough wild duck to try anything more than confit, but next year I am hunting harder just to try this with multiple species! Thank you for D(F)ucking rocking Duck Bro!

My husband wanted to try something different for Thanksgiving this year so I made duck legs for the first time. I followed your instructions exactly, and they were absolutely delicious - perfectly cooked, with crispy skin and moist, tender meat. I also used your recipe for Cumberland sauce and it complemented the duck beautifully. Can't thank you enough. 5 stars!!

Have you tried using this technique with turkey?

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