Pheasant In A Crock Food

BERGIE'S CROCK POT PHEASANT

Steps:

• Skin the pheasant and wash.
• Put pheasant in a large bowl with the salt and cover with cold water.
• Soak at least an hour.
• Then discard the brine solution.
• Cut pheasant into 4 pieces.
• Mix Marinade ingredients in a large zip lock bag (big enought to hold the pheasant pieces).
• Put pheasant pieces into the zip lock bag and put into the fridge.
• Marinate for 24 hours.
• Turn the bag every time you open the fridge.
• Discard the marinade.
• Put a 1/2 cup of water in your crockpot with the pheasant pieces.
• You may want to add a little more water while cooking if it goes dry (A nice touch is to use a dry white wine instead of the water or mix Wine and water 1/2 and 1/2).
• cook on low for at least 5 hours.

EMERIL'S FAVORITE ROAST PHEASANT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F and position the oven rack in the bottom third of the oven.
• Season the cavities and the outside of each pheasant liberally with salt and pepper. Divide the chopped onion and carrot equally among the cavities of the pheasants. Squeeze the juice from both halves of the orange and set aside. Cut 1 of the squeezed halves into 3 pieces, and tuck inside of the cavities along with the veggies. Insert 1sprig of thyme into the cavity of each pheasant.
• Arrange the pheasants in a large roasting pan, breast sides up. Lay 2 strips of bacon over the top of each pheasant, cutting the bacon into pieces if necessary to cover as much of the pheasant as possible. Roast for 15 minutes, then remove the bacon strips and continue roasting for approximately 30 to 40 minutes, or until the juices run clear. (It is important to not overcook the pheasants, as they are very lean birds.) Remove the pheasants from the oven and transfer to a serving platter, loosely tented, while you make the sauce.
• Using a spoon, carefully remove as much extra fat from the pan as possible. Place the roasting pan over high heat and, when hot, deglaze with the reserved orange juice and Madeira, using a wooden spoon to scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. When the orange juice and Madeira have reduced by half, add the chicken stock and continue to cook until sauce has reduced enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 to 4 minutes. Swirl in the butter and remove from the heat. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
• Remove the back bone from each pheasant, then cut along the breast bone to divide the birds into two halves. Serve 1/2 pheasant per person, napped with some of the sauce and with some of the Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding.
• Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over high heat. Add the onions and cook until golden brown and tender, 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon of the garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the Essence, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and 3/4 teaspoon of the pepper, and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are tender and have given off their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the beer and cook, stirring, to deglaze the pan and until the mixture is almost dry, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
• In a large bowl, combine the eggs, cream, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of Essence, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and whisk well to combine. Add the mushroom mixture and cheeses and stir well. Add the bread cubes and let sit until the bread has absorbed the liquid, 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with the butter. Add the bread crumbs, shaking to cover the bottom evenly. Pour the bread pudding mixture into the prepared pan and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour and uncover. Continue baking until risen and firm in the center, and golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly before serving.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.
• Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

SLOW COOKER PHEASANT WITH MUSHROOMS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Place the flour, salt, and pepper into a resealable plastic bag; shake to mix. Place the pheasant pieces into the flour mixture, and shake until evenly coated.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Shake any excess flour off of the pheasant pieces, and place them in the hot oil. Cook until the pheasant is brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Place the pheasant into a slow cooker, reserving the oil in the skillet. Cook the onion in the remaining oil until they soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms and garlic, and continue cooking and stirring until the mushrooms have softened and the garlic has mellowed, about 5 minutes more.
• Pour the wine into the skillet and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, then pour in the chicken broth and return to a boil. Pour the mushroom mixture into the slow cooker, and sprinkle with sliced black olives.
• Cover, and cook on High for 4 hours, or Low for 7 hours.

HOW TO COOK PHEASANT IN A SLOW COOKER

Steps:

• Spray the inside of your slow cooker with cooking spray. Get out a slow cooker that's at least 4 quarts (3.8 liters) in size. Spray the inside of the slow cooker with a vegetable oil cooking spray. The cooking spray will prevent the pheasant and vegetables from sticking to the slow cooker.
• Cut 1 onion, 2 carrots, and 2 parsnips. Peel the vegetables and then use a sharp knife to cut the onion into 1/2 in (1.3 cm) slices. Then chop the carrots and parsnips into rough pieces that aren't smaller than 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm). Cut the parsnips and carrots into pieces that are the same size so they cook evenly.
• Place the vegetables and pheasant into the slow cooker. Spread the sliced onions and chopped carrots and parsnips evenly across the bottom of the greased slow cooker. Then arrange 2 to 3 pounds (0.9 to 1.3 kg) of pheasant on top of the vegetables. You can use pheasant breasts or any pieces of pheasant you have.
• Put the bacon, broth, and sherry into the slow cooker. Lay 4 slices of bacon over the pieces of pheasant so the bacon is in a single layer. Then pour 1⁄4 cup (59 ml) of chicken broth and 1⁄4 cup (59 ml) of sherry over the pheasant and vegetables. If you don't have bacon, you can leave it out of the recipe, but the pheasants won't have a rich, smoky flavor.
• Season the pheasant with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Sprinkle salt and pepper according to your taste over the pheasant and vegetables. You'll also need to scatter 1/4 teaspoon (0.6 g) of garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon (0.6 g) of onion powder over the mixture.
• Cover and cook the pheasant for 8 to 10 hours on LOW. Turn the slow cooker on and cook the pheasant and vegetables until the pheasant is completely cooked. If you prefer to cook the dish faster, turn your slow cooker to HIGH and cook the pheasant for 3 to 4 hours. If you're cooking whole pheasants, they should reach 180 °F (82 °C) with an instant-read meat thermometer. If you're cooking pieces, they should reach 165 °F (74 °C).
• Serve the pheasant with vegetables. Turn off the slow cooker and serve the hot pheasant with the tender vegetables. Consider serving them with warm, crusty bread, steamed rice, or noodles. Refrigerate the leftover pheasant with vegetables in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 days.

PHEASANT IN A CROCK

Steps:

• Put the thyme, parsley, and crushed garlic inside the pheasant.
• Tuck the garlic slices between the legs and body.
• Season the pheasant with the salt and pepper.
• Remove the zest from the orange in long, thick, curly strips; lay them over the breast.
• Wrap the breast with the bacon and put the pheasant in a slow cooker.
• Halve the orange and squeeze the juice all over the bird.
• Put one of the squeezed orange halves in the cavity.
• Drizzle the pheasant with olive oil and broth.
• Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 ½-5 hours until the meat is tender and an instant-read meat thermometer inserted in the thigh registers 180°.
• Serve the pheasant on a platter, with the juices poured over.