Pheasant season is a century-old tradition in South Dakota.  Around here, opening day is celebrated as a holiday as big as Thanksgiving.

Our state holiday in October is also steeped in food tradition.  Our game bird’s world renown was secured by efforts in Aberdeen to feed pheasant sandwiches to WWII troops traveling by train.

In the holiday tradition of food and pheasants shared with family and friends, here are 3 pleasant pheasant recipes to stir up this fall.  Here’s cheers to ROOSTER!

PHEASANT LEG STEW

Ingredients:

Braising:

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 1 cup carrots, diced
• 2 to 3 garlic cloves
• Bay leaf
• Rosemary

Stew:

• ½ cup butter, divided
• 1 cup carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 cup yellow onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, diced
• ½ cup flour
• 5 cups pheasant or chicken stock (choose low-sodium options)
• 2 cups mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 cups of whole milk (or 2 more cups of stock)
• 1 cup cooked wild rice
• 2 cups shredded cooked pheasant
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees

2. Brown pheasant legs and thighs in an oiled oven-safe stock pot.

3. Add diced onion, celery, and carrots

4. Brown until onions are translucent

5. Remove legs and add 1 inch of water to the pot. Stir to deglaze the pot.

6. Return pheasant to pot. Cover and bake, making sure there is always 1 inch of water in the pot.

7. Bake for 3 hours or until internal temperature of 160 to 165° F. Allow meat to cool and pick from bones.

8. Place meat, free of bones, in the pot.

9. Add carrots, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaves and rosemary.

10. Cover the contents with cold water and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 2 hours.

11. When you’re ready to finish, melt ¼ cup of butter in a pot over medium heat.

12. Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and cook until onions are translucent.

13. Add remaining butter. When it melts, sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir for 3 minutes.

14. Stir in ½ cup of stock and continue stirring until smooth

15. Add sliced mushrooms, then add milk (for a creamy texture) or stock.

16. Stir in cooked rice and add shredded pheasant.

17. Season with salt and pepper to taste

TENDER SLOW COOKED PHEASANT

Ingredients:

• 4 small pheasants, cleaned and rinsed
• ½ pound sliced bacon
• 1 (10.75 oz.) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup water
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 (1 oz.) package dry onion soup mix
• 1 (4.5 oz.) can sliced mushrooms
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place pheasants into large slow cooker.

2. Drape the bacon slices over the birds, covering them as much as possible.

3. Whisk condensed soup, sour cream, water, onion, soup mix, and mushrooms together in a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the pheasants.

4. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 5 to 7 hours.

5. Serve with wild rice, mashed potatoes, or your favorite side.

BAKED PHEASANT IN GRAVY

 Ingredients:

• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup baked brown sugar
• 6 pheasant breast halves
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 can (10.75 oz.) condensed cream of celery soup
• 1 to 1 1/3 cup water
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 can (2.8 oz.) French-fried onions
• Cooked mashed potatoes or wild rice

Directions:

1. Mix flour and brown sugar in a large, resealable plastic bag.

2. Add pheasant, one piece at a time, and shake to coat.

3. Brown pheasants on both sides in butter in large skillet over medium heat.

4. Transfer browned meat to a greased, 13×9-inch baking dish.

5. Mix soup, water and broth until blended. Pour over pheasant.

6. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

7. Sprinkle with fried onions and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until juices run clear.

8. Serve with mashed potatoes or rice.

All of these pheasant recipes pair perfectly with a corn muffin, and we have the perfect low-sugar option!