Pheasant

Michael B

It has been a l-o-n-g time since I cooked a pheasant, but I have two I need to cook tomorrow. I plan on brining about 3 hours in the morning then spatch cooking at 350* dome.[p]Brine:
Sea salt, turbinado sugar, cinnammon stick, dried lemon peel, dried orange peel, cloves, allspice, rosemary, thyme, onion, carrot, garlic cloves and celery[p]Any other ideas?

RhumAndJerk

Michael B,
There are a few changes that I would make and that is with the sea salt and the Turbindo sugar.
First I would use Kosher Salt instead of Sea Salt and regular sugar instead of Turbindo sugar. Kosher Salt is a pure salt and much better to use on raw meat. The other reason is that the flavor characteristics of sea salt would be lost in the brine, same with the Turbindo Sugar. Also, Turbindo Sugar works better in a rub since it holds up to the heat of BGE better.[p]Next if you are making a brine of both salt and sugar, you have to watch your ratios. I think that sugar and salt produce much of the same results chemically when used in brine. I am not an expert on brining so hopefully someone will chime in here.[p]The last suggestion would be do a simple brine solution with the salt, sugar and cinnamon stick and then mix the rest of the ingredients as rub and apply at cooking.[p]Hope this Helps,
RhumAndJerk[p]

Hoss's BBQ

Michael B,
I would reduce your brining time depending on how big the pheasant is I would try cutting it by half. Try some juniper berries in the brine. Definatly use kosher salt instead of the sea salt. Sea salt is a more delicate salt then kosher also it is more expensive. sea salt is used more as a finishing salt. Sprinkle it on the meat or letuuce in a salad right before it is served.

FossilPeddler

Michael B,[p]I agree with the others so far and would simplify the brine, and I think I would lay some bacon on top of the bird, since pheasants are so lean. Lots of traditional pheasant recipes call for "barding" them, which basically means adding a layer of fat.[p]Just guessing though, have never done it. Good luck![p]FossilPeddler

Michael B

RhumAndJerk,[p]Good points.[p]I have plenty of Kosher Salt, but no plain sugar. Maybe 1/2 cup of molasses… Sea salt is a fairly new thing in the house and I've been playing with it in different recipes to see how it compares.[p]Original ratios:
For each gallon of brine
1 cup Kosher Salt
1 cup Turbinado sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 cup dried lemon peel
3 tablespoons dried orange peel
2 teaspoons cloves
1 teaspoon allspice berries
1 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 teaspoon thyme[p]boil with onion, carrot, garlic cloves and celery. Cool.[p]As I said, it has been a long time since I cooked pheasant. I left out that in the past I always did a buttermilk marinade and fried it.

Michael B

FossilPeddler,[p]Nope, can't add bacon. The closest I get to eating pig is Jell-O, and I rarely eat that.

FossilPeddler

Michael B,[p]Understood. If it does turn out dry at all, I guess one more approach would be to marinate rather than brine, with lots of olive oil, some lemon juice, onion and/or garlic, and herbs.[p]I hope it works out for you as planned though! For the record, I use lots of sea salt in cooking and at the table, but concur with the others about using Kosher for brining.[p]FossilPeddler