Recipes & Cooking  |  12/05/2019

Tailgate Cooking During the Rooster Road Trip


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Check out this great recipe and play gourmet chef right from your tailgate with Pheasant Picatta!

By Laura McIver

Who says you can’t play gourmet cook when cooking on a tailgate? Show off your epicurean skills with just a little pre-planning on your part with proper utensils and ingredients. This decadent, but easy to make and serve dish can be ready in less than 30 minutes while wowing your hunting companions. It’s easily adaptable to one large skillet or can be made in two pans, depending upon the size of your stove. We used the easily transportable Camp Chef Mountaineer Two-Burner Stove and it easily handled our large group’s meal while powered by nothing but a one pound propane tank.  

This particular recipe was shared with me by Gulf Coast Quail Forever chapter member Scott Wilson, who was given the recipe from his friend, John Peckham. Being the experimental cook that I am, you can use this at home or on the road and change it up according to personal tastes when it comes to adding complementary vegetables and condiments. Bon Appetit!


Pheasant Picatta

Pheasant Prep

1 lb. pheasant breasts, pounded to ¼” thickness after being thoroughly cleaned

½ cup flour

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

Remove any cartilage segments that may still be attached to the breasts. Pound to ¼” thickness using a (meat) mallet after being thoroughly cleaned. Season lightly with Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Lightly coat the pheasant breasts in flour.

Once butter is sizzling, quickly place the lightly floured breasts in the pan and lightly brown on each side, about 2-3 minutes per side. Hint: When flipped for the first time, add any vegetables such as artichokes, blanched asparagus, sun dried tomatoes, or fresh diced tomatoes etc.

If feeling talented and able to multi-task, you can brown the pheasant breasts while starting the sauce. Otherwise, remove pheasant from pan and keep warm.
 


Sauce Preparation

¼ cup of dry white wine

1/3 cup of lemon juice

4 tbsp of butter

Capers (drained) as desired

Bring wine and lemon juice to a boil in same skillet or similar that pheasant was prepared in, scraping and adding any browned bits from the pan. Reduce heat to low, stir in butter and drained capers. When butter melts, spoon over pheasant breasts or add pheasant breasts to pan (& desired vegetables).

Hint: The sauce will vary slightly in taste depending upon the wine that is used; which of course the remainder of the bottle of wine may be served alongside the pheasant picatta. My particular favorite is a quality Pinot Grigio. Can also be served with Angel Hair pasta to round out the meal. 

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Rooster Road Trip 2019 Sponsors:

Sincerest thanks to our partners riding shotgun: Apple Autos, Browning, Federal Premium Ammunition, Garmin, ORCA Coolers, Ruff Land Kennels, CampChef, SoundGear, Irish Setter, and Nebraska Game & Parks Commission.