Pan seared pheasant
breast on a bed of rice
By Chris Sykes
Pheasant season started
last Saturday, bringing back
so many childhood mem-
ories. While I spent much
of my teen years hunting
pheasant, I rarely ate it. My
friends and I would hunt
almost every weekday and
weekend during the season.
If we didn’t have football
practice, we’d rush out of
school, hop into my dad’s
GMC pickup—shotguns
on the gun rack—and head
off before it got dark. Back
then, it wasn’t uncommon
to bring guns to school as
long as they stayed in the
truck.
Some days we’d hit
our limit; other days we’d
come back empty-handed.
There’s something thrill-
ing about shooting at a
fast-moving target that
jumps out from the brush
10 feet ahead of you. One
of the best things about
pheasant hunting was that it
didn’t require a major time
commitment—you could
spend just an afternoon
hunting.
I’ll never forget the
first time my dad took me
pheasant hunting on the
backside of the Heppner
Reservoir. It was a thrilling
experience that stayed with
me until this day. Despite
all my years of hunting, I
rarely ate pheasant because
I convinced myself it was
too gamey. Since at the time
I wasn’t a fan of pheasant,
I usually gave my birds to
friends who wanted them.
That belief stuck with me
for years, and it took me 30
years to realize how wrong
I was.
Pheasant season starts
in early October and runs
until the end of Decem-
ber. Last Thanksgiving, I
decided to cook pheasant
for the first time as an ex-
tra dish since we had so
many guests. Even though
I still thought it might taste
gamey, I gave it a try. To
my surprise, the pheasant
breasts turned out tender
and flavorful—nothing like
I expected. This year, I plan
to cook the legs and thighs
as well.
The recipe I found for
pan-seared pheasant breast
with red peppers was a
game changer. The pheas-
ant was tender, moist, and
delicious—nothing like
the gamey taste I imagined
in my head. It’s funny how
long it took me to appre-
ciate something I spent so
much time hunting, but I’m
glad I finally did. I can’t
wait until my son, Waylon,
and daughter Sophie are old
enough to enjoy this with
me. I also want to thank
my father for taking me
pheasant hunting for the
first time and my friends for
inviting me to hunt on their
land. Their generosity made
so many of these memories
possible.
side of the breastbone to
remove both breast halves.
Save the Carcass
Set aside the remaining
carcass for stock.
Step 2: Make Pheasant
Stock (Optional)
Ingredients for Stock:
Leftover pheasant carcass
2 celery stalks (chopped)
2 carrots (chopped)
1 onion (chopped)
Cold water
Instructions:
Brown the pheasant carcass
with celery, carrots, and
onions in a large pot.
Once browned, add cold
water to cover the carcass
and vegetables.
Let the stock simmer gently
for a few hours.
Strain the stock and store
for future use.
Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, October 16, 2024 -- SEVEN
~ G-T Trophy Corner ~
The Heppner Gazette Times would like to see pictures of your trophy animals
from this hunting season. Please send a photo along with your name, age, town
you live in, location of the hunt and a description of the animal to editor@
rapidserve.net, upload to Heppner.net or text to 541-215-2274.
burn ban starting at 8am
Wednesday October 16th.
The Heppner Fire De-
partment is lifting the
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Step 3: Cook the Legs and
Thighs (Braising)
Ingredients for Braising:
2 celery stalks (chopped)
2 carrots (chopped)
Colden Hoeft - Heppner
1 onion (chopped)
3/4 inch of liquid (stock or
water)
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 300°F
(150°C).
Brown the legs and thighs
in a hot pan with a bit of
olive oil.
Place the browned legs and
thighs into a roasting pan
with celery, carrots, and
onions.
Add 3/4 inch of liquid
(stock or water) to the roast-
ing pan.
Cover the pan with foil or a
tight-fitting lid.
Braise in the oven for sever- Garin Hoeft - Heppner
al hours until the meat pulls
easily from the bone.
Once done, remove the
meat, and add the bones
to your stockpot if making
stock.
Notice is hereby given at the Ione School District
Step 4: Cook the Breast that the Ione School District cafeteria. There will be no
Board of Directors will work session this month.
(Pan-Searing)
Ingredients for Cooking meet for a Regular Board Join the meeting now Meet-
Meeting on Tuesday, Oc- ing ID: bgn-axbt-hgx Pass-
Breast:
tober 15, 2024, at 5:30 pm code: 151 980 723#
Olive oil
Butter
Any poultry seasoning of
your choice or just salt and
pepper
Fresh rosemary (chopped)
Birthright of Morrow County will be
Garlic cloves (minced)
Red peppers or Jalapeño
having a 4-year anniversary dinner
(optional, chopped)
with a speaker on Sunday,
Tomatoes (chopped)
November 3, 2024 at 5:00 pm.
Lime juice
Instructions:
Heat olive oil in a cast-iron
skillet over medium heat.
Add butter once the skillet
is hot.
Place the pheasant breasts
in the hot skillet.
Season the breasts with
poultry rub or salt and pep-
per and add fresh rosemary.
Throw in chopped peppers
and tomatoes alongside the
breasts
Flip the breasts after a few
minutes and reduce the heat
slightly.
Add garlic toward the end
of cooking to avoid burn-
ing.
If desired, add chopped
Ingredients:
jalapeño for heat.
1 whole pheasant (wild)
Squeeze lime juice over
Olive oil
the breasts during the final
Butter
minutes of cooking.
Any poultry seasoning of Cook until the breasts are
your choice
just slightly pink in the
Fresh rosemary
center to avoid drying out.
Garlic cloves
Red peppers or Jalapenos Step 5: Final Touches and
(optional)
Serving
Tomatoes
Remove the pheasant
Lime juice
breasts and veggies from
Celery, carrots, and onions the skillet once cooked
(for braising and stock)
through but still moist.
3/4 inch of broth or water Serve over rice (or your
(for braising)
choice of sides).
Salt and pepper
Garnish with the rosemary,
Your choice of wild or lime, garlic, and any pan
white rice
juices.
Optionally, serve with the
Step 1: Break Down the braised legs and thighs for
Pheasant
a complete pheasant dish.
Remove the Legs
Enjoy your perfect-
Start by cutting off the legs ly cooked pheasant, full
at the joint.
of rich flavors and tender
Remove the Breast
meat!
Make a clean cut down each
Heppner burn ban
lifted Oct. 16 th
Notice of board meeting
of Ione School District
177 N. Main
P.O. Box 337
Heppner, OR 97836
Chris@sykesrealestate.net
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