Upland bird recipes

TAWNY ROASTED PHEASANTS

2 pheasants, (plucked) about 2 1/2 pounds each 2 oranges, halved

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

8 sprigs flat-leaf parsley

4 cloves garlic, peeled and bruised

2 bay leaves

12 slices bacon

1/2 cup defatted chicken broth

1/4 cup tawny port

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse pheasants, cleaning cavities well. Remove any excess fat. Pat dry. Squeeze oranges over birds and inside cavities. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle inside and out with salt and pepper. Place four sprigs of parsley, cloves of garlic and bay leaf in each cavity. Place birds in shallow roasting pan to fit. Arrange six slices of bacon over each pheasant. Add chicken broth and port to pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours (remove bacon after an hour), basting two or three times. Then bake 15 to 20 minutes longer until breasts are brown and birds are cooked through. Let rest 10 minutes, then serve.

Recipe courtesy of PARADE Magazine.

PHEASANT AT ITS BEST

1 pheasant, cut up into serving pieces

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 small onion, diced

6 bay leaves

Mix flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Roll pieces of bird in mixture and fry in oil in a heavy skillet until done. Remove from oil and place in large casserole dish or small roasting pan. Pour off all but 1/4 cup of oil then add 1/3 cup of remaining flour mixture into hot grease and mix well. Slowly add 1 1/2 cups water to make gravy then add the onions and mushroom soup. Place bay leaves over pheasant pieces then pour on gravy mixture. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until meat is very tender, in oven pre-heated to 300 degrees.

Recipe courtesy of Lee Martin of Newton.

PRAIRIE CHICKEN STIR-FRY

1-2 pounds prairie chicken, cut in 1/4-inch-by- 1/4-inch strips

1 teaspoon thyme

1-2 teaspoons ground white pepper

1-2 teaspoons ground red pepper

1-2 teaspoons chili powder

3 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon low-sodium Worcestershire sauce

3 teaspoons cornstarch

2 cups chicken stock or water

1 small zucchini, cut into julienne strips

small squash, cut into julienne strips

1-2 medium onions, thinly sliced

1 cup fresh broccoli florets

1 cup fresh cauliflowerets

4 red bell pepper rings, thinly sliced

Spray inside of large skillet with non-stick cooking spray and place over high heat. Saute meat five minutes. Add spices, cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Dissolve cornstarch in stock. Add to skillet with remaining ingredients; stir well. Cook until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serves four.

Recipe by Enola Prudhomme, Prudhomme's Cajun Cafe, Carencro, La., adapted from "Louisiana Gators," a pamphlet published by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

MARINATED WOODCOCK SAUTE

6 woodcock breasts (fileted) and legs

4 ounces Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 ounces vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tablespoons butter

1 small onion, diced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

Combine marinade (oil, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder). Mix in bowl, add pieces of woodcock. Stir, cover and place in refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours, turning every few hours.

Saute (cast iron skillet works best) crushed garlic and onions in butter until onions lose their color. Add marinated pieces of woodcock, turning often on medium heat until half-done (about five minutes). Add mushrooms, stir until meat is done. Serves two.

Recipe courtesy of Tom Huggler, published in "Campsite to Kitchen," a cookbook by the Outdoors Writers Association of America.

BAKED PRAIRIE CHICKEN

3 whole prairie chickens

1 cup vegetable oil

3 chicken bouillon cubes

4 1/2 cups hot tap water

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

Arrange chickens breast side up in large roaster. Rub well with vegetable oil. Salt and pepper. Add bouillon cubes and four cups water to bottom of roaster. Cover. Bake at 250 degrees for three hours. Place chickens on serving platter and keep hot in oven.

Pour broth from roaster into saucepan. Heat to a slow boil. Combine cornstarch, 1/2-cup water and poultry seasoning in small bowl. Stirring constantly, add cornstarch mixture to saucepan. Simmer to desired gravy consistency. Gravy can be poured over chicken, rice or biscuits. Serve hot.

Recipe courtesy of "Kansas Wildlife Chef," by Marie Johnson and Dave Case and published by Falcon Press of Helena, Mont.

ROAST QUAIL WITH SORGHUM GLAZE

12 quail

1/2 stick butter

1/2 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons sorghum or molasses

1 tablespoon worcestershire

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place quail on large baking sheet fitted with racks. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Combine remaining ingredients in small saucepan. Bring to boil and simmer until slightly reduced and thickened. Brush glaze over quail. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until quail are nicely browned and juices run clear. Brush quail with glaze twice during baking. Makes six servings.

Adapted from Jack Daniel's Tennessee roast quail with sorghum whiskey glaze

ROAST QUAIL

6 quail

6 large oysters

Strips of bacon

Flour

Salt and pepper

Butter or margarine

Clean birds and stuff each with oyster. Coat breasts and legs with butter and strips of bacon. Bake in oven (500 degrees) 10 to 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake until tender and brown, basting often with butter or other fat or water. Make gravy with the drippings and pour over birds.

Courtesy of Meta Given's Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking, 1953 Tanya's Pheasant and Quail with Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms

2 pheasant breasts, cut into four strips per breast 3 quail breasts, on the bone, cut in half lengthwise

Marinade:

3 cups Cabernet wine 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbs. fresh rosemary 1 tsp. fresh thyme ½-tsp. fresh ground black pepper

Marinate meat in wine, garlic and herbs 12 to 24 hours. Remove meat from marinade. Reserve marinade. Combine 1 ½ cups flour, 1 tsp. salt and ½ tsp. black pepper. Dredge meat in mixture. Shake off excess. Melt 4 tbs. butter in a Dutch oven or heavy stewing pot. Saute meat in butter until browned. Remove meat and set aside. Then drain all but 2 tbs. butter from skillet. Add to skillet: 4 yellow onions, sliced very thin. Saute the onions until browned, stirring often. Add to skillet: 1 lbs. sliced mushrooms, any variety Saute mushrooms 2 minutes, then add the reserved marinade and boil, stirring for 5 minutes. Add meat pieces and cover. Bring to a simmer and cook 45 minutes covered. Stir occasionally. Add water or wine if stew gets dry. After the stew has cooked, test meat for tenderness. Add: ½ cup heavy cream, 1 tsp. fresh chopped rosemary. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine, then simmer 10 minutes or longer. Remove from heat and serve.

PHEASANT CHOWDER

2 pheasants 2 large onions, quartered 2 celery stalks, diced 1 cup rice, raw 2 cucumbers, peeled and pureed ¼ cup white wine 2 tsp. dill weed, or more to taste salt pepper 2 cups half-and-half or nonfat yogurt

Put pheasants, frozen or thawed, into a soup pot with the onions, celery, and enough water to cover. Boil gently until the meat easily pulls from the bones, about 90 minutes. Remove the pheasants to cool and save the broth. Remove the meat from the bones, cut into bite-sized chunks and set aside. Discard the onions and celery. Add the rice to the broth and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer and cook, covered, until the rice is tender. Add the pureed cucumbers, pheasant meat, wine, dill, salt and pepper to the broth. Bring the pot almost to a boil, then remove from the heat and add the half-and-half. Serve. The Art of Wild Game Cooking

CHAMPAGNE PHEASANT

3 pheasants, cut into serving pieces

3 carrots, sliced

2 onions, sliced

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 tablespoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup cooking oil

1 bottle of your favorite champagne

Marinate pheasant pieces in half bottle champagne, salt and pepper overnight in refrigerator. Bring oil to medium heat in deep pan or Dutch oven, lay in pheasant pieces with vegetables and cook for 40 minutes, turning frequently. Pour in rest of champagne and cook another 45 minutes.

Recipe from "Larry Streeter's Eating Wild Game of the Health of It," published by Great Blue Heron Publishing, Big Fork, Mont.

CHEROKEE STUFFED PHEASANTS

2 pheasants, cleaned and plucked

Stuffing:

1 cup half white rice and half wild rice

5 slices smoked ham or bacon

4 scallions, chopped including tops

1/2 pound mushrooms, chopped

1 1/2 cups raw hazelnuts, chopped

1 1/2 cups apples, chopped

Rub pheasants with salt and pepper, and garlic inside and out. Cook rice in 2 1/2 cups water with 1 tablespoon salt for 30 minutes.

In a skillet, fry ham or bacon until crisp. Turn to medium-low heat and add scallions, mushrooms, hazelnuts and apples. Cook this mix for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add rice, mix well and remove from heat.

Pre-heat over to 350 degrees. Stuff birds and place in over to bake for 2 1/2 hours. Baste with melted butter every 20 minutes. Legs will pull away from bird when done.

Recipe from "Larry Streeter's Eating Wild Game of the Health of It," published by Great Blue Heron Publishing, Big Fork, Mont.

SAUTEED QUAIL A LA MARINADE

12 whole quail

1 (12-ounce) bottle Lawry's Mesquite with Lime Juice Marinade

3 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon Lawry's Garlic Salt with parsley

2 medium onions, sliced or 6 shallots, diced

1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

In a resealable plastic bag, combine quail and mesquite with lime juice marinade. Seal bag and refrigerate 4 to 12 hours, turning occasionally. In a large skillet, melt butter. Add onions, sprinkle with garlic salt with parsley, and saute for five minutes. Add marinated quail; cook five minutes over medium-high heat, turning frequently. Add mushrooms and cook additional five minutes. Do not overcook. Serve over rice.

Recipe courtesy of Tom Huggler, camping editor, Outdoor Life magazine.