Pheasant Chili Verde

As much as I enjoy hunting for the obvious reasons of spending long hours submerged in my love of nature or the challenge of shooting a Blue Grouse that is traveling off the nose of a staunch Pointer at speeds that are rapidly approaching Mach 1.  Possibly the greatest benefit of hunting is self sustainability.  There is truly something truly special; an almost religious experience when preparing a meal from meat that you personally procured while fulfilling that inherited urge to hunt.  While writing this post I was reminded of a story from the Bible that seemed appropriate.  (forgive me as I paraphrase) The disciple Peter had went to the roof to pray when he suddenly became hungry and wished for something to eat.  He fell into a trance and heaven opened in front of him, there before him was a large number of four footed animals and birds of the air.  When suddenly a voice told him "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat." (Acts 10:13) I could go on but perhaps that's a post for another time. 

I have always loved to cook and I enjoy it even more when the ingredients are from animals that I have killed or vegetables from my small garden.  Ever since I started this blog I wanted to do a recipe post.  So without further adieu here is one of my favorite recipes for pheasant.

Pheasant Chili Verde

 

 

Ingredients:

 

1.5 pounds tomatillos

5 garlic cloves, not peeled

2 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, chopped (I used 5 because I like a bit of spice)

2 Anaheim or Poblano chiles

1 bunch cilantro leaves, cleaned and chopped

3.5 pounds of pheasant cut into 1" cubes

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil

2 yellow onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

2 Tbsp of chopped fresh oregano

2.5 cups chicken stock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remove husks from tomatillos and rinse well.  Once they are rinsed take a sharp knife and cut them in half and place them flat side down on a foil lined baking sheet  along with 2 chilis and 5 unpeeled cloves of garlic.  Place in oven and broil until the skins of the tomatillos and chilis are blackened. (roughly 8-10 mins) Remove from broiler and let cool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take the pheasant and cut the meat into  1" pieces and put in a bowl with a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper.  I like to add a bit of adobo seasoning to the meat as well.  Heat a large cast iron skillet with a bit of olive oil and fry the pheasant pieces until golden brown remove from skillet and then set aside.  With the skillet still hot take the chopped onion and garlic and fry in the remaining oil until soft or roughly 5 minutes. Remove the onions and garlic from the skillet and place them in a crock pot along with the pheasant pieces.

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Toss the cooled tomatillos and garlic (skin on) into a blender.  Take the chilis and remove the skin and seeds and add to the blender along with the cilantro and jalapenos.  Turn on blender and mix all of the ingredients until they finely chopped and mixed.

 

 

 

Pour the green chili sauce over the meat and onions and add the oregano and chicken stock and stir well mixing all of the ingredients in the crock pot.  Heat on low for 3 hours and serve with warm tortillas or Spanish rice.

 

 

I truly hope that you enjoy this recipe.  Feel free to take and add to it as you see fit.  I have a tendency to like spicy food and this particular recipe reflects that.  You can easily reduce the spice by removing the chilis or reducing the number of jalapenos.  Also if you try the recipe please leave comments as to what you liked and what you disliked.