Pheasant Leg Stew

Don’t throw away those pheasant legs and thighs! Try braising them. It is the same process as using your slow cooker. This is a great way to turn pheasant legs and thighs into tender vittles. Best of all, braising can be done in advance as in mass quantities. Save the legs and carcass in the freezer (use your FoodSaver to vacuum seal) and do a whole batch at once.

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Pheasant Leg Stew

Servings: 8 -10 servings

Ingredients

For the Braising

• 1 onion diced (can use cut ends of onion - throw no parts away)
• 1 cup celery diced
• 1 cup carrots diced
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• Bay Leaf
• Fresh Herbs Rosemary is my go-to

For the Stew

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup carrot peeled & diced
• 1 cup celery diced
• 1 cup yellow onion diced
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 cup flour
• 5 cups pheasant or chicken stock
• 2 cups mushrooms thinly sliced
• 2 cups whole milk Optional, if omitted, add 2 cups stock
• 1 cup cooked wild rice
• 2 cups cooked pheasant shredded
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Browning and Braising

• Brown the pheasant legs and thighs in a large, lightly-oiled, heavy-duty, oven-safe stock pot.
• Add diced onion, celery and carrot
• Brown until the onions are translucent.
• Remove the legs
• Add 1 inch of water and stir to deglaze stuck bits in the pot. Return the browned pheasant, cover and place in a 325-degree oven, ensuring there is always 1 inch of liquid in the pot.
• After 3 hours, test for doneness. Meat will fall off bones when done. Cool the meat.

The Stock

• Return picked legs and thigh bones to the braising pot
• Add additional celery, carrots, onions along with garlic cloves, bay leaves and fresh herbs
• Cover the contents of the pot with COLD water, bring to a low-boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered for several hours.
• Strain liquid through colander lined with cheesecloth to clarify the liquid

The Stew

• Melt half the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add next ingredients from list above and cook until onions are translucent.
• Add butter. When melted, sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir often for three minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup pheasant stock and continue stirring until smooth. Add remaining stock, a little at a time, while stirring.
• Add mushrooms and milk (if you want it a little creamy), bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Stir in rice and shredded pheasant. Season to taste with salt and pepper.