I have been using pheasant a lot more since I moved to Central Oregon, and I have found that if not cooked properly it can be very dry. Here I will cook some pheasant thighs slowly in fat to make them moist and more delicious. The process of cooking it slowly in fat will yield you a succulent thigh. You will use the same process as in making duck confit except the cure is a little different.
Pheasant Thigh Confit
8ea Pheasant Thighs
3C Sugar
1.5C Brown Sugar
1.25oz Parsley
8stems Oregano
1oz Sage Leaves
8ea Bay Leaves
6ea Garlic Cloves
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AN Bacon Fat
- Preheat your oven to 250°F
- Place all of the ingredients in a food processor (except the pheasant) and pulse until fragrant.
- Toss the cure with the pheasant thighs and set aside for 2 hours.
You will see liquid that leached out of the pheasant when it is ready to be rinsed.
- Rinse the cure off and pat dry. For this confit I used bacon fat, you can use duck fat, or whatever suits you.
- Warm the fat and submerge the pheasant in it and cover with foil.
- Place in the oven for 12 hours.
- After the 12 hours, the pheasant legs will refrigerate very well for up to a month when kept in the fat, and even longer if stored in the freezer.
You can see my use of the pheasant here.
