Hanging Pheasant, urgent help needed.

[moko]

Hi, can anyone help?

A pheasant flew into the side of my landrover this morning, killing it stone dead.
I would like to hang it but am not sure of exactly how to go about it.
Do I gut the bird before hanging? Is it OK to hang it in my shed and for how long.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[C_Claycomb]

Why hang it at all? Do you particularly like gamey meat?
I would say that it would have to be gutted. Normally the bacteria in the gut will start decomposition fast and taint the meat quickly of just about any dead animal.

 

[moko]

Thanks Claycomb,

I thought most game birds had to be hung to soften, make the meat more tender?

Moko

 

[Tor helge]

I don`t know about pheasants, but we usually let the grouse hang for 40 "døgngrader".
That means; if the temp. is 8 degrees C the bird will hang for 5 days. 5 X 8 = 40. If the temp. is 10 degrees it will hang for 4 days and so on.
This is however not excact "science".
We don`t usually gut the grouse before we hang it.

Tor

 

[tomtom]

Its illegal, or so I was told, to collect a pheasant which you yourself ran over, though not so for someone else to do so or for you to pick up one someone else hit.. Obviously moko means he picked up a pheasant hit by someone else in a landrover, as we don’t condone/discuss illegal activity here on BCUK.

…and to the point.. I don’t hand pheasants, I have never found the meat to be too tough except in a few very big old males, I don’t much like a very gamey taste or the though oh eating mean that has been 'hangin around' for weeks! horses for courses i think!

 

[pierre girard]

I've heard of this "hanging" of game birds. From what I've heard you're supposed to leave the guts in. Different strokes for different folks (oh my stomach - be still).

With pheasent, I immediately gut them, or field dress them by sticking a hooked piece of wire up the butt and dragging out the guts. When I get home, or to camp, I cut off the wings, feet, head, and skin them.

With grouse, soon as I collect them, I stand on the wings and pull on the feet. This pulls the guts and head out with the legs and pulls most of the skin and feathers off. I twist off the wings and end up with the breast (the only meat worth collecting with grouse). No knife needed. I carry plastic bags in my pocket to pop the breast into.

Some people think this is bad. "What about the legs - they say." Please. About a teaspoon full of meat per leg - and full of bones and cartilage besides. I don't collect legs unless I intend to get a lot of grouse.

If you must have the leg meat, slit the leg meat and fold it out - butterfly fashion. Fry the leg in hot grease and the tiny bones and cartilage will pop out.

I usually save the feathers and fans from both birds - the only reason I would carry a knife while grouse hunting.

PG

 

[Longstrider]

I think there has been as much bull deposit spoken and written about hanging game as on any subject you could find. I've heard it all, from "Hang a pheasant by 3 tail feathers, and when it drops, it's ready," to the same method with the whole tail knotted around the nail on the shed wall. I even heard one old boy declare with an air of authority that "They ain't worth etting 'til you can see maggits in the eye 'oles!".. .. and I thought I had a strong constitution!
Personally I don't hang them at all. I shoot one today, it's dinner today or tomorrow. Never have shot a grouse, but I treat partridge just the same as pheasant. Maybe that it all stems from my usual impatience of "I see it, I want it, I'm having it, Now", but to be honest I simply don't like my meat to be too "gamey".

 

[British Red]

Hi, can anyone help?

A pheasant flew into the side of my landrover this morning, killing it stone dead.
I would like to hang it but am not sure of exactly how to go about it.
Do I gut the bird before hanging? Is it OK to hang it in my shed and for how long.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Moko,

Its a matter of flavour as said by everyone else. If you want to do it, its guts in and 5 days tops in my view. Hanging originated for more fibrous meats (venison, beef etc.). Allowing decomposition to start helped break those muscles etc. down. Its not necessary for a pheasant but some like the gamey taste.

I live on a shooting farm and so get through a lot of (very fresh) phesant (we release many thousand each year). If you want any guidance on dressing out, just pm me and I'll tell you how I do it (2 minutes into the oven)

Red

 

[bloodline]

Its guts in do not pluck. Hang it by the neck. There is no need to hang a young bird but the old ones benifit by about 5 days hanging somewhere cool. You can gestimate its age by the size of its spurs. If you gut it it will start to rot as you are letting new spoilage bactieria inside

 

[BorderReiver]

Its illegal, or so I was told, to collect a pheasant which you yourself ran over, though not so for someone else to do so or for you to pick up one someone else hit.. Obviously moko means he picked up a pheasant hit by someone else in a landrover, as we don’t condone/discuss illegal activity here on BCUK.

The pheasant ran into the landy.It was not run over.

I usually hang em till I gets round to drawing em.

Certainly no more than 4-5 days unless it's really cold.As our winters are getting less cold,3 days is probably safer.

 

[twelveboar]

I hang them in the feather and intact for up to a week if it's cold enough. Then if you're not sure what to do : http://forum.rivercottage.net/viewtopic.php?t=13015
should help. Bon appetitte.

 

[spoony]

I hang them for about 5 days guts in, by the neck, they dont smell at all, (hang in a cool place) untill that is you gut them, just put a bit of vicks on your nose cos it aint a pleasant smell, if you cant be bothered to pluck it, you can skin it, just wrap it in bacon to stop it drying out while cooking, bacon tastes nice as well when done, just my $0.02

 

[Rebel]

Moko,

I live on a shooting farm and so get through a lot of (very fresh) phesant (we release many thousand each year). If you want any guidance on dressing out, just pm me and I'll tell you how I do it (2 minutes into the oven)

Red

I've always had a problem managing to pluck freshly shot pheasant without damaging the skin so I end up skinning them. (I've no problems with domestic foul). Got any tips?

BTW I never hang them either, they already taste gamey enough for me.

 

[Lurch]

Low birds (shot hard) and fatty birds (often the same thing!) end up more tricky to pluck as the skin comes away easier. Pushing the skin down just ahead of the pluck helps a little.

 

[moko]

Thanks to you all for your advice. In the end we eat the bird the following evening and it was great, roosted with bacon 'yummy'.

can't wait for the car in front of me to hit another bird!

 

[British Red]

Rebel,

The skin is loose. My two minute technique is simply to skin them. In effect, it goes:

1. Head off (mind the crop)
2. Extend each wing. Bend the final joint backwards to snap the tendons. Sever through the joint with your knife tip and discar the outer wing.
3 Do the same with the knee joints. Mind the spur on cock pheasants lower leg - its sharp.
4 Pinch the skin on the breast and insert the knife tip. Slit clenaly to the anus running the blunt back of the knife over the meat.
5 Turn the bird around and extend the slit to the severed neck.
6 Slit the skin along the inside of each wing in the same way and join up to the centre slit
7 Slit the leg skin up to the centre slit
8 Gently peel the whole skin off in one - it'll come off easy.
9 Lift the bird by the legs and cut carefully arond the anus.
10 (nasty bit) insert 1 finger into neck cavity and loosen lungs and chest cavity
11 insert 1 finger into slit round anus and loosen stomach and intestines
12 push 2 fingers into cavity and carefully withdraw entire intestines, heart liver and lungs as one (use latex gloves if you like - its a good idea)
13 keep liver if you like it
14 wash out body cavity
15 Cook & eat

If you really want the skin that much, skip the skinning bit and, before anything else, pluck the bird. My technique is to lay the bird in the palm of my hand, on its back, with the head hanging between my fingers. I pluck downward - against the grain. Pluck a small pinch at a time. Tail feathers are deep rooted - I use my Leatherman for grip on each feather.

Hope that helps

Red

 

[scanker]

The link below is to a tutorial for plucking and drawing a pheasant. There are photographs, so be warned if you're of a particularly squeamish disposition.

http://forum.rivercottage.net/viewtopic.php?t=13015

 

[KevB]

Looks like its all been said !
I'd agree with 4-5 days in temps below 8C. I always go for the skinning option - its very quick and easy.
Take note of Reds point about the crop. The first one I prep'd and cooked for my mates (in my student days when cheap food was always a bonus!), I hadn't removed the crop and one of them got an unpleasant surprise. Still you live and learn eh ?

Kev

 

[Rebel]

Thanks for the tips. Guess I'll keep skinning them. I don't care to eat the skin but I thought it would help to make the meat a bit more tender when its roasted.

 

[Mike B]

I always hang game birds for 4-5 days in a cool larder which promotes a slightly gamey flavour and aids the flesh to become tender, I do not hang waterfowl as this tends to make the meat taste muddy & fishy, pigeons I breast soon as I get home rabbits I sort as soon as possible but hares I hang as fresh hare takes a lot of slow cooking to become tender which detracts from the flavour.