Pheasant Tacos

Name: Pheasant Tacos
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Yield: 4 people
Ingredients: 4 to 8 pheasant breasts; 1/4 cup kosher salt; 1 quart water; 2 tablespoons pheasant fat, lard, clarified butter or olive oil; 8 to 12 corn or flour tortillas; Mexican cheese; 1 cup pickled vegetables with jalapenos, escabeche

User Reviews

4.9

30 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Brine Time
8 hrs
Servings
4 people
Calories
2655 kcal
Course
Main Course, Appetizer
Cuisine
Mexican

Pheasant Tacos

Elizabeth Hodge

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While I use pheasant here, any white meat would work, even fish. Obvious alternatives are chicken, grouse, quail, partridges and rabbit.

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Ingredients

Servings

4 to 8 pheasant breasts, with skin
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 quart water
2 tablespoons pheasant fat, lard, clarified butter or olive oil
8 to 12 corn or flour tortillas
Mexican cheese, crumbled
1 cup pickled vegetables with jalapenos, escabeche (optional)

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Instructions

Stir the salt in the water to dissolve. Remove the skins from the pheasant breasts and put in a container in the fridge. Submerge the pheasant breasts in the brine and put in a container in the fridge overnight. Note that you can skip the brine, but it leaves you with less wiggle room in cooking the pheasant.
The next day, briefly rinse off the pheasant and pat it dry. Salt the skins. Heat a comal or frying pan over medium-high heat and set the skins down on it, fat side first. It's helpful to put a weight over skins so they don't curl up; I use a bacon press. Fry, turning occasionally, until nice and crispy, about 8 minutes. Set aside.
Heat your tortillas and keep them warm in a tortilla warmer or wrapped in cloth towels.
In the same pan you cooked the skin in, add the pheasant fat or lard or whatever; there should be a little fat in the pan already that came off the skins. When this is hot, sear the pheasant breast hard over high heat for about 4 minutes. Again, it's helpful to put a weight on it while cooking. Flip and repeat, this time keeping an eye on how done it is. I find this second side only needs about 2 to 3 minutes.
Move the meat to a cutting board and let it rest. Chop the pickled vegetables so they'll work well in a tortilla. Chop the pheasant breast and the skin and make tacos. Enjoy!

Nutrition Information

Show Details

Calories 2655kcal (133%) Carbohydrates 25g (8%) Protein 313g (626%) Fat 136g (209%) Saturated Fat 38g (190%) Cholesterol 969mg (323%) Sodium 1138mg (47%) Potassium 3479mg (99%) Fiber 4g (16%) Sugar 1g (2%) Vitamin A 2994IU (60%) Vitamin C 76mg (84%) Calcium 214mg (21%) Iron 17mg (94%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4people

Amount Per Serving

Calories 2655 kcal

% Daily Value*

Calories	2655kcal	133%
Carbohydrates	25g	8%
Protein	313g	626%
Fat	136g	209%
Saturated Fat	38g	190%
Cholesterol	969mg	323%
Sodium	1138mg	47%
Potassium	3479mg	74%
Fiber	4g	16%
Sugar	1g	2%
Vitamin A	2994IU	60%
Vitamin C	76mg	84%
Calcium	214mg	21%
Iron	17mg	94%