I spent the weekend trying to keep an old family tradition alive.
My parents, now both in the upper 80s, used to make old-fashioned ring bologna. I asked them over and over how it was done, and a few years back my family and I made a batch together.
It was comprised of beef and pork and a whole lot of garlic and other seasonings.
It is not wild game by any means, but when it comes to outdoor life, I have lots of other tasty favorites.
I was trying to find room in my freezer to put my share, which was just north of 150 pounds, and as a result, I did some freezer space sorting.
The rule at my house is that wild game, fish and other foods collected from wild get their allotted space. That space was pretty full, but as I was restacking my frozen favorites, I remembered another recipe my mom was quite famous for.
It’s called Heart Attack Pheasant, and it’s my favorite way to prepare the harvest of my fall adventures.
It is not at all difficult.
Cut the pheasant breasts into about five pieces and debone leg and thigh. Coat the pieces of meat in flour with lots of pepper or your other favorite seasoning.
Fry these in butter, (not margarine) over medium heat until they are browned up. They do need to be cooked through. Once browned, transfer them to a glass baking dish or other shallow roaster.
Adding a stick of butter at a time is usually needed. A big batch can use a pound of butter.
When this prep is done, fry up an onion that has been chopped into medium-sized pieces in the remaining butter and cook it until it’s soft.
Then add a giant tub of sour cream to the frying pan and scrape all the “fryings” off the bottom to get a light brown gravy.
Here is the tricky part: You need to add enough milk to the pan in order to have enough sauce to cover the contents of the glass dish or roaster. Now take another onion and slice it really thin and lay these slices over the top of the meat and sour cream sauce.
Bake one hour at 325 degrees or two hours at 250 degrees. I think the lower temperature for longer is a better outcome. You can add some more milk if the concoction looks to be getting dry. Bake it uncovered, and the onion slices will soften and brown up for a great presentation.
People who say they won’t eat pheasant, or any wild bird for that matter, will take a bite and then come back for seconds or even thirds.
This pheasant recipe has converted more non-game-eating individuals over to the good side than any other I have ever tried.
The best part of this recipe is how great it tastes as leftovers. I can’t really explain it, but the second time around is every bit as good as the first bite. You do need to be careful about busting your crown or cap on a shotgun pellet. The breast meat is pretty good at hiding a stray pellet or two.
My other go-to recipe is pretty easy, but every bit as close to Heart Attack Pheasant.
Cut up the pieces as before but then soak the meat in a saltwater solution for about 15 minutes (add 3 heaping tablespoons of salt to a half gallon of water). I then coat them in my favorite seasoning like shore lunch or other flour-like coating. Deep fat fry those morsels in canola oil and then toss them in your favorite barbecue sauce. My favorite is the mango habanero from Buffalo Wild Wings, which also has a good teriyaki sauce.
The soaking does something I cannot explain. In many cases, without the soak stage, the breading just gets mushy and falls off when you try to eat it. By soaking the meat first, it allows the finished product to have a crunchy exterior but a moist and soft interior.
My hardest challenge is trying to make my pheasant supply last until the season opens next fall. Once you try these two recipes for your birds, you will never let another member of your hunting party take any of your birds home with them to avoid the cleaning effort. Your cardiologist will frown on them, so enjoy in moderation.
Scott Rall, Worthington, is a habitat conservationist, avid hunting and fishing enthusiast and is president of Nobles County Pheasants Forever. He can be reached at scottarall@gmail.com. or on Twitter @habitat champion.