Processing Pheasant
Six pheasants we were given. The beaters dish out a lot of free, non-farmed meat to the local community.
There are many different ways to prepare pheasant. This is the way I do it. I try to create as little waste as possible and all the leftover bits will find themselves in a place where they can either be scavenged or rot down into the ground.
Firstly I remove the head at the top of the neck.
Slice the skin at the leg joint (ankle equivalent), break and pull.
All going to plan, it should pull out the tendon running through the upper part of the leg.
I cut from the top edge of the wing down to the elbow joint, twist and break off the forearm.
Make an incision in the skin on the breast. Then peel the skin away from the flesh. If the crop is full, I'll carefully pull it away from the carcass without breaking it open.
To remove the guts, I cut an opening below the breast, run my fingers along the inside of the ribcage and scoop out the contents.
Give it a rinse and all done. Six pheasants ready to go to the kitchen.
