Americans consume a staggering 8 billion chickens annually, with each person averaging about 100 pounds per year. That's a lot of cluck for your buck. While chicken is a beloved staple, introducing variety can elevate your culinary experiences. At Sugartown Smoked Foods, we offer a delectable alternative: smoked pheasant. Crafted in small batches and available in limited supply, our smoked pheasant provides a rich, sophisticated flavor that stands out from the ordinary.
In this article, we’ll delve into the basics of pheasant, exploring its taste profile, nutritional benefits, and versatile culinary applications. By broadening your protein choices to include options like smoked pheasant, you not only diversify your meals but also introduce a touch of gourmet elegance to your dining table.
At Sugartown, we take pride in our artisanal approach, ensuring that each smoked pheasant meets our high standards of quality and flavor. Due to our commitment to small-batch production, availability is limited, making this a unique opportunity to savor something truly special.
Join us as we explore the world of pheasant and discover how this exquisite poultry can become a cherished addition to your culinary repertoire.
photo by David Thielen
Pheasant: The most popular game bird
Pheasant are one of the most popular game birds in the United States after their introduction from Asia in the 1880s. Pheasants may be an import to our country, but they are certainly not a pest. In fact, Pheasants have, by and large, worked their way peacefully into the overall wildlife community of various ecosystems across the United States. Their habitat ranges from coast to coast, excluding parts of the Southwest.
What is a Pheasant:
Pheasants are most closely related to quails and partridges. Male pheasants are called cocks while the females are called hens. The average male pheasant weights about 2.5-3 pounds, while the females weight in a little lighter at around 2 pounds. Pheasant average 24-36 inches long from their beak to tip of their tail. On average, a cock’s tail accounts for up to 20 inches of its entire body length!
Spotting Pheasant:
Males have iridescent feathers on their body and wings, ranging from copper to gold. Bright red face accents and a white ring around their neck leading into blue tones on the face.
This is the perfect time of year to spot pheasants when out in wooded or agricultural areas. Snow cover and sparse vegetation in winter months makes the females especially easier to spot without their typical camouflage. The more flashy males always risk being seen, but are certainly even easier to see against a white backdrop.
If you do happen to spot a pheasant out in the wild, you can be pretty certain that you are in its home area, because their lifetime home range is approximately one square mile.
Flying Pheasant?:
Although pheasants are not flightless birds, they nest on the ground and prefer to remain down near the earth for cover. They live almost their entire life on the ground. Typically, pheasant only take to the skies when startled, and sly for short bursts. Their air speed can reach around 60 miles per hour. They typically only fly for less than 600 feet (~2 football fields) at a time, and their flight time can be extended by strong winds.
When pheasants flush, (meaning, essentially, when they startle and fly directly up into the air, typically as a result of responding to predators) they can reach speeds up to 40 miles per hour in their first upward burst of flight.
Why eat pheasant?:
Pheasant is low in fat and high in protein. They live almost their entire lives on the ground and run as their primary mode of travel. All of this running keeps them extra lean. Pheasant meat is also a great source of key vitamins and nutrients like iron, zinc, and B Vitamin. And for everyone looking after their heart health, a serving of pheasant contains only about 58 milligrams of cholesterol. Compare that with chicken which has an average of 120 milligrams of cholesterol preserving. And now we see why Pheasant comes out on top!
Photo by Victoria Romulo
Sugartown’s Recipe for (more than) Pleasant Pheasant:
We source our Pheasant from a family-owned farm, Midwest Pheasant LLC, that is dedicated to hatching and raising quality pheasants. The co-owning couple spun the business off from MacFarlane Pheasant Farm, where they both had years of experience in the business. We love working with them to bring you the most delicious smoked pheasant that you can find.
Our pheasants arrive from Midwest Pheasant fully dressed. We then vacuum-tumble to marinate them in our proprietary blend and hang them in our smokehouse to be smoke-roasted with a moist heat process to ensure the meat stays tender and moist. We use strong and rich hickory wood, which is one of the preferred woods to use for smoking pheasant.
Here at Sugartown, we have been smoking pheasant for over 30 years, and we plan to keep doing so for at least another 30 more! So make sure to add it to your shopping list soon – we know you’ll fall in love and then come back for more.
See this comfort recipe using Sugartown's Smoked Pheasant Stroganoff
Sugartown Tip: Be sure to use the leftover bones to make pheasant stock – the result is a beautifully light brown stock that is smoky, rich, and velvety. You can’t beat it!
Our latest batch of 50 birds just became available in late winter. After smoking, the average weight is a little over 2.5 pounds. Supplies move quickly, order yours today!