The Wild Pheasant Deserves Profound Veneration
June 29, 2016
(“The wild pheasant deserves profound veneration.” From the first issue of Gourmet, January 1941. Via Serious Eats.)
Our not-so-bear-proof garbage hut is under repair, and we’re praying that two hefty locks, sprayed bleach and ammonia-soaked rags will keep our trash off the road. I won’t hold my breath; If I was a bear, I’d want my trash too.
In other wild life news, a pheasant went meandering across our lawn this morning. Every once in a while one manages to escape from the shooting club down the road. I cheer every bird who makes it up here, and I certainly won’t be the one to end his life. (If his plumage can be trusted, he is indeed a “he.”) Still, I couldn’t help wondering what I would do with this pretty bird if I wanted to put him on my table.
Here’s a suggestion from Season to Taste, Peggy Harvey‘s irresistible cookbook, written in 1958. Should you happen to have a pheasant on hand, you might try this.
Categorised in: Vintage Books and Magazines
3 Comments
Being from the midwest, pheasant was a fall treat and most of us from farming country enjoyed them. My mother browned the bird and then braised it and made a wonderful gravy. I’m not sure how she did it but it was wonderful.
Thanks for the update on the garbage/bear doings. Keep us in the loop.
PS – I love pheasant!
My Mother used to make “bird(s)” and gravy for breakfast when they were in season. Served along with hot biscuits, homemade butter and apple preserves, and gallons of Luzianne coffee with chickory, it was a fine breakfast for for a large family. Everyone loved the feather gravy and biscuits and I remember mounds of tiny bones on the edge of every plate.