Bacon Wrapped Pheasant on the Grill

Pheasant Hunting is a big deal in the prairies of the midwest. I live in the rolling plains/prairies of Minnesota, which is prime pheasant hunting territory. It also means that it’s prime pheasant-grilling territory! And clearly any excuse for bacon is a good excuse, so Bacon Wrapped Pheasant was created.

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If you’re wondering- pheasant is similar to a chicken in size; just a bit smaller. The males are beautiful and colorful wild birds. The males are the only one that is allowed to be hunted. Since they are wild animals so they do have a “tougher” and more gamey meat. They are delicious when pared with bacon or in stews and pot pies (my favorite, which I will share when it gets colder out). You could use chicken in this recipe instead of pheasant, but it is so much better with pheasant.

Starting with the meat:

You will need to remove the pheasant meat from the bones. Very similar to if you were to buy a whole chicken.

Here is a very mediocre photo of how to cut the pheasant breast meat from the bone. Once you have all the meat cut off you can cut them into 1 to 1.5 inch pieces and wrap with the thickest butcher-shop bacon you can find!

Use toothpicks to keep the bacon wrapped around the pheasant. This will help lock in fat and moisture into the pheasant- keeping it moist and delicious. Add a few spices if you like- one of my favorites is the McCormick Applewood Barbecue Rub, but you can try whatever your mouth is watering for.

Heat your grill to 375 degrees F.

Let the meat pull in that smokey-goodness from your charcoal grill– it’s well worth it in flavor.

Bacon Wrapped Pheasant

You’ll need:

Cutting board (pick something that can go in the dishwasher to make sanitizing it easier)
Sharp knife for carving the pheasant off the bone
Charcoal grill (it’s all about the flavor that a gas grill can’t completely offer)
Grilling Tongs (you’ll need to be able to rotate the meat without puncturing it (and therefore losing moisture)

Ingredients:

1 Pheasant removed from bone and cut into 1.5 inch pieces

5 slabs of thick, Butcher-cut Bacon sliced in half

Spices, like one of these- I love the Applewood Barbecue Rub

plenty of Toothpicks

Recipe:

1. Preheat grill to 375 degrees F. Wrap bacon around cut pheasant pieces and hold in place with toothpick. Sprinkle with spices, if desired.

2. Place on grill and cook for no more than 20 min. Cook each side for 5 to 7 minutes. If possible, close up grill for last 5 min. in order to really bring out that smokey-goodness flavor into the meat.

3. Serve warm. As an appetizer or main meal and Enjoy!