Pheasant Sausage

Here are my notes and observations on using Pheasant in a variety of sausage making. Since the Setters and I live in what's called the German triangle of North Dakota we are surrounded by people who regularly make their own sausage. It's very common as you drive around this community of 700 people to smell the delicious aroma's coming from homemade smokers setting in and outside of garages. Just the other day I counted 3 smokers in operation in just a 2 block area as I went to the post office.

My interest in sausage making was motivated by finding new and different ways to utilize Pheasant. First of all I took some lessons on general sausage making techniques from my friend 40 miles east. Willie has been making sausage for his friends and family his whole life. Willie learned his craft growing up on the family homestead. German was the spoken language at home so when he went to school and learned English was the only language allowed he refused to speak the first 2 years!  Anyway home butchering and sausage making are traditions deeply rooted in this culture and are practiced today by many German families using methods and recipe's handed down from generation to generation. However I quickly learned after stuffing sausage and experiencing how I used the meat that I actually liked "loose meat" better. This would be the same sausage ground and spiced but packed in 1 lb packages for convenience. Also not smoking means less salt and no added nitrates or chemicals to worry about. The recipes are really fun to try and customize to your taste. The fat content is another widely contested issue with some folks liking very lean sausage and others preferring a generous fat content in the mix.

My friend Willie giving me a sausage stuffing lesson.
Willie likes his sausage verrry lean and cooked well done!

So where I got to was that I liked enough fat to facilitate cooking and a mix of 60% pork to 40% Pheasant. I buy pork shoulder and trim it somewhat to remove gristle and excess fat. The Pheasant has no fat and is very moist so when added to the pork makes a very tender and quick cooking sausage mix. Each recipe will specify a coarse or fine grind but I've learned my preference with all of them is to use a fine grind. Because of how I use the meat this works best for what I do and how I like to cook it. As I watched other people make sausage I learned there are no hard and fast rules on many things having to do with fresh sausage which you grind add spices mix and freeze. It all starts with the question "How are you most likely to use the meat?".

The use of pork shoulder is the most common added meat in sausage as the resulting percent of fat works well for most recipes. It's a very economical cut of pork as well. The last couple of year's I've bought pork shoulder for anywhere from 1.25 to 1.75 a lb. I've also experimented using lean pork loin and adding coconut oil as the fat. Since it's a solid when cold it can be added through the grinder just like any other fat and then mixed but must be cold or frozen to do so. This is a healthier fat and is an excellent way to create a browning of your sausage when frying. You just calculate what percent of fat you want to add to your mix then weigh add and mix with your lean meat. There is a certain feeling of confidence knowing exactly what is in what you're eating!

Regarding the recipe's I've tried I prefer, a breakfast mix,a Chorizo, and an Andouille. The main ingredient I question is salt content and am experimenting with reduced salt or salt substitutes. Just looking at sausage bought in stores I can tell you that the fat content would surprise you. There's got to be at least 30 to 40% fat in what you're buying. As for salt you wouldn't believe the amount but your Doctor would! I find using spice for flavor can make a very palatable taste without the over use of salt. It just simply is not necessary to over use this ingredient but all our processed food is just full of it.

So why use Pheasant in sausage making? Well first of all it's simply another great way to add the meat to your cooking routine. Secondly it makes a very tender sausage in texture. Thirdly it cooks quickly. The experience of learning about sausage making has been fun as well and I'll continue to experiment along the way!


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Pheasant Chili

Throughout the season I enjoy eating birds as I go most often sauteing them to medium rare and eating them right out of the pan. Sooo good! But as the days pass I begin to freeze filleted breasts and  package legs separately. With the onset of cold weather it's then time to make chili! Here's my recipe both easy and quick. It works great as a way to keep using the wild game after all it does no one any good taking up space in the freezer now does it? So here's how it goes at my house!

  Ingredients


First of all this makes a very large batch so get out your biggest pot and a good size frying pan.

• 2  #10 cans of Tomato Sauce (Yes the big ones! It's easier and cheaper.)
• 1  #10 can Dark Red Chili beans
• 3 packets McCormick Hot Chili seasoning
• 3 medium red onions
• 4 to 5 lbs Pheasant breast filet's
• 3 chicken bouillon cubes

1. Combine and stir the tomato sauce,chili beans and seasoning in a large pot. Very large pot!
2.  Peel and dice the onion. Set aside.
3. Cut Pheasant breasts into strips then cube into bite size. Place in a colander to drain excess moisture.
4. Saute the cubed Pheasant in a fry pan to medium rare using a little oil in your pan. Depending on the size of your fry pan you'll do this in batches. Set aside as you go but do not over cook!
5. Begin heating the large pan of sauce and beans stirring constantly over medium high heat. Do not walk away! You need to keep stirring so as to not allow any settling causing burning as you bring the temperature up and allow the spices to permeate the mixture.
6. Test the flavor as the mixture heats and decide on adding additional seasoning according to your taste. I usually add an additional tablespoon of Cayenne pepper (Oh yeah baby!) however I use very little salt. It's your preference.
7. Add the Pheasant stirring well at this point. If you've discovered your pan is too small for this large batch separate some into another pan. I also add 3 chicken bouillon cubes at this point for added flavor directly to the mix without dissolving in water. They dissolve quickly. Stir, stir,stir!
8. Add the onion and allow the whole mixture to heat until bubbling slightly stirring constantly. Keep tasting the chili as it heats and mixes. If it's too hot add a little garlic that will tone down the hot spice.I add the onion last as I  don't like to over cook them heating just until they release their flavor and stopping. Done!

Chili is an adventure and I enjoy getting it just right. Everybody has a different preference for what they like in it but this basic large batch version works well for me. Using premixed spice packets makes it easier and as I said you can customize then as you go. I freeze it in gallon zip lock bags 6 ladles to a bag so I'm not burdened with too long a run of chili in my diet. The large batch works for me but you may choose to make it in smaller batches or even use different meat as well. Chicken,venison, pork ,beef  whatever you've got on hand. I also like the texture the tomato sauce creates versus tomato juice which makes a watery chili. Remember it's your chili! Have fun!

Gear Talk

The question is what's in a brand? My answer is clues as to whether or not the company is actually where you should be looking for what you need. In regards to upland hunting I've bought from all the major companies and many of the specialty retailers as well. Everybody has favorite pieces of gear and swear by their experiences with it. So here's this year's take on mine.

Cotton pants. I don't care about the weight or weave if you start hunting the early season's in September you have to wear this fabric in the field in one form or another. And if your boots are on the ground on a day to day basis taking you through thorns,cactus, and a whole host of other vegetation and brush you'll have shredded these pants by the start of cold weather. Did I mention crossing over and crawling under fences?

I love these lightweight cotton pants. They even came with a zippered pocket! However they're about as practical as fine china at a 5 year olds birthday party! Not a bargain at 125 dollars.

So as I look at the half dozen or so pairs of these types of pants in my "gear room" I feel duped over what I paid for most of them. You see they are all ripped up and patched multiple times because what I paid for them doesn't allow me to admit I made a bad choice buying the brand versus the product that best suited my needs. So I have to get at least another few year's out of them looking like a Hobo! At anywhere from 125.00 to 175.00 dollars a pair in the end none of them were more functional than a pair of 50 to 65 dollar workman's pants of the same material. And I would add the workman's style pants actually have more functional pockets as well! Pockets being a main point of frustration for me when paying such ridiculous prices for pants that don't have what you really need. Durability,storage and security. So what caused this disconnect? This obvious misguided decision. The answer is slavery to the brand. A conditioning process we grow up with when buying most anything. If that brand happens to market to upper income hunters run Forest run! Because the retailers spend most of their time figuring out how to get that consumer to justify over priced goods (the marketing department) not how to actually make more durable and functional goods. Their value is in the perception of their brand. A confidence scam and a kind of mind game they play with the guys that may go on an annual trip for a week or two. Gee I guess I might as well spend the most I can to insure I did everything possible to make this a great trip! After all I'm already spending beau-coup bucks as it is! Bullshit I say. While these high end retailers granted do some things well the overall value proposition is very weak for the frequent and non frequent hunter alike. So unless you buy into the snake oil scheme of the brand head for the local work clothing retailer and buy yourself a better wearing pair of pants for a fraction of the cost of what's sitting in my gear room all patched up and still missing functional (zipper) pockets.

Boots.The same issue exists with all gear in regards to brand as I've elaborated on but with boots there is one caveat. Without fit there is no value no matter what the price. With all these products for the most part being made by the same manufacturers in China it's absurd to pay more for the same style and leather than you have to. So the detailing is a little different and the finish on the leather varies it's still the same damn boot for the most part! If it fits save yourself some money! Fit is fit.. Now I have a few pair of custom made boots out in my gear room as well made right here in the U.S. but at 4 times the price of the boots I wore most of this season because I liked their fit and they happened to be made of kangaroo and were very lightweight. I got used to the light weight and just kept wearing them everyday. When I didn't have them on I wore another pair which were well broke in and 9 years old.

9 years old and made of Kangaroo leather. Lightweight and they fit great.

I rotated boots pretty regularly you see until this year when I just went with the lighter weight boots for days in a row. But anyway both pair fit very well and cost me about 125 bucks new several years ago. I had one pair resoled during that time and had the toe caps repaired on the other. As for the $500 a pair boots made right here in the U.S. I have no complaints on durability but had problems because two pair were made wrong and had to be remade. That whole process took months to complete for each pair. I've had them resoled and  they've held up extremely well and are in great condition. I expect I'll have them for 20 year's and may never wear them completely out if I keep rotating boots as I go. I feel I bought the product in regards to these boots and not the brand. Even so the brand stands actually for what I want. Customization,fit, durability and repair ability. Those were the brand clues I looked for and as I said they "fit".

Custom made in the USA but they had to be made twice before each pair was right! I don't think I'll ever wear them out. Excellent boots.

Jackets. Hanging in my closet upstairs is a 500 dollar technical upland jacket I wore on a trip to Kansas several years ago.

The 500 dollar technical upland jacket made of heavy tent like material. Clammy,heavy,and definitely not cut for layering. When I tried to give it away people said "No thanks'. It's "technically" worthless to me but it is made in the USA! Again worthless to me.

It's an XL but not cut to layer and if you do it binds when you shoulder your gun and is too tight. Add to that it's made of heavy waxed canvas material. It actually makes me think of someone taking an old tent and saying, "Hey lets make a jacket out of this stuff!" I wore this thing day after day for a week and a half. If you'd start to perspire it'd just hang on you and get stiff in the cold. The hood it came with was just as useless. "Here put a piece of canvas on your head that'll keep out the wind and cold!" I've tried to give this thing away and people say "No thanks it feels a little heavy. What is this material anyway?" I like to go light so I've always carried a shoulder bag for game and shells since that time which gives me flexibility with jackets. Since I hunt on the plains I can wear fleece material not having to worry about briars and brush.
This season I've had an issue with muscle tension in my back so I had to go to wearing a strap vest though as the shoulder bag with a few birds would put pressure on my back in an uneven manner. Since I abhor the legions of orange men out in the field group hunting I don't like to wear orange but after having people get in my way on runs from time to time because they don't know where the hell they're at I have to wear it so I don't get shot during peak times of the season. Well as you might have guessed this is about a jacket with orange on it! Advertised as an essential piece of gear and a best selling jacket recommended by professional guides who wear it daily I decided to give it a try. Well the first day I put it on before I even got out the door one of the snaps on the cuffs broke off. Plastic.

Never made it out the door before the snaps broke on this 225 dollar jacket.

Then I noticed it didn't have a chest pocket just 2 zippered side pockets. I thought for 225.00 dollars why couldn't you put in at least an inside chest pocket? It wasn't to long before the other cuff snap broke as well. However the fit was very good and the neck was fit so as to keep out the wind which I like. But wouldn't you expect that for about twice what this thing is actually worth? That's where I'm at. Turns out the side pockets zipper is reversed so it's almost impossible to get them open with one hand and then there's like a no man's land inside them so things can get pushed back and inside the pocket in a way that's hard to get them out. And this company markets this as an essential piece of gear?

Just a lot of complaining I know. But it's the truth. Paying for what you don't get! What's in a brand? Not what you need far to often but what you think you might want. Look for the clues before you buy that tell you if you're shopping at the right place.Then look beyond the brand and ask yourself is this made and priced for dreamers or doers?

Thanksgiving

Home for the holiday was this year's theme for the Setter's and I. Hunting through this week is the norm for us and even if we did want to travel my van needs to have 2 fuel injectors replaced so business as usual as they say until it's my turn at the local repair shop.

Beau had been recuperating from a stretch of long days in the field so the rotation on the holiday fell to Mick this year. I'd planned a nice dinner of smoked turkey,garlic mashed cauliflower,the traditional green bean casserole and of course pumpkin pie! Several hours in the making and only minutes to eat. I laughed at all the work but had fun embracing the spirit of the holiday with the only family present being my 3 Setters. My life companions. Their treat being the drippings from the turkey on their kibble.

It was another cold day and after consuming much more than my normal caloric intake I just had to walk it off. Mick knew of course that he was on deck as I swear they keep track. He'd been looking at me with those big brown eyes for two days now. Then he was also staying close to me as well keeping track of my every move as if to send the message any way he knew how. Put me in coach! Of course when I started putting on my boots I had all 3 of them lobbying to go along. After gathering all my gear I finally put an end to the suspense and put Mick's GPS collar on him. He immediately headed to the back door to make sure in fact he got on this holiday run.

I loaded the Jeep and started the engine then walked to the garage to grab my vest having left it there the previous day after cleaning our birds. After loading Mick I mentally went over my list and made one more trip into the house to fill a water bottle I carry with me for the dog's. That done we were off. Finally.

Mick's riding shotgun with me once again and I look over and just feel lucky. Spending some one on one time with him is a perfect way to celebrate the day as I'm truly thankful for his company. We arrive 20 minutes later at our destination a run that has some heavy cover we can skirt and give Mick a chance to work his magic. While it's true he's a methodical hunter he's very smart making up for any speed and endurance he may have had in younger days.

I let him out of the Jeep before I had my vest on and when I turned to look for him when I was ready he was nowhere to be seen. I walked around and looked across the gravel road and no Mick. I listened carefully and heard nothing. Then I glanced back in the direction of the Jeep to the west and there he was 20 feet from the jeep on the edge of a cut corn field. Pointing! Again I think of how many times I've learned this lesson of not releasing the setters till I'm all ready myself. I walk in slowly and nothing flushes. I release Mick and he scouts the immediate area and it's obvious the bird has run out but fun to experience anyway. After thoroughly checking the area as only Mick does he's ready to move on so we cross the road and head east.

Once in heavy cattails along a pasture Mick gets birdy again and in short order is pointing along the edge of the pasture into the cattails. I walk towards him and nothing flushes again. Moving birds I say to myself. Sure enough as Mick and I move on 3 hens bust wild to my right 30 yards. I stand on the edge of some heavy grass as I watch Mick work out into the light grass of the pasture in a way indicating he's tracking moving birds. Nose to the ground and not in the air in a zig zag pattern. Skeptical as to whether it's worth my while to cross 2 fences to follow him I stand and watch. Terrible of me I thought later. Where's the faith? But anyway this track eventually after a couple hundred yards came back towards me. In the mean time as I was walking east to keep even with Mick I walked into a group of at least a dozen hens that flushed wild in a  narrow waterway. This was now coming together in my mind. Obviously with the corn recently harvested we had a large number of birds now using the cover Mick and I were walking through. Today some had moved forward and some as evidenced by Mick's track had wandered out into the adjacent pasture. I'd seen 15 hen's now so where were the roosters?

Mick seemed to lose the track he was on as he came closer to the fence line. Eventually he crossed to my side and continued on along the water's edge of a frozen waterway with a narrow band of cattails. The cattails were 6 feet high plus and I was able to keep visual contact with him as there was a ridge immediately to the west. Moving birds on this long of a track I thought what are the possibilities he's still on the same birds?. I checked my GPS as we went along when I'd lose visual contact not wanting to spook any birds and staying as quiet as possible to let Mick keep working. I then reflected on how Mick never gives up if he thinks there are birds in an area. He is extremely patient and persistent.  After a quarter of a mile now he just kept working diligently in and out around the edge of this waterway as I kept pace as best I could.

A couple minutes later as we came to a bend I lost visual contact with Mick. I stopped and listened,. Silence again. I couldn't see him at all but knew he had to be close. So risking not being ready if a bird flushed I pulled out my GPS. Much to my surprise Mick was just opposite me 15 feet away on point! I carefully readied myself and stepped closer to the edge of the cattails from where I had been walking a little higher up the side of the ridge. I had to flush this bird so I had to walk into the cover which was over my head. Just when I got to the edge the bird took flight making the biggest ruckus I can remember hearing. I knew this had to be a rooster as it tried to fight it's way above the cover but do you think I'd shoulder my gun? Hell no. I was like a 12 year old kid on his first hunt as this huge rooster rose above the top of the cattails looking right at me as he determined which way he was going to go! I watched as he came right across in front of me and finally shouldered my gun as I watched him continue flying after firing two shots! Totally mesmerized by that rooster I reached into my pouch and reloaded my gun but as I was doing so another rooster rose in much the same fashion! From 15 feet away. So now prepared once again I listened for Mick. Nothing. Again silence. I thought it's impossible that I'd get one more chance today but I walked ahead a little bit and yet another rooster beat his way into the air and fell with my next shot! My God I thought how lucky and glad I was to consummate that moment for Mick. I admit to being a very average shooter made to look way better by such capable bird dog's! And that is a moment I can't recall being more thankful for in all the times with Mick over the year's. How fitting it would happen on Thanksgiving as well!

As I finish writing this story I've just returned from another afternoon run with Mick. It's the first day of a major winter storm. But I just couldn't resist taking a walk with him. I miss him in the field and wish he could come with me every day. Today like so many other days this season on just a short run he pointed me a beautiful rooster I shot for him. It was snowing and blowing with winds 20 to 35 mph and 14 degrees as ice crystals hit my face. His coat was covered in snow as well but I could tell he loved every minute of it. Thanks again Mick!

Thanks for all the times Mick!