What's The Best Way To BBQ Pheasant?

The sun is shining, and the air is thick with the scent of charcoal smoke and the clinking of ice in a jug of Pimm's. George, Jake, Sam and Avian fire up the barbecue edition of the GunsOnPegs Podcast, with ideas for using up the last of the game in the freezer before the new season begins. From pheasant skewers and bunny burgers to venison jerky, and curried game, this is a smoky, hungry, slightly chaotic celebration of cooking wild meat outdoors.

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Recipes

Leon’s sticky pheasant strips

Ingredients

Pheasant breasts, cut into strips

50g crunchy peanut butter

50g gochujang sauce

20ml sesame oil

Pinch of MSG

Crispy chilli oil, a couple of teaspoons

Optional: sweet chilli sauce instead of crispy chilli oil, though Leon prefers the oil

Method

Mix the peanut butter, gochujang, sesame oil, MSG and crispy chilli oil into a marinade. Add the pheasant strips and leave for at least 10 hours, ideally overnight.

Cook on the cooler side of the barbecue, not directly over fierce heat, because the marinade can burn. Cook for a couple of minutes per strip until nicely charred and cooked through.

Serve with: Lettuce/Noodles/Potato salad

Avian 's soy, ginger and chilli dipping sauce

This is more of a dip or sauce than a full recipe.

Ingredients

100ml light soy sauce

100ml dark soy sauce

50ml white rice wine

25ml sesame oil

4 tsp crispy chilli oil

25g grated ginger

2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped

2 tsp MSG

Method

Mix everything together and use as a dip or glaze for barbecued game birds or other fowl.

Jake’s braai lamb breast

Ingredients

Lamb breast

Lemon juice

Braai salts

Aromat

Worcestershire sauce

Method

Sear the lamb breast over the coals, then cook slowly, turning and basting/seasoning with lemon juice, braai salts, Aromat and Worcestershire sauce.

The aim is to avoid burning or overcooking it. Cook until it is tender enough to slice and hand around as a starter.

Serving suggestion: Cut into small pieces and pass round as a salty, lemony, smoky starter.

Jake's curried pheasant and chorizo skewers

Ingredients

Pheasant breasts, chopped into chunks

Chorizo, cubed or sliced

Curry seasoning / curry marinade

Optional: partridge pieces too

Skewers

Method

Cut the pheasant into bite-sized pieces and pair with cubes or slices of chorizo on skewers. Season or marinate the pheasant with curry spices.

Cook over the barbecue until the pheasant is cooked through and the chorizo has released its oil and flavour.

Serving suggestion: Pass around as a starter or informal barbecue snack.

Jake's Simple barbecued venison backstrap

Ingredients

Venison backstrap, ideally fallow if available

Pepper

Oil

Salt flakes for serving

Method

Oil and pepper the venison. Cook it hot and fast over the barbecue.

Jake’s view was to avoid salting before cooking, then offer flakes of salt afterwards.

Serving suggestion: Slice and serve simply, letting people salt to taste.

Sam's Bunny burgers

Ingredients

Rabbit meat, taken off the bone

Milk, for soaking

Pork fat, roughly 20% of the mix

1 clove garlic, crushed

Dried thyme

Paprika

Chilli powder, optional

Salt and pepper

Burger buns

Butter

Optional: mayo, herby mayo or spicy mayo

Method

Remove the rabbit meat from the bone, dice it, and soak it in milk overnight in the fridge.

Drain, then mince with pork fat at roughly 80% rabbit / 20% pork fat. Add garlic, thyme, paprika, optional chilli powder, salt and pepper.

Press into burgers and chill in the fridge before cooking.

Cook on the barbecue and serve in a buttered bap, with optional mayo.

Sam's Middle Eastern-style venison with mango salsa

Ingredients

For the venison:

Venison haunch

Sumac

Coriander

Cumin

Smoked paprika

For the mango salsa:

Fresh mango

Olive oil

Lemon juice

Harissa

Fresh coriander