These pheasant sandwiches are salty, sweet, spicy, and tangy – not to mention delicious. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley)
This will be one of the best—if not the best—pheasant sandwiches you’ll ever eat. It has all the elements of a great sandwich: a great balance between salty, sweet, spicy and tangy, plus the crispiness of fried pheasant breasts that contrast with tender, warm biscuits that just came fresh out of the oven.
You can skip the buttermilk step if you’re in a time crunch, but the acid really helps to tenderize and keep the pheasant breasts moist, which could be helpful with wild birds.
I like a tart coleslaw, and I purposely made this one a bit tangier to help cut through all the richness. If you end up with extra coleslaw and want to eat it on the side, add a dash or two more sugar to mellow out the vinegar.
How to Make the Best Pheasant Biscuit Sandwiches Ever Yield: 8 pheasant sandwiches Prep time: 8 hours Cook time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
8 pheasant breasts (or 4 if they’re large) 1 pint of buttermilk 1 tube of Honey Butter Pillsbury Grands! Biscuits (8 large biscuits) Frying oil Bread and butter pickles Dijon mustard Fresh sprigs of cilantro
Dredging:
1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour, divided 1 teaspoon of salt (fine is better) ½ teaspoon of paprika ½ teaspoon of onion powder ½ teaspoon of garlic powder 1 teaspoon of dried thyme 2 eggs 4 tablespoons of milk, divided Coleslaw:
3 cups of coleslaw salad mix ¼ cup of mayonnaise 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar Louisiana hot sauce, to taste Pinch of celery seed ½ teaspoon of sugar Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Lay a pheasant breast between two sheets of plastic wrap and flatten with a meat mallet to an even thickness of ½ inch. Repeat with the rest of the pheasant breasts. Cut the breasts in half if they are large—the biscuits will come out to about 4-5 inches wide.Flattened pheasant breast. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley) Place flattened breasts into a bowl and submerge with buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours.Pheasant breasts submerged in buttermilk. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley) Combine coleslaw ingredients, cover and refrigerate to allow flavors to incorporate.Coleslaw in a bowl. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley) Bake honey butter biscuits according to package directions and keep warm.Honey biscuits ready for the oven. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley) Meanwhile, set up your dredging station: pour half a cup of plain flour into a shallow bowl/dish; combine 1 cup of flour, salt, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, dried thyme and 2 tablespoons of milk into another wide, shallow bowl; and whisk together two eggs and the remaining 2 tablespoons of milk into a third bowl. Set aside.Seasoned flour mixture. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley) Remove the pheasant from the buttermilk, rinse with cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. Heat about 2 inches of oil in your frying pan to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. When oil is hot, coat each pheasant cutlet in the plain flour first—shaking off excess, then in the egg mixture and finally coat with the seasoned flour mixture. Fry until golden brown on both sides, flipping halfway through. Drain. Do not overcrowd the pan.Crispy fried pheasant breasts. (Photo courtesy of Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley) Slice warm biscuits in half and spread Dijon mustard on both sides. Assemble the rest of the sandwich with a piece of fried pheasant breast, coleslaw, bread and butter pickles, and cilantro.
