By Josh Mills
It took me decades to discover that wild pheasant breasts, cubed, breaded, and fried, is one of the most delicious things nature has to offer. Personally, I feel cheated. I wish I had learned about this recipe years ago. Nevertheless, I’m thankful to have stumbled across this kid and adult-approved meal. Here’s my own bare-bones basic recipe for breaded and fried pheasant nuggets.
Ingredients
- Pheasant breasts, chopped into cubes
- Egg bath
- 2-3 eggs
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
Coating Mix
- Flour
- Italian bread crumbs
- Panko
- Garlic Salt
Crack the eggs and whisk them together in a bowl. Add 1 tsp of both garlic and onion powder. Dip chunks of pheasant into the egg wash.
Combine equal parts flour, panko, and Italian breading in a zip lock back. Throw in a dusting of garlic salt or any other seasonings you like.
Take all the pheasant out of the egg wash. Dump them into the ziplock bag with the breading mix. Shake the hell out of it for equal breading coverage.
Frying
I’ve used both olive oil and veggie oil for frying these nuggets; both work great. Add in enough oil so that it’ll cover halfway up the nuggets. Bring it up to temp before you add in the pheasant, about 350 degrees or a little warmer.
Once your oil is hot and ready, add in the pheasant nuggets. Make sure they are spaced apart in the oil enough so that they don’t touch; you may need to do a couple rounds of nuggets. Cook for about 1-2 minutes per side and set them on a plate with a paper towel on it to let them cool. Serve hot and with some fresh salt sprinkled on top.
Finally, the most important step: crush those nugs.
