cleaning ?

[Ryan_V]

O.K. so I'm back in the saddle of pheasant hunting after a few years off after the death of my dog...I seem to have forgotton how to clean one of these things!!! I had one tonite, and I ended up just breasting him out. I don't seem to remember if I used to clean the whole thing or just breast, what does everyone else do??? I won't waste a bird, so I need to be able to clean one cleanly soon!! thanks

[chub]

Cut the wings off at the "elbow", pull skin off breast and around wing stubs, put one thumb between crop and breast bone, the other thumb between the first and neck. Pull breast off.

I normally don't save the legs, but all you have to do at that point is cut off foot, push leg back through skin and seperate the thigh from the body at that point.

Not sure if that explains it very good, but hopefully it gives you an idea.

[CRAZYEYES]

I have always plucked the feathers and made a slit under the breast near the rear and pulled the endtrails out but last week my buddy had a pretty slick way ofdoing it. He pulled a handfull of feathers and skin from under the belly and grabbed the bird by his neck and yanked everything out in one big pile similar to the grouse cleaning method of step on the wings and pull on the legs. You dont get the legs conected doing it this way but if you want to breast it out it was pretty slick the way he did it.

[InTheNorthwoods]

If you are only planning to breast them you can step on the wing wing butts close to the breast and pull on the legs just like with a grouse (sometimes you will have "help" the head and entrails through with a pheasant though). Then all you have to do is remove the wings. Couple seconds and you have a cleaned bird.

[gspman]

Folks, just remember that if you intend to transport a cleaned pheasant it needs the head or one leg still attached.

I always do the stand on the wings and pull up on the neck trick.

[Augusta]

Am I wrong, or is just "breasting" a bird illegal under the "wanton waste" law?

[harvey lee]

I place a cut across the breast skin and then pull the skin down to the legs. I then fillet the 2 breast pieces out. Then I pull the rest of the feathers and skin down below the thighs and then cut that thigh joint. Then I seperate the legs from the thighs. Now you have 6 pieces of pheasant. One never gets into the entrails at all for a cleaner cutting table.

I know the legs and thighs are kind of a pain but they do well in pheasant casserole or stew. One can just cut the meat off the legs and thighs and throw it in the stew with carrots, peas and potatoes.

This works if you don't have to travel with the birds as the head and wings are detached.

[NWBuck]

If you are only planning to breast them you can step on the wing wing butts close to the breast and pull on the legs just like with a grouse (sometimes you will have "help" the head and entrails through with a pheasant though). Then all you have to do is remove the wings. Couple seconds and you have a cleaned bird.

We call it "speed cleaning", and it's about the only way I clean them anymore. I do, however, take the time to skin the legs and thighs down and keep them as well.

[chub]

Am I wrong, or is "breasting" a bird illegal under the "wanton waste" law?

Yes you are.

[Augusta]

But if you are discarding the legs, is that not a "usable" part of the animal?

[chub]

I suppose technically, by the way it's written in the regs.

But then aren't the gizzard, heart, liver, feet...etc., usable parts of the bird?

Another stellar job on regulation writing. No room for discretion there......LOL

[castmaster]

We usually just peel the skin back and cut the breasts off, then peel the skin down the thighs and legs and cut them off, leaving the feet attached. Have been checked by wardens in IA, MN and SD doing it that way and never had any problems, but have always wondered whether that would fall under warden discretion as the whole bird isnt intact. When packaged there are 2 breasts and 2 legs with feet attached.

Anyone clean them like that and run into problems during transport?

[Ryan_V]

If you are only planning to breast them you can step on the wing wing butts close to the breast and pull on the legs just like with a grouse (sometimes you will have "help" the head and entrails through with a pheasant though). Then all you have to do is remove the wings. Couple seconds and you have a cleaned bird.

So if I understand correctly, I just stand on the wings and pull the legs and that's it??? is there any special "trick" or anything?? I'd like to try it on the next bird, but if anyone can explain this further, I'd appreciate it!!

[jake125]

Pretty much....spread the wings out and stand on them as close to the body as ya can, grab the legs and just pull (it will take some pressure at first). Usually can pull all the way through and left with 2 parts, the breast in one hand, and the rest of the body in the other.

[harvey lee]

If one were to take only the breast, that seems a bit of a waste of meat to me.

My father taught me at a young age to use all the meat on anything I shot.

If I were to write the law, that would be wanton waste.

[deets22]

legs and thighs can be used, i try to use them myself but as long as you leave everything in the field some other creature can use the meat too. throwing them away in the trash i would consider waste.

[riverview]

pluck them when right after you shoot them. gives the dog a few minutes to calm down and the skin on the birds lets them keep better.

the N.D. hunting regs state the useable part of upland birds is the breast meat so bresting isnt wonton waste in n.d.

[harvey lee]

I realize that the regs say its ok but it sure seems to me to be a waste. Starving people would love it. Not a waste to them.

[riverview]

that is why i pluck 40 to 90 pheasants a year. I cringe when i see people do the step on the wings and pull. I spend alot of time from oct to jan hunting away from home and i have seen it all. from guys not even cleaning ducks before freezing them to posseion limits left in the back of the truck for days thawing and freezing. when it isnt freezing i carry a small freezer with. I grew up hunting with a man that was a butcher we used to pluck duck all the way to the wing tip. I have found i enjoy takeing care of the game as well as shooting it. i think alot of birds get wasted and freezer burnt and threw away before the next seaason

[BLACKJACK]

As several other have said, I just make a slit in the breast skin and then fillet out the two breast halves. Then I cut the thighs and legs off at the body, cut off the foot, and then seperate the thigh from the leg. That deboned thigh meat goes with the breast meat and can be used in stir frys, baking, or however you cook it up, I consider it better than the breast meat, try it sometime, you're wasting good meat if you throw them away!!

The bottom part of the legs go in a bag to be slowed cooked together when I have 15-20 gathered. The meat can be picked off for soup or pot pie, or as one of my recipes says, its kind of like eating crab legs, the meat you get is great, you just have to pick thru it.

The best part of filleting off the breasts and just taking the legs off is that you don't have to get into those shot up guts!!!

Also, good eating starts at the cleaning table!!! Anything shot up gets tossed right there!!

[BLACKJACK]

I used to pluck my ducks, but then you'd get a pinny one, get half way thru, then have to skin it anyway, so nowadays they all get skinned and parted out - unless its a late season fat northern mallard!!

[RumRiverRat]

Pheasant Legs and Thighs are tasty.

A lot of work to get at them but they are tasty.

[harvey lee]

I have no problem getting the legs out. It takes me about 2 minutes at the most for a whole bird with breast, legs and thighs.

[castmaster]

No problem removing legs and thighs here either. Pull the skin down, bend the leg/thing down to pop the hip joint and then cut from the body. Pretty easy and takes very little time.

I always take the legs and things from a pheasant but do sometimes skip it on grouse as there just isnt a whole lot of meat there and the legs seem to get more dried out on a grouse. Most the time I take them though as I hate to feel like I am wasting anything.

[OutlawTorn]

Step 1: Grab the skin on the chest between your pointers and thumbs with both hands and pull the skin off the breast and around the back side of the bird.

Step 2: Snip the wings and neck off as close to the body as you can.

Step 3: Pull the rest of the skin down and off the birds legs, leaving the scaly skin and spurs - make sure all skin and feathers are gone after this point.

Step 4: Turn him over and snip the membrane that connects the bottom of the breast to the back bone. Put your pointer finger in the snip hole and pull the rib cage away from the back bone.

Step 5: Reach in the cavity (gloves are nice but not necessary) and pull out all the guts. Make sure to get the lungs off the rib cage - they are sometimes sticky.

Step 5: Just personal taste, but I then make a "V" snip by the butt hole - probably not necessary but I like to get rid of any fecal matter that could fall out onto the meat.

Step 6: Wash the bird in the sink, getting rid of any remaining blood or sticky feathers or guts. Soak the bird in the sink for an hour or two in salt water before sealing and freezing.