Combine your pheasant with one of the favorite pasta sauces of all time
Story and Photos By Lukas Leaf
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This Bolognese is one of my favorite pasta sauces of all time. And I don’t say that lightly. It is the quintessential meat sauce. It comes together easily. And it is a great way to showcase using the entire bird.
Be sure to use the best ingredients you can get your hands on. Buy a bottle of wine that you would drink. Maybe buy two. Then you’ll knock out an easy pairing for the dish in the process.
The secret with Bolognese is to grind the vegetables to the same size as the ground pheasant. That step helps create an incredibly smooth and velvety sauce for the pasta. Adding fat to this dish is also very important, which is why we use good extra virgin olive oil, heavy cream, and, if possible, reheat the sauce with butter the next day.
I love cooking this Bolognese in the oven as if braising the sauce. It adds another depth of flavor. Like any soup or stew, sauces like this are always better after allowing the flavors to settle overnight. The extra time and cool-down period can turn a sauce from excellent to mind-blowing.
The sauce will work well with pasta choices like pappardelle, fettuccini, spaghetti and even as the base for lasagna. Penne is great too, because the sauce can penetrate all the nooks and crannies and will quickly turn into a baked pasta dish with some extra cheese and breadcrumbs.
Pheasant Bolognese
Pheasant Bolognese
Servings: 6, Prep and Cook Time: 3 hours
- 1 pound ground pheasant, thigh, leg and breast meat
- 1 pound dry pasta of choice
- 2½ cups pheasant or game stock
- 2 cups red wine
- 1 32-ounce can crushed tomato
- 1 cup carrot, ground
- 1 cup celery, ground
- 1 cup yellow onion, ground
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup Italian parsley, chopped
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced
- 1 heaping tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 heaping tablespoon ground cumin
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 3 bay leaves
- Few sprigs of fresh thyme
- Freshly grated parmesan to finish
1. Grind the meat and vegetables. Pass the pheasant through the small die of the grinder and set aside. Roughly chop the onion, celery and carrot. Grind each one separately through the small die to equal one cup of each.
2. Add olive oil and ground pheasant in a Dutch oven or wide pot on high heat. Sear and brown the meat while breaking up any large chunks. Add the ground vegetables, seasonings and bay leaves. Reduce the heat to medium-high and stew for 8-10 minutes.
3. Add the red wine to cover the ground meat and vegetables. Reduce the wine until almost gone and absorbed — about 20 minutes. Repeat with the pheasant stock leaving just a touch of liquid.
4. Add the thyme and crushed tomato. Re-season if needed, cover, and cook in the oven for 2 hours at 300º F. You can also simmer it over low heat, partially covered, on the stove. Stir occasionally. When the sauce is done, stir in the heavy cream.
5. To serve, cook the pasta to your desired tenderness. In a sauté pan, cook a little garlic in butter until the edges turn golden. Scoop in the Bolognese sauce. Add a touch of pasta water and toss in the noodles. Simmer for thirty seconds or until the sauce coats the pasta nicely. Plate immediately. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, grate fresh parmesan over the top, and sprinkle with fresh herbs.
This story appeared in Fall 2023 Pheasants Forever Journal. If you enjoyed it and would like to see more delicious recipes in the pages of the magazine, become a Pheasants Forever member today!