Pheasant Street Tacos
Americans named the handheld food “street tacos” after they were discovered being served by the street vendors across Mexico. The smaller-sized corn tortillas were doubled-up to keep the filling from falling onto the street while eating them. What you put in your street taco is a matter of personal choice. If pulled leg and thigh pheasant meat is unavailable, cooked and shredded breast fillets will do the trick.

1 2/3 cup shredded cooked pheasant

leg and thigh meat

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1 pinch ground cumin

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 pinch sugar

24 small corn tortillas

1/4 cup Cotija cheese (or any other preferred cheese)

3/4 cup pico de gallo (or a favorite salsa without peppers)

2 cups shredded lettuce

2 radishes, julienned

In a bowl, combine cooked pheasant with salt, coriander, cumin, cayenne pepper and fresh cilantro. Mix well. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pheasant mixture. Cook, stirring often until hot. Whisk together sour cream, lime juice and sugar. Arrange warm tortillas, two stacked per serving, on a work surface. Top each with pheasant mixture, pico de gallo, shredded lettuce, cheese and radishes. Drizzle the sour cream mixture over each.

Roasted Quail with Pheasant Sausage Stuffing
This is a great way to stretch a few upland birds into dinner and makes good use of an older, “toothier” rooster for the stuffing. If you are adept at boning out a quail while keeping the body intact, it will allow for additional stuffing.

1 1/2 cups pheasant breast, minced

1/2 cup smoky bacon, minced

1/4 cup red onion, minced

1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded, minced

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1 large egg

8 quail

Kosher salt and pepper

8 lemon slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season the quail liberally with salt and pepper. In a bowl, combine stuffing ingredients. Mix well. Divide the mixture in half, then halve once again, and finally halve it again once more for 8 equal portions. Roll each into a ball. Place one ball inside each quail for roasting. Place stuffed quail breast-side up on a lightly greased baking sheet. Place a lemon slice over each quail. Roast for 15 minutes or until golden brown.