BUFFALO PHEASANT DIP

By Jeff Benda

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www.WildGameandFish.com

 

Serves: 16
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes 

Get ready to wow your guests at this year’s Super Bowl party using some of that pheasant in your freezer. This Buffalo Pheasant Crescent Ring is a crowd-pleasing dish that’s as impressive to look at as it is to eat.

This recipe transforms some humble pheasant legs and thighs into a creamy, cheesy, and spicy filling wrapped in a golden crescent roll dough. The tender shredded pheasant, mixed with cream cheese, Monterey Jack, hot sauce, and a touch of blue cheese, is the ultimate game-day appetizer. 

It’s surprisingly simple to make, especially if you cook and shred the pheasant ahead of time. Plus, the crescent roll ring makes it easy to serve up - just slice and let everyone dig in.

Whether you're rooting for your team or just there for the food, this Buffalo Pheasant Crescent Ring will be the MVP of your spread. Trust me, your family and friends will be asking for the recipe before halftime. 

If you are looking for some other great pheasant recipes, you can also check out Jeff Benda’s Pheasant Pot Pie and Smoked Pheasant Tacos.

Ingredients

·      6 pheasant legs and thighs (from 3 birds)

·      1 teaspoon kosher salt

·      2 Tablespoons olive oil

·      2 cups chicken broth

·      4 ounces cream cheese (half of 8-ounce package), softened

·      1/4 cup hot sauce

·      1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (4 ounces)

·      2 cans (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls (8 count)

·      1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese

Pheasant Instructions

1.     Season the pheasant legs with 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt.

2.     Set instant pot or other pressure cooker to sauté setting. Add oil. Once the oil is hot, add the pheasant legs, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side until meat is nicely browned.

3.     Add chicken broth to the pressure cooker. Now secure lid on the pressure cooker and pressure cook for 30 minutes. Then allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes.

4.     Reserve all the liquid and transfer it to a bowl to use later. Then allow the pheasant meat and bones to rest and cool for 10 minutes before pulling the meat off the bones using your fingers or tongs. Discard the bones and tendons and transfer the meat to a large mixing bowl. You can cook and shred the pheasant in advance, then cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Crescent Ring Instructions

1.     Heat oven to 375 degrees F. To the bowl with the shredded pheasant meat, add cream cheese, hot sauce, and shredded cheese and mix well.

2.     Unroll both cans of crescent roll dough and separate into 16 triangles. On an ungreased cookie sheet, arrange triangles in a ring so short sides of triangles form a 5-inch circle in the center. You want the dough to overlap and will end up with a ring that looks like a sun.

3.     Spoon pheasant cream cheese mixture on the half of each triangle closest to the center of the ring. Top with blue cheese crumbles.

4.     Fold each triangle up over the filling, tucking it under bottom layer of crescent roll dough to secure it. Repeat all around the ring until the filling is completely enclosed.

5.     Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until dough is golden brown and thoroughly baked. Cool for about 5 minutes before slicing to serve.