Cleaning Out the Freezer!
It's NOT that we need the room, as we have been unsuccessful in FILLING the freezer. No need to clean it out other than we were looking for something to eat for lunch yesterday.
We pulled out 12 pheasants that were getting close to their end of life in the freezer. We pulled out an elk roast. And we also pulled out 2 geese.
The geese went into the pressure cooker. I covered them with 2 packets of dry Italian salad dressing and 2 cans of sprite. Cooked them at 15 psi for 90 minutes. Perfect! I shredded them with two forks so that they look like shredded beef. I then poured two jars of pepperchinis over the top and stuck them in the fridge. Today the entire batch is going back into a crockpot to heat up for an hour. I shall serve them on an open top bun and smothered in provolone cheese. This is dinner tonight!
The pheasant breasts were taken off the bone and wrapped in bacon - it took a minimum of two slices and sometimes 3 to cover each side. They were then seasoned with McCormick's Grill Mates (I used the Smokehouse Maple). I let them sit overnight and put them on the smoker this morning. These will be lunch - although I have a bunch, so it's probably lunch for several days...
I did a search on the internet to check on smoking pheasants. Most sites suggested that I brine the pheasant (which we did last time) to ensure that it does not dry out in the smoker. However, I did not want to take the time to do so. Thus, we wrapped them in bacon. You see, wild game birds have to "work" for a living and thus have very little fat. Their meat is lean, which can lead to dry meat when cooked. My hope is that the fat from the bacon will help keep the meat moist.
I am also smoking at a higher temperature than I normally would. I'm at 250 F. This was suggested to help kill off any bacteria that might be found on wild birds. Finally, the internal temperature of a 'done" bird was anywhere from 150 - 170 F. That's quite a range when smoking. I think I'm gonna pull them out at 150 and see how they fare.
What'd I do with the elk? I trimmed off some of the fat and freezer burned sections and then put it in a roasting pan. I mixed a sugar/salt solution in water to "brine" the elk and ensured that the roast was completely covered. I stuck it in the refrigerator to soak up the salt and sugar for the next 2 to 3 days. This will help ensure that it does not dry out when I smoke it and it also helps to tenderize the meat. Looks like we'll be having elk roast for dinner on Tuesday.
So how much room did this save in my freezer? Actually quite a bit because the birds (pheasants and geese) were frozen in gallon Ziplock (TM) bags and completely covered in water. Freezing them in water helps preserve the game and eliminates freezer burn all together. The game listed above, in their bags, could not all fit into my kitchen sink to thaw. That's a lot of real estate. Got plenty of room now for more pheasants and some deer.
Tell ya what, my mouth is watering right now just thinking about all the goodness I am about to devour. It's good to be me!
We pulled out 12 pheasants that were getting close to their end of life in the freezer. We pulled out an elk roast. And we also pulled out 2 geese.
The geese went into the pressure cooker. I covered them with 2 packets of dry Italian salad dressing and 2 cans of sprite. Cooked them at 15 psi for 90 minutes. Perfect! I shredded them with two forks so that they look like shredded beef. I then poured two jars of pepperchinis over the top and stuck them in the fridge. Today the entire batch is going back into a crockpot to heat up for an hour. I shall serve them on an open top bun and smothered in provolone cheese. This is dinner tonight!
Pepperchini Peppers
I did a search on the internet to check on smoking pheasants. Most sites suggested that I brine the pheasant (which we did last time) to ensure that it does not dry out in the smoker. However, I did not want to take the time to do so. Thus, we wrapped them in bacon. You see, wild game birds have to "work" for a living and thus have very little fat. Their meat is lean, which can lead to dry meat when cooked. My hope is that the fat from the bacon will help keep the meat moist.
I am also smoking at a higher temperature than I normally would. I'm at 250 F. This was suggested to help kill off any bacteria that might be found on wild birds. Finally, the internal temperature of a 'done" bird was anywhere from 150 - 170 F. That's quite a range when smoking. I think I'm gonna pull them out at 150 and see how they fare.
Pheasant breasts, wrapped in bacon on the smoker.
Using Pecan for my smoking wood.
Got a pan of water in the bottom to Wet Smoke.
The smoke is rolling now. Running at 250F.
Shout out to Camp Chef (makers of this Smoke Vault). This thing is so easy to use.
Just set the temperature and walk away. This thing will HOLD a Temperature!
So how much room did this save in my freezer? Actually quite a bit because the birds (pheasants and geese) were frozen in gallon Ziplock (TM) bags and completely covered in water. Freezing them in water helps preserve the game and eliminates freezer burn all together. The game listed above, in their bags, could not all fit into my kitchen sink to thaw. That's a lot of real estate. Got plenty of room now for more pheasants and some deer.
Tell ya what, my mouth is watering right now just thinking about all the goodness I am about to devour. It's good to be me!
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