How to cook incredible pheasant goujons

A remarkably straightforward pheasant goujon recipe, to serve four, from an esteemed chef who heads up a Michelin-starred kitchen – it really is a must-try...

Treated correctly, pheasant has a whole lot going for it. Healthy and delicious, it can be cooked in a variety of ways. From classic roast pheasant recipes to slow-cooked curries, stir fries, tacos and casseroles, the options are endless when it comes to eating our most common gamebird.

That said, when you’re searching for a quick and easy pheasant recipe that the whole family will enjoy, it’s hard to look past the humble goujon.

We recently spent some time with Callum Leslie, executive chef at The Black Swan at Oldstead (you can read more about our visit here), where making the most of local ingredients from the countryside takes centre stage. And, for a quick lunchtime snack, Callum cooked us a favourite go-to of his when at home.

We think he has perfected the ultimate pheasant snack – with a few (optional) twists...

A very simple way to cook pheasant breast.

Ingredients

6 skinless pheasant breasts
Plain flour
Buttermilk or natural yoghurt
Semolina (optional)
Salt
Black pepper
Seasonings of your choice (smoked paprika, dried onion/garlic powder are ideal)
Local runny honey
Vegetable oil (for frying)

To serve (optional)

Kimchee
Cucumber slices (pickled – see step 7)
Natural yoghurt

Method

1. Prepare the pheasant

Remove any sinews and shot damage from the pheasant breasts and slice each crossways, into inch-thick strips.

The pheasant goujons are dipped in the buttermilk and then the strips are rolled in the flour and seasoning mixture.

After being dipped in the buttermilk, the strips are rolled in the flour and seasoning mixture.

2. Dip the pheasant breast pieces

Place the breast strips into a bowl with enough buttermilk or natural yoghurt to cover each.

3. Prepare the flour coating

In a flat tray or bowl, add a mixture of plain flour, semolina for texture (optional), a good pinch of salt and pepper, and any other seasoning you may wish to include. Callum added some fermented chilli powder from his treasure trove of ingredients, but smoked paprika or dried onion/garlic powder, could also work.

4. Coat the meat

Use kitchen tongs to lift each piece of meat from the bowl of buttermilk or yoghurt, allow any excess to drip off, and then roll the meat in the flour mixture until well coated. Then let the coated pieces sit in a clean tray for a few minutes before rolling in the flour mixture a second time – this time with your hands, packing the mixture around the meat to ensure a thick covering.

Callum drizzles local runny honey and fermented chilli powder over the pheasant goujons.

Local runny honey and fermented chilli powder are a great accompaniment.

5. Cook the goujons

Cooking methods vary. Callum prefers to use a deep-fat fryer for 2 minutes 30 seconds, until nicely crisped and golden. Shallow frying in a large pan can work, too – you’ll need to heat the oil to 180C, and fry the strips for around 3 minutes, turning them as needed to ensure even coverage.

6. Drain and coat

Upon removing the goujons, allow the excess oil to drain off and then place in a bowl with some kitchen paper to absorb more of the excess oil. Then, in a separate, deep bowl, add the runny honey and smoked paprika (Callum used more of his fermented chilli powder) and mix well. Finally, add the goujons and roll them around in the bowl to coat evenly.

The finishing touches. Callum plates up the pheasant goujons and adds pickled cucumber slices before drizzling with yoghurt.

The finishing touches. Callum adds pickled cucumber slices before drizzling with yoghurt.

7. Plate up

To serve, Callum started with a helping of kimchee on the plate (homemade, of course, but this can be bought from the supermarket). The kimchee is seasoned lightly with fermented chilli powder, before the goujons are place on top and then garnished with some cucumber slices (deseeded, finely sliced and pickled for a week in a mixture made up of equal parts sugar, water and white wine vinegar). To finish, drizzle the natural yoghurt over the goujons.