An easy pan-fried pheasant breast recipe in a creamy white wine sauce with sliced chestnut mushrooms and smoky pancetta. Pheasant recipes don't need to be complicated, this simple pheasant recipe proves that!
It's a rich and meaty dinner party classic that's sure to impress your guests! Serve with carrot and swede mash and roasted Tenderstem broccoli!
I'd always been a bit apprehensive about cooking pheasant in the past. However, after some research and several attempts, I learnt that pheasant breasts can be treated much like chicken breasts, though they do offer a richer, more gamey flavour.
👩🍳 Why not try my garlic butter chicken recipe next!
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe!
- Pheasant offers a distinct taste that's both richer and more nuanced than traditional poultry. This gamey flavour can elevate a simple dish to something more gourmet.
- The rich, gamey flavour of pheasant complements the creamy white wine sauce. This creates a balanced dish where neither the meat nor the sauce overpowers the other.
- Pheasant breasts are lean cuts, providing a good source of protein with less fat compared to some other meats.
🛒 Ingredient notes
- Pheasant Breasts - four skinless pheasant breast fillets.
- Butter and Olive Oil - for pan frying.
- Garlic - finely chopped.
- Chestnut Mushrooms - or use closed cup mushrooms instead.
- Pancetta - this can be substituted for smoked bacon lardons or chopped streaky bacon.
- Creamy Sauce - made with white wine, double cream, wholegrain mustard, and freshly chopped parsley.
- Salt and Pepper - for seasoning.
🔪 How to cook pheasant breast
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan until foaming. Season the pheasant breasts with salt and pepper then place in the pan and cook for 5 minutes.
Two: Turn the pheasant breasts over and cook for a further 4 minutes until golden brown (check with a sharp knife to see if they are cooked through). Remove the pheasant to a plate to rest.
Three: Put the chopped garlic, sliced mushrooms, and pancetta in the frying pan (on a medium-high heat) and cook for 3-4 minutes until the mushrooms are tender.
Four: Pour in the white wine and let the majority of the liquid evaporate off.
Five: Stir in the cream, wholegrain mustard, and parsley and simmer on a low heat for 2-3 minutes.
Six: Return the pheasant breasts to the pan and warm through for 2 minutes before serving.
💭 Expert tips
- If your pheasant breasts are particularly small, turn them after 4 minutes.
- After cooking, let the pheasant breasts rest for 5-10 minutes. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat, resulting in a juicier bite.
- Pheasant breasts are very low in fat so it's essential you don't skip on the olive oil and butter when pan frying, otherwise you risk them drying out.
🍴 Serving suggestions
Serve the pheasant breasts with creamy mash, roast sweet potatoes, air fryer broccoli, and slow cooker red cabbage.
📖 Variations
- Don't like mushrooms? Add spinach instead.
- Try using a dry cider instead of white wine in the creamy sauce.
- Make a sauce with fresh blackberries, red wine, and balsamic vinegar. The sweet and tangy sauce contrasts nicely with the pheasant.
- Wrap the pheasant breasts in sage leaves and prosciutto before pan-searing
- Flavour the sauce with tarragon instead of parsley.
- Try oven-roasting or slow-cooking the pheasant instead of pan-frying.
- Use chicken breasts or pork steaks when pheasant isn't in season.
🥡 Storage
Store - Place the cooked pheasant breasts and sauce in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 48 hours.
Reheat - Reheat in the microwave until piping hot.
Freeze - Allow the dish to cool down, place it in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge before reheating.
❓ Frequently asked questions
Either the heat is too high or it has been cooked for too long. Pheasant breasts are smaller than chicken so need slightly less time to cook than a standard chicken breast.
It's best to cook it thoroughly so there is no pink remaining.
It's fairly similar to chicken and turkey in texture, but a little more gamey in taste.
Pheasant meat is lower in fat and higher in protein than chicken. It's generally considered a lean meat.
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Recipe
Easy Pan Fried Pheasant Breasts Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 Pheasant Breasts skinless
- 1 tablespoon Butter
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
- 1 Garlic Clove peeled and chopped
- 160 g Pancetta cubed
- 250 g Chestnut Mushrooms Sliced
- 60 ml White Wine
- 100 ml Double Cream
- 1 teaspoon Wholegrain Mustard
- 1 tablespoon Parsley chopped
Instructions
- Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan until foaming. Season the pheasant breasts with salt and pepper then place in the pan and cook for 5 minutes.4 Pheasant Breasts, 1 tablespoon Butter, 1 tablespoon Olive Oil, 1 teaspoon Salt, ½ teaspoon Pepper
- Turn the pheasant breasts over and cook for a further 4 minutes until golden brown (check with a sharp knife to see if they are cooked through). Remove the pheasant to a plate to rest (or continue to cook for another minute).
- Put the chopped garlic, sliced mushrooms, and pancetta in the frying pan (on a medium-high heat) and cook for 3-4 minutes until the mushrooms are tender.1 Garlic Clove, 160 g Pancetta, 250 g Chestnut Mushrooms
- Pour in the white wine and let the majority of the liquid evaporate off.60 ml White Wine
- Stir in the cream, wholegrain mustard, and parsley and simmer on a low heat for 2-3 minutes.100 ml Double Cream, 1 teaspoon Wholegrain Mustard, 1 tablespoon Parsley
- Return the pheasant breasts to the pan and warm through for 3-4 minutes before serving.
Notes
- If your pheasant breasts are particularly small, turn them after 4 minutes.
- After cooking, let the pheasant breasts rest for 5-10 minutes. This allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat, resulting in a juicier bite.
- Pheasant breasts are very low in fat so it's essential you don't skip on the olive oil and butter when pan frying, otherwise you risk them drying out.
- Don't like mushrooms? Add spinach instead.
- Try using a dry cider instead of white wine in the creamy sauce.
- Make a sauce with fresh blackberries, red wine, and balsamic vinegar. The sweet and tangy sauce contrasts nicely with the pheasant.
- Wrap the pheasant breasts in sage leaves and prosciutto before pan-searing
- Flavour the sauce with tarragon instead of parsley.
- Try oven-roasting or slow-cooking the pheasant instead of pan-frying.
- Use chicken breasts or pork steaks when pheasant isn't in season.
sherry M
i'm not sure we can get pheasant here in australia but you could use chicken i guess!
Beth Sachs
Hi Sherry! Yes chicken breasts would work well, although they would need a few minutes longer cooking as they are thicker than pheasant breasts.
KeithL
Very good. I had a breast fillet (I. e. just one side) so I reduced the cooking time by 1 min each side and tenderness was spot on. The mushroom & mustard sauce was so tasty, I didn't have enough spare tastebuds for the pheasant flavour. I'd also like to support the other reviewer who said they liked the quantity reminder you include in the "recipe card" at the end. Thanks.
Lynne Tann-Watson
Very tasty though perhaps a bit less tender than I would have liked. I had no pancetta so used smoked bacon. I'd definitely do it again...maybe a bit less salt.
Heidi Reed
I made this recipe tonight and it turned out five star! I did find that I had to use extra oil for pan frying the pheasant breasts. Also, I substituted bacon for the pork belly that was included in the recipe.
Kevin
Possibly breasts needed slightly less cooking time.
Becky
Excellent. We usually get grouse but happened to have pheasant. Will definitely try this again with grouse. The only modification I made was a little more cream and 1/2 tarragon 1/2 parsley. Turned out great! Love that the ingredients to each step were included with the step, made it so easy!! Every recipe should be like that!
Beth Sachs
Glad you enjoyed it Becky!
Chris wheeler
Absolutely lovely.
We re in our 70s but still do one new recipe a week. This was supposed to be New Year’s Eve but covid took over and just had it tonight, its gorgeous, rich without being sickly!loved it. Followed recipe exactly? Def do it again.
Rod
I found myself home alone with a couple of Pheasant breasts, short of mushrooms and garlic, used bacon and onion. Brilliant way to get breast meat cooked without drying it out. Delicious. Thankyou
Victoria
Excellent recipe, cooked it today and will keep trying it with other meats & poltry.
Christine Foster
I made this last night for 5 us...one was the person who shot the pheasant. All were DELIGHTED with the flavor! I had chunks of proscuitto, rather than panchetta, added more wine & cream and it was DELISH!
I also tried dredging some of the breasts in flour & corn starch with the seasoning in it. Make sure to use LOTS of butter. 4 mins MAX per side, as they continue to cook when removed from the pan and then when you reheat after the sauce is made.
Everyone raved and wanted the recipe. 🙂