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 was always a bit scared of cooking pheasant in the past but after a bit of research (and a lot of trial and error!), I found out you treat pheasant breasts in exactly the same way as boneless, skinless chicken breasts (albeit the taste is richer and more game-like)! Easy peasy right!
👩🍳 Why not try my garlic butter chicken recipe next!
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe!
- Easy pan-fried pheasant breast recipe.
- Perfect for fuss-free entertaining.
- Rich, gamey, and meaty.
- Delicious with mash and green vegetables.
🛒 Ingredient notes
- Pheasant Breasts - four skinless pheasant breast fillets are needed for this recipe.
- Butter and Olive Oil - for pan frying.
- Garlic - finely chopped.
- Chestnut Mushrooms - or swap for closed cup mushrooms.
- Pancetta - this can be substituted for smoked bacon if you prefer.
- 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 (or continue to cook for another minute).
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.
- Pheasants are very low in fat so it's essential you don't skip on the olive oil and butter. Otherwise, you will end up with dry pheasant!
🍴 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.
- Flavour the sauce with tarragon instead of parsley.
- Try oven roasting the pheasant instead of pan frying.
- Use chicken breasts or pork steaks when pheasant isn't in season.
🥡 Storage
- To Store: Place the cooked pheasant breasts and sauce in an air tight container and store in the fridge for up to 48 hours.
- To Reheat: Reheat in the microwave until piping hot.
- To Freeze: Allow the dish to cool down, place 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.
- Pheasants are very low in fat so it's essential you don't skip on the olive oil and butter. Otherwise you will end up with dry pheasant!
- Don't like mushrooms? Add spinach instead.
- Try using a dry cider instead of white wine.
- Flavour the sauce with tarragon instead of parsley.
- Try oven roasting the pheasant instead of pan frying.
- Use chicken breasts or pork steaks when pheasant isn't in season.
- To Store: Place the cooked pheasant breasts and sauce in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 48 hours.
- To Reheat: Reheat in the microwave until piping hot.
- To Freeze: Allow the dish to cool down, place in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge before reheating.
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.
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