What would you recommend to soak rabbit and pheasant in overnight?

And any reason why it is soaked in whatever? Also do you recommend any casseroles?What would you recommend to soak rabbit and pheasant in overnight?
Rabbit is great with a cup of red wine, chopped onion and garlic and some rosemary and a few spoons of olive oil, in a shallow dish left overnight to marinate.


For service , drain the meat, pat dry on some towels, sautee in a heavy pan with some butter and olive oil, s and p. Brown it on both sides, then put the pan in a 350 oven for 20 -30 minutes or so.


Take out the rabbit, put it on a platter, and use the marinade to make a pan sauce with the brown bits on the bottom- let it cook so it loses some liquid. Careful! Handle will be really hot.


OR you can use just about any recipe for chicken and get a good result with rabbit.


For the pheasant, rub it with oil and garlic, roast it like a chicken in the oven with slices of bacon over it. Probably 40 minutes in a hot oven is fine. Serve it with a mix of sauteed mushrooms, small potato or any grain pilaf you like.What would you recommend to soak rabbit and pheasant in overnight?
Rabbit (or hare) and pheasant are game. Game is the name for wild animals rather than farmed animals. Wild animals run about a lot so their meat is not that tender. Therefore, it needs marinating to tenderise it.





A good marinator is anything with acid in it, tempered with a bit of sugar. So white wine and a teaspoon of brown sugar is great. Add a jigger of vodka or Pernod. Add lots of garlic and herbs and spices.





You can also use orange or lemon juice (lots of it) with a teaspoon of sugar, salt and black pepper. If you add a little bit of kiwi fruit it helps to break the strong muscles down. Not too much, or the meat will go mushy.





Good luck
there is no need to soak rabbit or pheasant. However, when cooking rabbit add some fat like bacon for example, since it s so lean. here are several recipes from my cook books for both. Good Luck





Braised Rabbit with Mushrooms and Bacon





8 slices bacon, cut up


1/3 c. all purpose flour


½ tsp. salt


1/8 tsp. pepper


1 wild rabbit, cut up (home grown will do)


2 Tbs. butter


1 c. red wine


1 medium onion, diced


¼ c. brandy


¼ c. apple sauce


1 Tbs. red wine vinegar


1 Tbs. Dijon mustard


2 cloves garlic, minced


1 ½ c. fresh mushrooms, sliced


Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste





In a 12” or 14” Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and remove bacon with a slotted spoon; set aside. Reserve 2 Tbs. bacon fat in Dutch oven.


In a large ziplock bag, combine flour, salt, and pepper; shake to mix. Add rabbit pieces to flour and shake to coat. Melt butter in reserved bacon fat over medium heat. Add rabbit to butter and fat, brown on all sides over medium high heat. Remove rabbit with a slotted spoon.


Add to the Dutch oven, wine, onion, brandy, apple sauce, vinegar, mustard, and garlic. Stir well. Return rabbit to Dutch oven and heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45 minutes, turning rabbit pieces occasionally. Add bacon, and mushrooms. Re-cover. Simmer 10 to 20 minutes longer or until rabbit is tender. Salt and pepper to taste.


Serves 2 to 3








Rabbit in Apple Cider





1 Tbs. butter


1 Tbs. vegetable oil


1 wild rabbit, cut up (home grown will do)


1 medium onion, cut into eighths


2 medium carrots, diced


1 ½ c. apple cider


½ tsp.salt


¼ tsp dried thyme


1 bay leaf


4 whole black peppercorns


2 medium cooking apples, Granny Smith





In a 12”, deep Dutch oven, melt butter and vegetable oil over medium heat. Add rabbit pieces; brown well on all sides over medium high heat. Remove rabbit from Dutch oven with a slotted spoon. Add carrots and onions to oil. Cook over medium heat until carrots are tender. Stir in cider, salt, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Heat to boiling and add rabbit pieces. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 1 hour until rabbit is tender. Core and quarter apples. Add to rabbit pieces. Cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, until apples are just tender. Discard bay leaf before serving. Transfer rabbit, vegetables, and apples to a serving platter, if desired.


Serves 2 to 3








Roadkill Rabbit


Don Litchfield





1 rabbit, cut up


Seasoned flour


4 slices bacon, diced


8 oz. smoked sausage


1 leek, sliced


½ oz. dried mushrooms


1 ½ c. risotto


2 10 oz. cans chicken broth


1 roasted red bell pepper, peeled and diced


1 tomato, diced


Fresh basil


Parmesan cheese





Flour rabbit, brown in a 12”, deep Dutch oven until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside. Add leeks, bacon, and sausage to drippings from rabbit. Saute until golden brown. Add mushrooms, and sauté 3 to 4 minutes. Add risotto, half of the broth, and return the rabbit to the oven. Simmer until the broth is absorbed. Add more broth as needed until risotto is tender. Add asparagus, peppers, and tomato. Serve topped with cheese and fresh basil.


Serves 4 to 6








White Pheasant Chili





Over low heat, melt 2 Tbs. butter, add 1 c. diced green onions, stir, and sauté 2-3 minutes. Add 3 Tbs. flour while stirring. Add 2 cans chicken broth, stir well to combine.





Add:


3 ½ c. pheasant meat, diced


1 can Great Northern beans, drained


1 11 oz. can white or yellow corn with red peppers, drained


¾ c. half and half


1 4 oz. can diced green chilies


¾ tsp. ground cumin


2 Tbs. lime juice





Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips and cheese. Try cooking in a crock pot.


Serves 4 to 6





Wild Pheasant %26amp; Wild Rice


David Herzog





1 wild Pheasant


1 c. onion, diced


1 c. celery, diced


½ c. mixed nuts %26amp; seeds


¼ c. pine nuts


1 c. dehydrated mixed fruit


2 ½ c. wild rice


3 /12 c. water


2 Tbs. chicken bouillon


2 Tbs. poultry seasoning


Pepper to rub on Pheasant





12”, deep, Dutch oven


12 hot coals under oven


8 hot coals on top of oven





Rub pheasant with your favorite pepper mix, set aside. Light charcoal. Add remaining ingredients to the Dutch oven, stir to mix. Place Pheasant on top of other ingredients, cover.


Place 12 hot coals under oven and 8 on top. Cook 1 ½ hours, rotating lid to the left ¼ turn, bottom to the right ¼ turn every 10 to 15 minutes until done.





Apple Creamed Pheasant





2 Tbs. unsalted butter, more if needed


2 young, dressed whole Pheasants, about 2 ½ lbs. each


18 to 20 small pearl onions


1 tsp. salt


½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper


1 c. chicken stock


½ lb. mushrooms


2 tart apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced


½ c. dry white wine


½ c. heavy cream





Preheat a 14”, deep Dutch oven and melt butter over medium high heat. Add the birds and brown all sides, adding butter if necessary. Remove birds from Dutch oven and set aside. Add more butter if necessary, and sauté onions, stirring frequen