Excite your taste buds with this recipe for a Bacon Wrapped Barbecue Pheasant Sandwich. Chef Tom shows you how to smoke the pheasant over an offset smoker and make a home-made apple pecan slaw.
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Locking the lid in place on the Briner Bucket keeps the pheasant breasts fully submerged through the full overnight brine, rather than letting pieces float above the liquid
- Wrapping the bacon around the bone-in breasts before smoking bastes the meat continuously as the fat renders, rather than relying on a dry rub alone to keep it moist
- Placing the wrapped breasts near the firebox end of the offset smoker gives them more direct heat exposure than the cooler end further away
- Sauced in two separate passes rather than one gives the glaze two chances to tack onto the surface as it builds, rather than one thick coat applied all at once
Bacon Wrapped Barbecue Pheasant Sandwich
Tom Jackson
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
Entree
Cuisine
American
Servings
8
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour
Calories
904
Chef Tom fires up the Yoder Smokers Loaded Wichita Offset Smoker for a Bacon Wrapped Barbecue Pheasant Sandwich with Apple Pecan Slaw.
Ingredients
- 3 pairs bone-in pheasant breasts
- 5 quarts water
-
1 (1 lb) bag Cattleman’s Grill Butcher House Brine
-
Plowboys BBQ Yardbird BBQ Rub
- 1 lb classic cut bacon
- 8 brioche buns
-
3/4 cup Firebug Mild Grillin’ Sauce
-
1/4 cup Blues Hog Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce
- 3 cups green cabbage, sliced thin
- 1 1/2 cups granny smith apples, peeled, diced
- 3 green onions
- 1/3 cup candied pecans
- 3 tbsp Kozlik’s Carolina Mustard Sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp mayonnaise
For the Pheasant:
For the sauce:
For the Apple Slaw:
Directions
- Pour 5 quarts cool water into an 8 quart Briner Bucket. Add the 1 lb bag of Cattleman’s Grill Butcher House Brine and whisk.
- Place your bone-in pheasant breasts in the brine solution. Lock the lid in place to keep the birds submerged. Place the lid on the Briner Bucket and transfer to the refrigerator.
- Brine the pheasants overnight (about 16 hours). Remove the pheasants from the brine and rinse with cool water. Pat dry the surface of the meat.
- Build a coal base with lump charcoal in your Yoder Smokers Loaded Wichita Offset Smoker. Feed the fire with splits of cherry wood, maintaining the grill temperature at 300ºF-325ºF.
- Season the pheasant breasts moderately with Plowboys BBQ Yardbird BBQ Rub. Lay out 4-5 slices of bacon on your work surface. Place the bone-in breasts on top of the bacon and wrap the bacon around the meat, tucking the ends underneath.
- Transfer the bacon wrapped pheasant breasts to the smoker, near the firebox end of the grill.
- Cook the pheasant until the internal temperature reaches about 140ºF, about one hour, then begin brushing with sauce.
- To make the sauce, combine the Firebird Grillin’ Sauce and Blues Hog Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Sauce in a Lodge 8” Cast Iron Skillet. Warm and whisk. Brush the sauce over the bacon wrapped pheasant breasts. Continue smoking.
- When the internal temperature of the breasts reaches 155ºF, brush again with the sauce, then remove from the smoker.
While the pheasants are smoking, grill the green onions directly on the hot coals in the firebox of the smoker until lightly charred and softened. Dice fine. Combine all remaining ingredients for the Apple Slaw in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Toss to coat all ingredients with the sauce. Cover and rest in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Remove the bacon from the surface of the pheasant breasts. Chop the bacon.
- Slice the breast meat off of the breastbone. Pull and shred the meat by hand. Keep an eye out for any shot that may be left behind in the meat.
- Combine the pulled pheasant meat with the chopped bacon.
- To build the sandwiches, place the pheasant and bacon meat on a toasted brioche bottom bun. Drizzle some sauce over the meat. Top with the Apple Slaw, then the top brioche bun.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why lock the lid in place on the Briner Bucket during the overnight brine?
Keeping the lid locked holds the pheasant breasts fully submerged in the brine solution for the full 16 hours, so nothing floats above the liquid and brines unevenly.
Why wrap the bacon around the bone-in breasts instead of using a dry rub alone?
As the bacon renders on the smoker, it continuously bastes the pheasant underneath, adding moisture the lean meat wouldn't otherwise retain through a long, low cook.
Why position the wrapped breasts near the firebox end of the offset smoker?
That end of an offset smoker runs hotter than the far end, so placing the breasts there gives them more direct heat exposure during the cook.
Why brush the sauce on in two separate passes instead of one thick coat?
Sauced once partway through and again near the end, the glaze gets two chances to tack onto the surface as it builds, rather than one heavy coat applied all at once that could slide off or burn.
Does pulling the pheasant at 155°F mean it's fully cooked?
Not quite — this recipe's own directions pull it at 155°F, but pheasant is a game bird that needs to reach the same 165°F minimum as other poultry. Continue cooking until the breast reaches at least 165°F rather than stopping at 155°F.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
2 out of 5 — the slaw and sauce come together easily indoors, but the low, wood-fired offset smoke is central to this recipe's flavor and difficult to replicate without an actual smoker.
Recipe Highlights
Locked-lid brining: Keeps the breasts fully submerged through the full soak.
Bacon-basted smoking: Adds moisture to lean pheasant as it renders.
Firebox-end placement: Gives the wrapped breasts more direct heat.
Two-pass saucing: Builds the glaze in stages rather than one coat.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 11.91 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 904
- Carbs
- 70 grams
- Protein
- 60 grams
- Fat
- 41 grams
- Sodium
- 2491 milligrams
