Savor the bold flavors of Mexico with the Pheasant Tinga Quesataco! Chef Tom shows you how to braise pheasant in a smoky chipotle tomato sauce and stuff into a cheesy tortilla, this delectable dish will have your taste buds singing. Experience real Mexican flavor with Chef Tom's mouth-watering recipe!
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Blending the tinga sauce smooth in the Vitamix before it ever touches the pheasant means the tomatoes, chipotles, and garlic are fully integrated rather than left in separate chunks
- Braising the pheasant directly in the sauce instead of poaching it in plain stock builds the tinga flavor into the meat itself as it cooks
- Adding the sauce back into the shredded meat gradually, a little at a time, lets you control the final consistency instead of ending up with a filling that's too wet or too dry
- Dipping the tortilla in leftover sauce before it hits the griddle, sauced side down, builds flavor and color into the crust of the quesataco itself, not just the filling inside
Pheasant Tinga Quesataco (Tinga de Faisan)
Tom Jackson
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
Entree
Cuisine
American
Servings
12
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Calories
352
Chicken Tinga is a delicious and popular Mexican dish comprised of shredded chicken in a tomato and chipotle sauce. This week Chef Tom shares his recipe for the Pheasant Tinga Quesataco, featuring pheasant meat braised in Tinga sauce, stuffed into tortillas with cheese and finished on the griddle in the Napoleon Prestige Gas Grill.
Ingredients
- 2 whole pheasants, quartered
- 4 pheasant thighs
-
Cattleman’s Grill Butcher House Brine
- 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
-
1 1/2 cups (14 oz) Ciao Italian Canned Tomatoes
- 1/4 cup chipotles in adobo sauce
- 3 large cloves garlic, crushed, peeled
-
1 tbsp Cattleman’s Grill Mexicano Seasoning
-
1 tbsp Colonial Chile Infused Oil
- 2 cups white onion, sliced thin
- 1 tsp Mexican oregano
-
1/2 tsp Jacobsen Salt Co. Black Garlic Salt
- 12 corn tortillas or 8 flour tortillas
- 2 cup grated cheese (jack or Oaxaca)
- 1 cup Pico de Gallo
- Queso fresco
-
Flavolcano Smoky Red Pepper Hot Sauce
Directions
- Mix the Cattleman’s Grill Butcher House Brine with 5 quarts water in an 8 quart Briner bucket. Add the pheasant and brine overnight.
- Combine chicken stock, Ciao Italian Canned Tomatoes, chipotles in adobo, garlic and Cattleman’s Grill Mexicano Seasoning in the Vitamix Blender. Blend until smooth.
- Preheat your Staub 4 Quart Enamel Dutch Oven on the side burner of a Napoleon Prestige 500RSIB-3 over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp Colonial Chile Infused Oil, then the sliced onion, Mexican oregano and 1/2 tsp Jacobsen Salt Co. Black Garlic Salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, just until the onions begin to soften.
- Add the quartered pheasants to the dutch oven. Pour the Tinga sauce from the blender over the pheasants and onions.
- Cover with a lid and cook until the pheasant meat reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF, about 20 minutes.
- Remove the pheasant from the sauce. Let cool slightly.
- Preheat the main cooking chamber over medium heat, with a Napoleon cast iron griddle in place of the regular grates.
Remove the meat from the bones. Shred the meat by hand. Add the Tinga sauce and onions to the shredded to shredded pheasant, a little at a time, until you reach your desired consistency.
- To make a quesataco, dip a corn tortilla in the left over Tinga sauce (from the dutch oven), coating one side with the sauce. Place the tortilla on the griddle, sauced side down. Fill with shredded cheese and pheasant Tinga. Top with pico de gallo. Close up the tortilla and cook, flipping to brown and crisp both sides of the taco. Serve with Flavolcano and queso fresco.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why blend the tomatoes, chipotles, garlic, and stock together before adding them to the pheasant?
Blending everything smooth in the Vitamix fully integrates the tinga sauce's flavors, rather than leaving chunks of tomato and chipotle to break down unevenly during the braise.
Why braise the pheasant directly in the tinga sauce instead of poaching it in plain stock first?
Cooking the pheasant right in the sauce lets the tomato and chipotle flavor work into the meat as it cooks, rather than cooking it plain and adding sauce only afterward.
Why add the sauce back into the shredded pheasant gradually instead of all at once?
Adding it a little at a time lets you stop once the filling reaches the consistency you want, rather than risking a filling that's too wet or too dry from dumping in a fixed amount.
Why dip the tortilla in leftover sauce before placing it sauced-side-down on the griddle?
Coating the tortilla first builds tinga flavor and color directly into the crust as it crisps, rather than the sauce only ever touching the filling on the inside.
What internal temperature should the pheasant actually reach?
This recipe braises it until it reaches 165°F, matching the USDA minimum for poultry exactly.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
4 out of 5 — a dutch oven on the stovetop can handle the braise exactly the same way, and a flat-top griddle or large skillet can crisp the quesatacos in place of the grill.
Recipe Highlights
Blended tinga sauce base: Fully integrates the tomato and chipotle flavors before braising.
Direct-in-sauce braising: Builds flavor into the meat as it cooks.
Gradual sauce-back method: Controls the final filling consistency.
Sauce-dipped tortilla: Adds flavor and color to the crust, not just the inside.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 9.33 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 352
- Carbs
- 24 grams
- Protein
- 30 grams
- Fat
- 15 grams
- Sodium
- 624 milligrams
