How to...Pluck and Gut a Pheasant

1. Grab live pheasant by head just below scull, hold arm down making sure the pheasant cannot touch the ground. Twist body around in a clockwise circle while holding head firmly similar to twisting a towel for a sharp towel snap. Do this very quickly to avoid suffering and to prevent bird from flailing and possibly breaking bones.

2. Hang bird by the neck with twine in a cool room above zero degrees Celsius to keep it from freezing and below 10 degrees Celsius to keep the meat from rotting. Smell the bird each day to check to see if it smells ‘gamey’ if so, discard immediately.

3. Set up your area with a table lined with newspaper, two lined garbage bags, a bucket for each bird, paper towels or cloths, a bone knife and a pair of bone scissors. Wear warm old clothes and a full apron.

4. Cut twine and take bird into your arm, placing breast side up and somewhere in the middle, start plucking the feathers going toward head. Pluck feathers and put them in into a bag for keeping. If any skin comes off, discard into a different garbage bag. Keep skin taught by pulling slightly on the skin while pulling the feathers out. Grab feathers from the base, while pushing the feathers down and then pulling feather out in the same direction as the feather growth. Pluck up to the neck, down to the feet, and then up to the second joint on the wings.

5. Take a knife and score the skin on the foot. Hold the foot on either side of the scoring mark and break the leg bone. Place the foot on the top edge of a counter with the bird hanging down and the bone break at the counter corner. Keep the leg on the counter while pulling really hard down the other part of the bird leg until the foot separates. The foot will still have the tendons attached which will make eating the leg easier. Repeat for the other leg. Discard feet.

6. Grab head just below skull with one hand and just above torso with the other hand. Pull head from body with steady strength. Discard head.

7. With bone shears snip wing tips off on the outside of the joint. Discard wing tips.

8. Pull larynx and gizzard from neck. Birds hold gravelly bits in their gizzards to grind their food as they don’t have teeth for that. Place fingers in throat and scrape innards away from top of ribs as far back as you can reach.

9. Place the bird on the newspaper lined table. Locate the vent on the bottom of the bird and cut above the vent, pointing the blade directly toward the middle of the bird, preventing the piercing of the intestines leading to the vent. Place fingers into the incision and carefully pull the innards away from the bottom of the inside of the bird. Then pull the innards down and towards the incision. Be careful not to puncture the intestines as the odor can be unpleasant and could taint the meat. Discard innards.

10. Place bird in a bucket and carry to a clean sink. Rinse the inside and outside of the bird. Place in the fridge or in a sealed plastic bag then freeze.

11. Wash hands thoroughly using a nail brush. Throw garbage out. Save clean feathers for chicken nesting boxes, fly fishing lures, feather stuffed doggy beds, etc.

Time: 20 minutes to 1 hour, depending on plucking speed.

Disclaimer: Safe food handling requires certain considerations such as keeping food in cool temperatures, keeping feces away from meat and keeping yourself and the area very clean. Learn how to do these things to prevent food poisoning. Information provided does not include such considerations.