Flamin’ Hot Pheasant Sticks
Who doesn't love Flamin’ Hot Cheetos? While this may not be the most sophisticated way to cook pheasant, it does provide a unique flare to your regular preparations. This recipe is for an entire bird but can be adapted for any part of the bird. The Cheetos breading keeps the pheasant very moist, adds a crunch and a little heat to the finished product. The longer the pheasant sits in the marinade, the hotter it will get. Serve these with a bowl of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos at your next game day celebration with blue cheese dip, celery, and carrot sticks.
Ingredients
Marinade
3 eggs
⅓ cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
1 whole pheasant plucked and skinned
Coating
8.5 ounce bag of Flamin’ Hot Crunchy Cheetos
1 cup flour
48 ounce canola or vegetable oil for frying
Sides
Fresh celery and carrot sticks
Blue cheese dip and or Ranch dressing
Directions
Add all the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl and whisk well.
From a full pheasant, remove the wings from the carcass and place in the bowl of marinade. Remove the breast and tenderloin. Separate the tenderloin from the breast. Place the whole tenderloin in the marinade. Slice the breast into 3 equal stips and add them to the marinade. Remove both the hind legs from the carcass at the base of the thigh. Separate the leg and thigh at the joint and add them to the marinade. Save the remaining carcass for a soup or for stock. Marinade all the meat for at least an hour and best if overnight.
Pour half of a 8.5 ounce bag of Flamin Hot Cheetos in a 1 gallon zip-close bag. Push the air out of the bag and seal it. Roll the bag with a rolling pin to crush all the cheetos into small crumbs, about the size of panko breadcrumbs. Pour the crushed Cheetos in a medium bowl and crush the other half of the 8.5 ounce bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos in the same gallon zip-close bag. Pour all the Cheetos crumbs into the medium bowl. Pour the 1 cup of flour into the same gallon zip-close bag.
Heat 2 ½ to 3 inches deep of canola or vegetable oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Using a fork, place all the marinated pheasant meat into the bag of flour. Toss to coat all the pieces with flour. Remove each piece of pheasant individually and dip back into the marinade to wet the flour and then place into the bowl of crushed Cheetos. Dredge the meat in the bowl until evenly coated.
Once the oil reaches 315 F, gently lower a few pieces of the meat into the oil and fry for 5 to 7 minutes depending on the thickness of the meat. Use metal tongues or a large slotted metal spoon to remove the pheasant from the oil and place on a plate lined with 2 or 3 layers of paper towels. Continue frying the meat in batches until it is all cooked. Serve as an appetizer with ranch dressing or chunky blue cheese dip and fresh celery and carrot sticks. Pour a second bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos in a bowl to snack on alongside the peasant.