How to Sous Vide Pheasant: A Simple, Delicious Method

Sous vide cooking is a game-changer, literally. If you’ve never tried it with pheasant, you’re in for a treat. Let me show you how to sous vide pheasant and how we like to serve them.

This method locks in moisture, making sure your bird stays tender and juicy instead of dried out and tough. Let’s dive in!

Ingredients You’ll Need for Cooking Wild Pheasant 

• 2 whole bone-in pheasant
• 4 tbsp butter (2 per bird)
• 2 tsp salt (sea salt or kosher salt)
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp your favorite seasoning (Kinder’s All Purpose Meat & Veggie Rub)
• 3–5 tbsp olive oil
• ½–1 tsp cornstarch (optional)
•  Leftover sous vide juices from the bag (pheasant stock-don’t throw out!!)

Prepping the Whole Pheasant Breast

Rinse the pheasants in cold water and pat them dry with paper towels. Then, season generously with salt, pepper, and your favorite seasoning. I use Kinder’s All Purpose Meat and Veggie Rub for a lot of recipes. I go heavy on the seasoning—flavor is a good thing!

If you love rosemary, throw in a few sprigs now or wait until after sous vide cooking. Pheasants are a larger bird so you get a little more breast meat than you do with some. 

Next, place each bird in a gallon-size Ziploc bag (or a vacuum-seal bag if you have one). Add 2 tablespoons of butter to each bag. No need to melt it—just toss it in.

Remove as much air as possible and seal the bags. If you decide to use a vacuum seal bag, follow the directions on your vacuum sealer to make sure it seals completely.

Setting Up the Sous Vide

Fill your sous vide container with water up to the recommended fill line. Set your sous vide machine water temperature to 145°F. Place the sealed pheasants in the water bath and make sure they don’t touch. They should be in a single layer. Each bird gets its own large zipper lock bag. 

If they float, weigh them down with a plate. Sous vide has an official weight, but this works for us. 

Cook for 90 minutes. That’s it for the sous vide technique. No peeking, no stirring, no stress. The amazing sous vide water oven does the hard work and you can go do something else.

Searing for a Perfect Finish

Once time’s up, heat a skillet (or a grill pan) over medium heat  to medium-high heat with 3–5 tablespoons of olive oil. You’re using a little extra oil because we’re making a sauce in a minute. Be careful with medium high heat, you don’t want to over cook them.

I love this grill pan (large non-stick skillet) from Pampered Chef. It works great for searing. You can get a beautiful sear right in your kitchen. The grill is great too, but sometimes there just isn’t time for that. Or, just use any frying pan that you have to get that nice golden sear.

Don’t over cook it though! We are just browning it, not cooking it. 

Sear each pheasant for 30–60 seconds per side—just enough to get a golden brown color. Don’t overdo it. The goal is color, not cooking. Once browned, set them aside on a plate and sprinkle with fresh rosemary if you’d like.

Some of the pheasant meat might have a slightly pink color still. Don’t panic, it is done. However, to be sure (and for your own piece of mind), always check the internal temperature. 

Remember, don’t throw out the juices in the sous vide bag. You are going to be pouring them out of the cooking pouch in a second to create a yummy sauce. 

Making the Sauce

Remember that olive oil still in the pan? Add the leftover juices (pheasant stock) from the sous vide bags. Stir in ½ to 1 teaspoon of cornstarch if you want a thicker sauce. Let it cook for about 2 minutes, stirring until slightly thickened.

Drizzle the sauce over the pheasant, toss on some fresh rosemary, and you’re ready to serve!

Serving Suggestions

This dish pairs beautifully with mashed potatoes, roasted green beans, or even fresh-baked bread. Keep it simple and let the flavors shine! It also goes great with cranberry sauce. Now, this will sound really weird, but it’s good with bread and butter pickles too! 

Why Wild Game Is the Best

This pheasant came straight from the field, thanks to my husband’s hunting trip. He brought back pheasant, chukar, and quail—all without added hormones or preservatives. Since they processed the birds themselves, we know exactly where they came from and how they were handled.

Wild game is one of the cleanest proteins you can eat. It’s lean, nutrient-dense, and incredibly flavorful. Plus, it’s a great way to use the resources God has given us!

Some of my favorite recipes with wild game are traditional Elk gravy and biscuits, loaded one-pan venison nachos, venison sloppy joes, and cast-iron skillet venison tenderloin. Soooo good!

A Quick Note on Pheasant

If you’ve never had pheasant, you’re missing out. These little birds are packed with lean protein, B vitamins, and iron. They have a rich, slightly sweet flavor, making them great for grilling, roasting, or—you guessed it—sous vide!

Next time you’re husband (or yourself) brings home some pheasant, try this recipe out. It isn’t the only way to fix wild birds, but it’s definitely an easy, delicious, and tender way to do it. 

Sous Vide 101: How It Works

If you’re new to sous vide, it might sound fancy, but it’s actually simple. Here’s the breakdown:

1. What is sous vide? It’s a water bath cooking method that keeps food at a precise temperature. No overcooking, no drying out.

2. What do you need? A sous vide machine, a heat-safe container, and sealed bags for your food.

3. How do you set it up? Fill the container with water, set the machine to your desired temp, and clip (or weigh down) your bagged food.

4. Why use it? It ensures perfectly tender meat, every single time.

We first heard about the sous vide water immersion technique about seven years ago. A friend of ours recommended it for the birds that my husband would harvest and bring home and we are so glad we tried it.

You can use it for all kinds of meats—steak, chicken breasts, wild game. It’s foolproof and makes even the toughest cuts juicy. 

FAQ: Everything You Need to Know

1. How long do you sous vide a whole pheasant?

90 minutes at 145°F.

2. What’s the best cooking method for pheasant?

Sous vide keeps it tender and juicy. Roasting is another great option.

3. What is the sous vide cooking technique?

It is a technique where the meat is cooked low and slow and stays juicy. You put the seasoned meat in sealed up bag and submerge it in an amazing sour vide water oven (basically just a tub of heated water).

I’m not one for extra contraptions and gadgets in our kitchen, but this is something worth having. We don’t even use it every week, but it is worth making the space for. That’s my opinion of course. It is definitely a great way to fix pheasant fillets! 

4. Is sous vide good for game meat?

Absolutely! It prevents drying out and keeps the meat tender. The pheasant breasts are so juicy and tender when cooked this way. 

5. What temp should pheasant be cooked at?

145°F in the sous vide.

6. Do I need to soak pheasant in milk, heavy cream, or brine?

Nope! Some people do, but sous vide locks in enough moisture that it’s not necessary.

7. Does cooking longer in sous vide make meat more tender?

Not really. Once it hits the set temperature, it stays there. Longer cook times won’t make it fall apart like slow cooking.

8. What’s the best way to cook game birds?

Sous vide is fantastic, but roasting and slow-cooking work well, too. 

9. What are the benefits of sous vide cooking? 

Sous vide cooking require little work and little prep. You can just set it and forget it. It really does produce this amazingly tender meat. The end result is always delicious and juicy. 

Time to Be A Doer

Sous vide pheasant is one of the easiest ways to make sure your wild game stays juicy and flavorful. If you’ve never tried it, now’s the time!

Give it a go, and let me know what you think. We feel like we are at a fine dining restaurant when we fix these birds. I hope you do too! 

Happy Cooking!