Pheasant tacos are an easy recipe to make with leftover pheasant. Serve with your favorite toppings and you have a delicious meal.
Pheasant is by far one of our favorite things to hunt for and to cook. Chicken doesn’t hold a candle to the delicious, tender and juicy pheasant. Although you can make leftover chicken tacos with this recipe too.
Even if you don’t hunt, pheasant, it has become fairly easy to find at restaurant stores and in some higher end grocery stores. You can also locate them online.
This recipe will work for other upland birds such as ruffed grouse, chukar or gray partridge. These birds work hard to find sustenance so the legs and thighs are notoriously tough and contain lots of tendons. The slow cooker does a great job of breaking these down so the meat ends up tender and juicy.
What you need
For the pheasant
- pheasant meat – use our smoked pheasant for a different flavor profile. Or use any leftover cooked pheasant breast, whole, breast filets, legs or thighs
- onion
- garlic
- orange
- crushed tomatoes with juice
- cumin
- kosher salt
- black pepper
For the tacos
- corn tortillas
- pheasant mixture
Optional taco toppings
- shredded lettuce
- diced tomatoes
- grated cheddar cheese or Jack cheese
- cotija cheese or queso fresco
- pickled or fresh sliced jalapeño
- Mexican creme or sour cream
- chopped cilantro leaves
- pickled or fresh onion
- pickled or fresh radishes
- sliced avocado
- black olives
- your favorite salsa or pico de gallo
- hot sauce
- spicy slaw
- lime wedges or squeeze a bit of lime juice on each taco
How to make it
Step One
Add leftover pheasant to small slow cooker.
Step Two
Quarter onions. Place them on top of meat.
Step Three
Quarter orange. Add that to top of meat.
Step Four
Add spices.
Step Five
Pour tomatoes over all with juice.
Step Six
Chop jalapeño. Add to crockpot.
Cover pot. Cook on low for about 4 hours, until pheasant shreds easily with a fork.
If your meat contained bones, let the taco filling cool enough to handle. Then remove bones. Place meat on cutting board and “pull” the meat with two forks. Remove the orange rinds from the crockpot. Place pulled thigh meat, pulled leg meat and pulled breast meat back into slow cooker and mix with the remaining ingredients. Warm in slow cooker on the warm setting until hot enough to serve.
How to assemble tacos
Do Mexican street tacos which are sold by street vendors in Mexico. Just warm tortillas a few at a time in the microwave on a plate covered with a damp paper towel for about 30 seconds (or use a tortilla warmer).
Or fry tortillas briefly in a cast iron skillet with olive oil coating the whole bottom of the skillet for just a few minutes on each side, until the tortillas are as crispy as you like.
Once your tortillas are warmed, place the taco meat in a serving bowl. To assemble, spoon a few tablespoons of the pheasant mixture into the tortilla. Top with your favorite toppings.
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Pheasant tacos
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds pheasant breasts or one whole pheasant
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ tablespoon Chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ½ Onion quartered
- ½ orange cut in half
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- ½ jalapeños
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Corn or Flour Tortillas
- Lettuce diced tomatoes, grated cheese, salsa, etc. for garnish
Instructions
- Place leftover pheasant meat in a slow cooker and top with the onion, orange and spices. Add 1 cup crushed tomatoes to slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for about 4 hours or on high 1 hours. Reserve liquid.1½ pounds pheasant breasts or one whole pheasant, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, ½ tablespoon Chili powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper, ½ Onion, ½ orange, 1 cup crushed tomatoes, ½ jalapeños
- Once the meat is tender, remove from slow cooker and let cool slightly before pulling apart with two forks. After you shred the meat add it back to the slow cooker and heat on warm until warm enough to serve.
- Place about 1/2 inch olive oil in a small pan over high heat. Fry tortillas on one side for about 1 minute. Turn and fold in half. Fry on first side of folded tortilla then turn and fry on the other. You can also make street tacos and heat tortillas on a plate covered with a damp tortilla in the microwave for about 30 seconds.3 tablespoons vegetable oil, Corn or Flour Tortillas
- Place meat in tortilla. Serve with your favorite toppings. Lettuce, tomato, cheese, salsa, etc..Lettuce
See all of my favorite tools and gift ideas on my New Amazon Store!Check out Binky’s Amazon Store!Notes
- shredded lettuce
- diced tomatoes
- grated cheddar cheese or Jack cheese
- cotija cheese or queso fresco
- pickled or fresh sliced jalapeño
- Mexican creme or sour cream
- chopped cilantro leaves
- pickled or fresh onion
- pickled or fresh radishes
- sliced avocado
- black olives
- your favorite salsa or pico de gallo
- hot sauce
- spicy slaw
- lime wedges or squeeze a bit of lime juice on each taco
Laressa
These look great! I’ve never tried pheasant but having it in a taco seems so approachable for newbies. Thanks for sharing!
Beth Neels
Thanks Laressa. Let me know if you try it.
Andrea
This is a fabulous use of leftover pheasant. Love the flavors and the blue tortillas.
Beth Neels
My family loves the blue tortillas. We always buy them when we can find them. Thanks Andrea!
Amy Nash
Love this idea for using leftover pheasant in tacos! The added citrus is a great flavor touch!
Beth Neels
We love citrus with poultry. We think it really adds to the flavor.
Kris
This was an absolute flavor bomb! We can’t wait to make again. Thank you for another winner!!
Beth Neels
Thanks Kris! I’m so glad you liked them.
Tayler Ross
I’ve never tried pheasant until I made these tacos, but wow is it delicious! I can’t wait to make them again1
Beth Neels
I’m so glad you like them Tayler. They are one of our favorite!