Jamaican Jerk Pheasant Tacos with Scotch Bonnet Aioli

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Prep Time: 2 hrs - Cook Time: 3 hrs

Since Coronavirus has us in lock down with no vacation in sight ... we figured we'd try bring an island vacation to our own backyard this weekend with these Jamaican Jerk Pheasant Tacos with a Scotch Bonnet Aioli! We brined the Pheasant with Salt, Ginger Beer, Dark Rum, All Spice Berries and dried Pimento leaves and then smoked it over real Pimento wood imported from Jamaica! Tacos are served with Coat of Arms ( Jamaican Rice and Beans ), homemade Corn Tortillas, Papaya Salad, Fried Plantains and Grilled Pineapple Spears and Corn on the Cob with Chipotle Butter. We washed all this down with a Dark and Stormy drink, Spiced Rum and Ginger Beer.


 

Ingredients



Jamaican Jerk Seasoning


  2 tbsp Onion powder
  2 tbsp Garlic powder
  2 tbsp Dried Parsley
  2 tbsp Brown Sugar
  1 tbsp Cayenne Pepper
  1 tbsp Paprika
  1 tbsp Ground Thyme
  1 tbsp Salt
  1 tbsp Dried Scotch Bonnet Flakes ( or Red Pepper Flakes )
  1/2 tbsp Ground Allspice
  1/2 tbsp Ground Black Pepper
  1/2 tbsp Ground Cumin
  1/2 tbsp Ground Nutmeg
  1/2 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
  1/2 tbsp Ground Ginger

Jamaican Smoked Pheasant


  2 whole Pheasant
   Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
   Cookinig Spray, Vegetable Oil
   Pimento Wood for smoking

Rum Brine


  8 cup(s) Water
  1 1/4 cup(s) kosher salt
  1/2 cup(s) Dark Brown Sugar
  3 tbsp Whole Allspice
  5 Dried Pimento Leaves
  1/2 tbsp Whole Cloves
  4 oz Caribbean Dark Rum
  12 oz Ginger Beer

Scotch Bonnet Aioli


  2 Egg Yolk
  2 clove(s) Garlic, grated
  4 tsp Scotch Bonnet Sauce
  1/2 cup(s) Grapeseed Oil
  1/2 cup(s) Olive Oil
   Lemon Juice ( Optional )

Corn tortillas


  2 cup(s) Masa
  1 1/2 cup(s) Warm Water
   Salt

Coat of Arms ( Rice and Beans )


  1/2 cup(s) Dark Red Kidney Beans - Soaked and Rinsed
  1 1/2 cup(s) Water
  1 Shallots, diced
  1 Garlic, chopped
  3 Dried Pimento Leaves
  1 tbsp Fresh Grated Ginger
  14.5 oz Coconut Milk
  1 tsp Ground Allspice
  1 tsp Ground Thyme
  1/2 tsp Dried Scotch Bonnet Flakes ( or Red Pepper Flakes )
  1 cup(s) Jasmine Rice

Papaya Salad


  1 Ripe Papaya
  1/2 Red Onion
  1 bunch Cilantro Leaves
   Juice from one Lime
   Salt

Fried Plantains


  2 Ripe Plantains
   Flakey Salt
   Vegetable Oil

Dark and Stormy Cocktail


  2 oz Spicy Dark Rum
  3 oz Ginger Beer
   Lime Wedges


Instructions

Step #1 Make brine by combining 8 cups of water, 1 1/4 cup of Kosher Salt, 1/2 Cup of Dark Brown Sugar, 3 tablespoons of Allspice, 1/2 tablespone of Cloves, Pimento Leaves, 4 ounces of Dark Rum and 12 ounces of Ginger Beer in a large sauce pot or brew kettle.



Step #2 Bring the mixture to a boil. Allow to boil for 10 minutes, then turn off heat and remove from hot burner. Allow to cool until it reaches room temperature.




Step #3 Once the brine is at room temperature, you can add your whole pheasants to kettle and place in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 hours. If your kettle is to large for the fridge, you can put Pheasant in cooler with the brine and a bag of ice.



Step #4 While your Pheasant brine, it'd be a good time to make the Scotch Bonnet Aioli and Papaya Salad.



Step #5 For the Scotch Bonnet Aioli. Cover a saucepan with a kitchen towel and set a mixing bowl over top of it. The towel will help hold the bowl in place while you whisk your eggs.



Step #6 Crack open your eggs and separate the egg white from the egg yolk. Add the egg yolk and salt to your mixing bowl then grate your clove of garlic into bowl.




Step #7 Whisk ingredients together while very, very slowing pouring in your Grapeseed oil. Once you've poured all the Grapeseed Oil in and it has started to thicken, then started drizzling in the olive oil, again very slowly.



Step #8 Once everything is combined, add scotch bonnet sauce, whisk until all combined, then add some additional salt if needed.



Step #9 For Papaya Salad. Cut the Papaya in half and scoop out the seeds.



Step #10 Cut the fruit away from the skin, then dice up into little cubes. Add the diced Papaya to a mixing bowl.




Step #11 Dice up one half of a Red Onion and add it to the mixing bowl. Cut up some Cilantro leaves, then add that to the mixing bowl. Sprinkle in some salt and squeeze in juice from one lime. Combine all the ingredients, cover with plastic wrap and move to the refrigerator for an hour to chill.



Step #12 Remove the Pheasant from the refrigerator and rinse brine from skin. Place on a wire rack and return the refrigerator for another hour to dry skin.



Step #13 While you wait on the skin to dry, you can combine the ingredients for the Jamaican Jerk Seasoning or if you're using store bought seasoning, you can skip this step. Combine Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Dried Parsley, Brown Sugar, Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Ground Thyme, Salt, Scotch Bonnet flakes, Ground Allspice, Ground Black Pepper, Ground Cumin, Ground Nutmeg, Ground Cinnamon and Ground Ginger in a bowl with a lid. Once all the ingredients are added, put the lid on and give it a good shake.



Step #14 Start soaking your wood chips in water 15 to 30 minutes before you start cooking.




Step #15 When you're ready to start cooking, remove Pheasant from refrigerator, spray skin with cooking oil and coat evenly with Jerk seasoning.



Step #16 Set your smoker to 225, tuck the arms and truss the legs, then cook the pheasant for about 45 minutes per pound, mine took about 3 hours to reach 145 in the breast meat and 160 in the thigh.



Step #17 Continue to add wood chips every so often and spray the skin of the pheasant with cooking spray every hour.



Step #18 Once it's cooked, remove from smoker to wire rack and all to rest for 15 minutes.




Step #19 Cut the meat from the bone or shred with your hands.



Step #20 For Coat of Arms ( Rice and Beans ). Add 1/2 cup Dark Red Kidney beans to a saucepan and cover with water. Allow to soak for a couple of hours, then rinse and add back to saucepan.



Step #21 Add 1 1/2 cup of water, 1 can of coconut Milk, 1 Chopped up Shallot, 1 diced Garlic Clove, Pimento Leaves ( or Bay Leaves ), 1 tbsp of freshly grated Ginger, Ground All Spice, Ground Thyme and Dried Scotch Bonnet Flakes to the saucepan with the beans. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for at least an hour.



Step #22 Stir in 1 cup of Jasmine Rice and cook for an additional 20 minutes, covered. Once all the liquid is absorbed, remove from heat and fluff rice with fork.




Step #23 For Corn Tortilla, Combine the Masa and warm water in a mixing bowl, along with the salt.



Step #24 Use a spatula, or your hands and mix the ingredients together. Once everything is combined, you'll need to knead the dough for 2 to 3 minutes, until it starts to get firm. If you think it's too loose, add some additional Masa, if you think it's too stiff add some additional water. It should have the consistence of play-duh. Return to the mixing bowl and cover with a damp towel. Allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes.



Step #25 Scoop our equal size balls of dough and roll into a smooth ball, roughly the size of a golf ball, I used an ice cream scoop.



Step #26 If you're lucky enough to have a tortilla press, then you probably already know how to do this, but if you don't, like me, you can use a cutting board and a cast iron skillet. Just place some parchment paper over the cutting board and set your dough ball on top of it.




Step #27 Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the dough, then set a cast iron skillet on top of that... and press down as hard as you can. Lift the cast iron skillet up and very carefully peel the parchment paper away from your tortilla.



Step #28 You can set these aside until you get ready to cook your tortillas, just make sure that you put parchment paper between each one or they will stick together.



Step #29 Once you're ready to cook then, heat a flat skillet on medium heat. Spray with a little cooking oil to keep the tortilla from sticky. Once your skillet is hot, place the tortilla on it for about 60 seconds, then flip and cook the other side. You should end up with some brown marks, or maybe even some bubbles in your tortilla... this is normal.



Step #30 Line a bowl with a kitchen towel and place your cooked tortillas in the bowl and wrap them with the towel to stay warm.




Step #31 Fried Plantains. Cover the bottom of your skillet with Vegetable Oil and set your heat to medium high. Peel the Plantains and cut slices into 1/4 inch piece.



Step #32 Drop plantain slices in hot oil and cook for a few minutes until they start to turn brown on the bottom. Flip them over and cook the other.



Step #33 Remove to a wire rack and immediately sprinkle with Flake Sea Salt.



Step #34 To make Dark and Stormy drink. Fill a glass with ice. Squeeze the juice from one quarter lime wedge into glass. Fill glass three quarters of the way full of Ginger Beer. Then slowly pour in dark rum until glass is almost full. Garnish with another lime wedge.




Step #35 To prepare our tacos, we put some of the rice and beans down first, covered that with our smoked Pheasant, cilantro leaves and out Scotch Bonnet Aioli. Optionally you can garnish with diced Jalapenos, Habanero, Pickled Red Onions or whatever your taco favor is.



Step #36 Enjoy



Recipe Card

Jamaican Jerk Pheasant Tacos with Scotch Bonnet Aioli

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Prep Time: 2 hrs - Cook Time: 3 hrs



Ingredients



Jamaican Jerk Seasoning


2 tbsp Onion powder
2 tbsp Garlic powder
2 tbsp Dried Parsley
2 tbsp Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tbsp Paprika
1 tbsp Ground Thyme
1 tbsp Salt
1 tbsp Dried Scotch Bonnet Flakes ( or Red Pepper Flakes )
1/2 tbsp Ground Allspice
1/2 tbsp Ground Black Pepper
1/2 tbsp Ground Cumin
1/2 tbsp Ground Nutmeg
1/2 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tbsp Ground Ginger

Jamaican Smoked Pheasant


2 whole Pheasant
Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
Cookinig Spray, Vegetable Oil
Pimento Wood for smoking

Rum Brine


8 cup(s) Water
1 1/4 cup(s) kosher salt
1/2 cup(s) Dark Brown Sugar
3 tbsp Whole Allspice
5 Dried Pimento Leaves
1/2 tbsp Whole Cloves
4 oz Caribbean Dark Rum
12 oz Ginger Beer

Scotch Bonnet Aioli


2 Egg Yolk
2 clove(s) Garlic, grated
4 tsp Scotch Bonnet Sauce
1/2 cup(s) Grapeseed Oil
1/2 cup(s) Olive Oil
Lemon Juice ( Optional )

Corn tortillas


2 cup(s) Masa
1 1/2 cup(s) Warm Water
Salt

Coat of Arms ( Rice and Beans )


1/2 cup(s) Dark Red Kidney Beans - Soaked and Rinsed
1 1/2 cup(s) Water
1 Shallots, diced
1 Garlic, chopped
3 Dried Pimento Leaves
1 tbsp Fresh Grated Ginger
14.5 oz Coconut Milk
1 tsp Ground Allspice
1 tsp Ground Thyme
1/2 tsp Dried Scotch Bonnet Flakes ( or Red Pepper Flakes )
1 cup(s) Jasmine Rice

Papaya Salad


1 Ripe Papaya
1/2 Red Onion
1 bunch Cilantro Leaves
Juice from one Lime
Salt

Fried Plantains


2 Ripe Plantains
Flakey Salt
Vegetable Oil

Dark and Stormy Cocktail


2 oz Spicy Dark Rum
3 oz Ginger Beer
Lime Wedges


Instructions


Step #1 - Make brine by combining 8 cups of water, 1 1/4 cup of Kosher Salt, 1/2 Cup of Dark Brown Sugar, 3 tablespoons of Allspice, 1/2 tablespone of Cloves, Pimento Leaves, 4 ounces of Dark Rum and 12 ounces of Ginger Beer in a large sauce pot or brew kettle.
Step #2 - Bring the mixture to a boil. Allow to boil for 10 minutes, then turn off heat and remove from hot burner. Allow to cool until it reaches room temperature.
Step #3 - Once the brine is at room temperature, you can add your whole pheasants to kettle and place in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 hours. If your kettle is to large for the fridge, you can put Pheasant in cooler with the brine and a bag of ice.
Step #4 - While your Pheasant brine, it'd be a good time to make the Scotch Bonnet Aioli and Papaya Salad.
Step #5 - For the Scotch Bonnet Aioli. Cover a saucepan with a kitchen towel and set a mixing bowl over top of it. The towel will help hold the bowl in place while you whisk your eggs.
Step #6 - Crack open your eggs and separate the egg white from the egg yolk. Add the egg yolk and salt to your mixing bowl then grate your clove of garlic into bowl.
Step #7 - Whisk ingredients together while very, very slowing pouring in your Grapeseed oil. Once you've poured all the Grapeseed Oil in and it has started to thicken, then started drizzling in the olive oil, again very slowly.
Step #8 - Once everything is combined, add scotch bonnet sauce, whisk until all combined, then add some additional salt if needed.
Step #9 - For Papaya Salad. Cut the Papaya in half and scoop out the seeds.
Step #10 - Cut the fruit away from the skin, then dice up into little cubes. Add the diced Papaya to a mixing bowl.
Step #11 - Dice up one half of a Red Onion and add it to the mixing bowl. Cut up some Cilantro leaves, then add that to the mixing bowl. Sprinkle in some salt and squeeze in juice from one lime. Combine all the ingredients, cover with plastic wrap and move to the refrigerator for an hour to chill.
Step #12 - Remove the Pheasant from the refrigerator and rinse brine from skin. Place on a wire rack and return the refrigerator for another hour to dry skin.
Step #13 - While you wait on the skin to dry, you can combine the ingredients for the Jamaican Jerk Seasoning or if you're using store bought seasoning, you can skip this step. Combine Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Dried Parsley, Brown Sugar, Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Ground Thyme, Salt, Scotch Bonnet flakes, Ground Allspice, Ground Black Pepper, Ground Cumin, Ground Nutmeg, Ground Cinnamon and Ground Ginger in a bowl with a lid. Once all the ingredients are added, put the lid on and give it a good shake.
Step #14 - Start soaking your wood chips in water 15 to 30 minutes before you start cooking.
Step #15 - When you're ready to start cooking, remove Pheasant from refrigerator, spray skin with cooking oil and coat evenly with Jerk seasoning.
Step #16 - Set your smoker to 225, tuck the arms and truss the legs, then cook the pheasant for about 45 minutes per pound, mine took about 3 hours to reach 145 in the breast meat and 160 in the thigh.
Step #17 - Continue to add wood chips every so often and spray the skin of the pheasant with cooking spray every hour.
Step #18 - Once it's cooked, remove from smoker to wire rack and all to rest for 15 minutes.
Step #19 - Cut the meat from the bone or shred with your hands.
Step #20 - For Coat of Arms ( Rice and Beans ). Add 1/2 cup Dark Red Kidney beans to a saucepan and cover with water. Allow to soak for a couple of hours, then rinse and add back to saucepan.
Step #21 - Add 1 1/2 cup of water, 1 can of coconut Milk, 1 Chopped up Shallot, 1 diced Garlic Clove, Pimento Leaves ( or Bay Leaves ), 1 tbsp of freshly grated Ginger, Ground All Spice, Ground Thyme and Dried Scotch Bonnet Flakes to the saucepan with the beans. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for at least an hour.
Step #22 - Stir in 1 cup of Jasmine Rice and cook for an additional 20 minutes, covered. Once all the liquid is absorbed, remove from heat and fluff rice with fork.
Step #23 - For Corn Tortilla, Combine the Masa and warm water in a mixing bowl, along with the salt.
Step #24 - Use a spatula, or your hands and mix the ingredients together. Once everything is combined, you'll need to knead the dough for 2 to 3 minutes, until it starts to get firm. If you think it's too loose, add some additional Masa, if you think it's too stiff add some additional water. It should have the consistence of play-duh. Return to the mixing bowl and cover with a damp towel. Allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
Step #25 - Scoop our equal size balls of dough and roll into a smooth ball, roughly the size of a golf ball, I used an ice cream scoop.
Step #26 - If you're lucky enough to have a tortilla press, then you probably already know how to do this, but if you don't, like me, you can use a cutting board and a cast iron skillet. Just place some parchment paper over the cutting board and set your dough ball on top of it.
Step #27 - Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the dough, then set a cast iron skillet on top of that... and press down as hard as you can. Lift the cast iron skillet up and very carefully peel the parchment paper away from your tortilla.
Step #28 - You can set these aside until you get ready to cook your tortillas, just make sure that you put parchment paper between each one or they will stick together.
Step #29 - Once you're ready to cook then, heat a flat skillet on medium heat. Spray with a little cooking oil to keep the tortilla from sticky. Once your skillet is hot, place the tortilla on it for about 60 seconds, then flip and cook the other side. You should end up with some brown marks, or maybe even some bubbles in your tortilla... this is normal.
Step #30 - Line a bowl with a kitchen towel and place your cooked tortillas in the bowl and wrap them with the towel to stay warm.
Step #31 - Fried Plantains. Cover the bottom of your skillet with Vegetable Oil and set your heat to medium high. Peel the Plantains and cut slices into 1/4 inch piece.
Step #32 - Drop plantain slices in hot oil and cook for a few minutes until they start to turn brown on the bottom. Flip them over and cook the other.
Step #33 - Remove to a wire rack and immediately sprinkle with Flake Sea Salt.
Step #34 - To make Dark and Stormy drink. Fill a glass with ice. Squeeze the juice from one quarter lime wedge into glass. Fill glass three quarters of the way full of Ginger Beer. Then slowly pour in dark rum until glass is almost full. Garnish with another lime wedge.
Step #35 - To prepare our tacos, we put some of the rice and beans down first, covered that with our smoked Pheasant, cilantro leaves and out Scotch Bonnet Aioli. Optionally you can garnish with diced Jalapenos, Habanero, Pickled Red Onions or whatever your taco favor is.
Step #36 - Enjoy


About the Author

Jeff Davis
Visit authors website

You may think cooking and recipes don’t have much to do with a website dedicated to hunting dogs ... but really, why do we hunt? Sure, we enjoy watching our dogs work in the field and being outdoors, but ultimately, hunting is about survival and feeding our families. We might as well try to do it well. I'm not a chef and definitely no food authority ... but I do like to eat and enjoy cooking. After searching for people willing to share their recipes on Gundog Central, without much success, I decided to try to do a few on my own, with my wife Tami's help. The recipes I share here are things I like to eat and have made here at home. I've tried to include step-by-step instructions with each meal describing exactly how I did it, but my method may not be best, if you decide to try a recipe posted here, please use whatever technique you think works best, I'm simply sharing how I did it. You'll see a lot of recipes where I've tried to make things from starch, when I could have just used store bought ingredients, simply because I wanted to learn how something was done. My goal is to continually update these recipes as I learn new things and techniques. These are my attempts at creating good, home cooked food, that I would like to eat! If I'm sharing it here, my family and I enjoyed it and I believe you will too.