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Scarpariello Pheasant with Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I was looking to use some leftover ingredients in the refrigerator and decided on making this Scarpariello Pheasant served over Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Scarpariello translates to shoemaker style, supposedly even a poor Italian shoemaker family could afford to make this meal. There isn’t much to it, it cooks in a single skillet, it’s quick and easy to make. This dish is basically pheasant breast braised in a liquid with Italian sausage, peppers and onions. I’ve made this before and haven’t been impressed with the results, but this time it turned out amazing! I tried to amp up the heat by adding Jalapenos and crushed red peppers, but if you’re not into heat you can leave them out. I served mine over garlic mashed potatoes, but you can also serve with pasta, polenta, or even grits.

Scarpariello is usually made with Italian sausage, but I used Polish Kielbasa instead. It’s what I had in the fridge, I had used half of it in another recipe and needed to use it before it went bad. It was delicious, you can get by with using either Kielbasa or Italian sausage, unless you’re a stickler for tradition.



I started by browning the pheasant in a hot skillet on both sides, but not cooking it all the way through. You just want to develop the crust on the outside skin. Once the pheasant is browned remove it to a plate. Add the sausage and brown it, then add in the onion and peppers, cooking down. Add some white wine, Pepperoncini brine and pheasant stock and let it reach a boil, then reduce to a simmer. This is supposed to be a little soupy. Nestle the pheasant breast back into the skillet and cook for about 10 more minutes.

Ingredients

Scarpariello Pheasant

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Instructions

Scarpariello Pheasant

Step #1 Gather all your ingredients. Washing your peppers.

Step #2 Chop your onions

Step #3 Dice up the bell pepper and jalapenos

Step #4 Add a 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to skillet and set heat to medium heat. Sprinkle some red pepper flakes in the oil.

Step #5 Season pheasant with salt and pepper on both sides.

Step #6 Place pheasant in hot skillet skin side down.

Step #7 Allow to brown, then flip over. Don’t worry about cooking the meat all the way through. It’ll finish cooking when we braise in liquid at the end. We only want to develop the brown crust.

Step #8 Remove from skillet with both sides are browned.

Step #9 Add Sausage and allow to cook a few minutes

Step #10 Add diced onion, bell peppers and Jalapenos, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Step #11 Cook until onions are translucent

Step #12 Add in sliced pepperoncini and allow to cook another minute

Step #13 Add Garlic and cook for another minute

Step #14 Pour in ¼ to ½ cup of the pepperoncini brine. Using a spatula to scrap up the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet.

Step #15 Allow to reduce a few minutes, then pour in white wine.

Step #16 Allow wine to reduce a few minutes, then pour in pheasant stock

Step #17 Allow stock to reach a simmer.

Step #18 Add pheasant breast back to skillet, skin side up.

Step #19 Allow to cook about 10 more minutes or until the pheasant reached about 155-160 degrees.

Step #20 Remove from heat.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Step #1 Fill stock pot with about 12 cups of water. Wash the potatoes.

Step #2 Cut the potatoes into equal sizes pieces. I left the potato skins on, but they can be peeled if you prefer

Step #3 Add cut potatoes to cold water. Smash about five garlic cloves and add to water.

Step #4 Turn heat to high and allow to reach a boil

Step #5 Once the potatoes are fork tender, you can turn the heat off and drain in colander.

Step #6 Add cooked potatoes and garlic back to stock pot, add in a tablespoon of butter, fresh cracked black pepper and half the warm milk. Using a potato masher, start mashing the potatoes. Potatoes need lots of salt, be sure to add a little salt to them at a time, then mix to combine, then taste. Repeat until you get your desired taste. Add additional milk if needed to get the consistence you want.

Step #7 Add mashed potatoes to a bowl and spoon in some of the broth, peppers, onion and sausage. Place the pheasant breast on top. Season with additional salt and pepper to your taste.

Recipe Card

Scarpariello Pheasant with Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Written by Jeff Davis Visit : Visit authors website

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Prep Time: 10 min - Cook Time: 30 min

Ingredients

Scarpariello Pheasant

4 Pheasant Breast, skin on

8 oz Italian Sausage or Polska Kielbasa

1 Green Bell Pepper

1 Small Yellow Onion

2 Jalapeno Peppers

6 Pepperoncini Peppers

4 Garlic Cloves

1/4 cup(s) Pepperoncini Brine

1/2 cup(s) White Wine

1/2 cup(s) Pheasant Stock or Chicken Stock

Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Olive Oil

Black Pepper

Kosher Salt

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

5-6 Potatoes

5 Garlic Cloves, smashed

1 tbsp Unsalted Butter

1 1/2 cup(s) Warm Milk

Water

Black Pepper

Kosher Salt

Instructions

Scarpariello Pheasant

Step #1 - Gather all your ingredients. Washing your peppers.

Step #2 - Chop your onions

Step #3 - Dice up the bell pepper and jalapenos

Step #4 - Add a 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to skillet and set heat to medium heat. Sprinkle some red pepper flakes in the oil.

Step #5 - Season pheasant with salt and pepper on both sides.

Step #6 - Place pheasant in hot skillet skin side down.

Step #7 - Allow to brown, then flip over. Don’t worry about cooking the meat all the way through. It’ll finish cooking when we braise in liquid at the end. We only want to develop the brown crust.

Step #8 - Remove from skillet with both sides are browned.

Step #9 - Add Sausage and allow to cook a few minutes

Step #10 - Add diced onion, bell peppers and Jalapenos, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Step #11 - Cook until onions are translucent

Step #12 - Add in sliced pepperoncini and allow to cook another minute

Step #13 - Add Garlic and cook for another minute

Step #14 - Pour in ¼ to ½ cup of the pepperoncini brine. Using a spatula to scrap up the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet.

Step #15 - Allow to reduce a few minutes, then pour in white wine.

Step #16 - Allow wine to reduce a few minutes, then pour in pheasant stock

Step #17 - Allow stock to reach a simmer.

Step #18 - Add pheasant breast back to skillet, skin side up.

Step #19 - Allow to cook about 10 more minutes or until the pheasant reached about 155-160 degrees.

Step #20 - Remove from heat.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Step #1 - Fill stock pot with about 12 cups of water. Wash the potatoes.

Step #2 - Cut the potatoes into equal sizes pieces. I left the potato skins on, but they can be peeled if you prefer

Step #3 - Add cut potatoes to cold water. Smash about five garlic cloves and add to water.

Step #4 - Turn heat to high and allow to reach a boil

Step #5 - Once the potatoes are fork tender, you can turn the heat off and drain in colander.

Step #6 - Add cooked potatoes and garlic back to stock pot, add in a tablespoon of butter, fresh cracked black pepper and half the warm milk. Using a potato masher, start mashing the potatoes. Potatoes need lots of salt, be sure to add a little salt to them at a time, then mix to combine, then taste. Repeat until you get your desired taste. Add additional milk if needed to get the consistence you want.

Step #7 - Add mashed potatoes to a bowl and spoon in some of the broth, peppers, onion and sausage. Place the pheasant breast on top. Season with additional salt and pepper to your taste.

About the Author

Jeff Davis

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.