Harvest has many faces on the prairies. Until last evening I had fully intended to write only about the local grain and lentil harvest. However it is hunting season and my hunting guide friend called
with a couple of pheasants for me.
When the call comes you must put everything else aside and move
into action immediately. The birds were harvested just minutes earlier
and need to be processed right away. Birds can be hung to age but I have not yet learned the proper techniques. I have never heard of anyone in this part of the country hanging birds to age so I have to learn through my blogging friends.
Last year was my first time since living on the farm as a child that I have to plucked and eviscerated a bird. It was a feeling of accomplishment that I could draw on those past memories to get the job done.
Pheasants have very delicate skin and plucking is a challenge. My hunter friend suggesting skinning the birds. Usually hunters only 'breast' the bird but I don't like to see anything go to waste and I want the legs and thighs.
I save the
tail feathers because they are so beautiful. They make a nice addition
to my Christmas wreath. I wish I could keep all the colourful feathers. Following the pheasant recipes I have pictures of harvest on the prairies.
So, the birds
are ready and in the refrigerator. I separated the leg and thighs for
confit and they are curing as I write. Tomorrow I will poach
them in canola oil. Once prepared they will keep in the refrigerator for up to a month
or frozen for 3 months. Confit legs can be served with a wild mushroom
risotto. I like to make a sort of paté called pheasant rillettes and pack it into a ramekin and serve
with fresh baguette.
The good news for the conservationist in me is that pheasant hunting is sustainable. I had not thought about it but only the roosters are harvested. That allows the hens to reproduce. Hunters can easily distinguish between a rooster and a hen. Pheasants are easily reared in captivity and released into the wild to boost the population. For those reasons they are a sustainable bird for hunting.
The Best Pheasant Stock and Soup Ever
500ml serves 3 to 4 people
THE STOCK
■ Raw pheasant carcasses or leftover bones from a roast
■
Per carcass: an onion (skin on, cut in half and pierced with 2 cloves),
1 stick celery, 1 unpeeled carrot, 2 peppercorns and 1 bay-leaf
■ Some water
You
will have noticed that most of these re-cipes use breasts or pot roast a
whole bird. So what do you do with the rest of the pheasant carcass or
the leftover bones? I am a great advocate of making stock. So this is a
two-part recipe - first stock and then soup. My granddaughter swears
that the latter is a sovereign remedy for curing colds; and it is true
that it is a sort of version of Momma's Jewish Chicken Soup. Whatever
medicinal properties it may have, it is certainly perfect for a cold
winter's day and everyone always asks for seconds.
Carcasses
should be roasted in a hot oven for about 20 minutes with the onion,
celery, carrot, peppercorns and bay-leaf. You will not need to do this
with bones from a roast. Put the carcass, bones, juices, any crunchy
bits from the roast and the vegetables into a large pan. Cover with cold
water and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer over a very
low heat for several hours with the lid on, tasting and checking water
levels periodically.
When the stock tastes full and pheasanty
and looks properly brown, and the bones have all fallen apart, strain
into a large bowl, cover with cling film and leave to cool. Refrigerate.
The soup
Ingredients are per 500ml of stock
■ Salt and black pepper
■ 50ml-75ml (13⁄4fl oz-21⁄2fl oz) vermouth or sherry
■ 30g (1oz) butter
■ 1 diced shallot or red onion
■ 1 handful basmati rice
■ 1 large diced carrot
■ 1 small potato peeled and diced
■ 2 sticks chopped celery (or 1⁄2 bulb fennel)
■ Handful finely chopped parsley
Skim
any fat off the cold stock, then heat it. Taste and add salt as needed
and the vermouth. Bring to the boil for 3-5 minutes; when the alcohol
has evaporated, keep it simmering. In a separate pan, melt the butter,
add the onion and rice and then season. Sweat over a low heat with the
lid on until the onion is soft, then add the rest of the veg. Now pour
in a little stock and bubble furiously for a minute; then add the
remaining stock and boil until the rice is cooked but still a bit nutty.
Taste and season again and stir in all the chopped parsley.
Serve with crusty hot bread and butter. This is perfect for wide-necked thermoses.Pheasant recipes: The top 10
Read more at http://www.thefield.co.uk/food/game/531237/Top_10_Pheasant_recipes_The_Best_Pheasant_Stock_and_Soup_Ever.html#PDoyUCigkOYQs8Cu.99
The Best Pheasant Stock and Soup Ever
500ml serves 3 to 4 people
THE STOCK
■ Raw pheasant carcasses or leftover bones from a roast
■
Per carcass: an onion (skin on, cut in half and pierced with 2 cloves),
1 stick celery, 1 unpeeled carrot, 2 peppercorns and 1 bay-leaf
■ Some water
You
will have noticed that most of these re-cipes use breasts or pot roast a
whole bird. So what do you do with the rest of the pheasant carcass or
the leftover bones? I am a great advocate of making stock. So this is a
two-part recipe - first stock and then soup. My granddaughter swears
that the latter is a sovereign remedy for curing colds; and it is true
that it is a sort of version of Momma's Jewish Chicken Soup. Whatever
medicinal properties it may have, it is certainly perfect for a cold
winter's day and everyone always asks for seconds.
Carcasses
should be roasted in a hot oven for about 20 minutes with the onion,
celery, carrot, peppercorns and bay-leaf. You will not need to do this
with bones from a roast. Put the carcass, bones, juices, any crunchy
bits from the roast and the vegetables into a large pan. Cover with cold
water and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer over a very
low heat for several hours with the lid on, tasting and checking water
levels periodically.
When the stock tastes full and pheasanty
and looks properly brown, and the bones have all fallen apart, strain
into a large bowl, cover with cling film and leave to cool. Refrigerate.
The soup
Ingredients are per 500ml of stock
■ Salt and black pepper
■ 50ml-75ml (13⁄4fl oz-21⁄2fl oz) vermouth or sherry
■ 30g (1oz) butter
■ 1 diced shallot or red onion
■ 1 handful basmati rice
■ 1 large diced carrot
■ 1 small potato peeled and diced
■ 2 sticks chopped celery (or 1⁄2 bulb fennel)
■ Handful finely chopped parsley
Skim
any fat off the cold stock, then heat it. Taste and add salt as needed
and the vermouth. Bring to the boil for 3-5 minutes; when the alcohol
has evaporated, keep it simmering. In a separate pan, melt the butter,
add the onion and rice and then season. Sweat over a low heat with the
lid on until the onion is soft, then add the rest of the veg. Now pour
in a little stock and bubble furiously for a minute; then add the
remaining stock and boil until the rice is cooked but still a bit nutty.
Taste and season again and stir in all the chopped parsley.
Serve with crusty hot bread and butter. This is perfect for wide-necked thermoses.
Read more at http://www.thefield.co.uk/food/game/531237/Top_10_Pheasant_recipes_The_Best_Pheasant_Stock_and_Soup_Ever.html#PDoyUCigkOYQs8Cu.99
 | |
| Pheasant Saltimboca |
Pheasant Saltimboca
Serves 4
4 pheasant breasts
Black pepper
4-6 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
1/4 c grated parmesan
8 slices prosciutto
olive oil
Carefully score the underside of each
pheasant breast in a criss-cross pattern with a small, sharp knife. Lay
the breasts side by side on a large chopping board covered with plastic wrap. Season with pepper.
Combine the chopped sage
and parmesan and sprinkle evenly over the pheasant breasts. Lay two slices of
prosciutto on each breast, overlapping them slightly, and drizzle with olive oil. Cover the breasts with a layer of plastic wrap, take a frying pan and pound them until they're about 1cm thick.
Heat
a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat, then carefully transfer the
breasts to it, putting them in ham-side down. Drizzle a little more
olive oil over the top. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, giving an
extra 30 seconds to ensure the ham is crispy.
Serve with lemon
wedges and a crisp salad for a lighter dish or smashed roasted root vegetables for a heartier version.
Pheasant Stock and Soup Stock
Raw pheasant carcasses or leftover bones from a roast
onion (skin on, cut in half and pierced
with 2 cloves)
stick celery
unpeeled carrot
black peppercorns
bay leaf
water
Carcasses should be roasted in a hot oven for about 20
minutes with the onion, celery, carrot, peppercorns and bay leaf. You do not
need to do this with bones from a roast. Put the carcass, bones, juices, any
crunchy bits from the roast and the vegetables into a large pan. Cover with
cold water and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer over a very low
heat for several hours with the lid on, tasting and checking water levels periodically.
When the stock tastes full and looks properly
brown, and the bones have all fallen apart, strain into a large bowl, cover
with cling film and leave to cool. Refrigerate.
Soup
Ingredients are per 500ml of stock
Salt and black pepper
50ml-75ml (13⁄4fl oz-21⁄2fl oz) vermouth or sherry
30g (1oz) butter
1 diced shallot or red onion
1 handful basmati rice
1 large diced carrot
1 small potato peeled and diced
2 sticks chopped celery (or 1⁄2 bulb fennel)
Handful finely chopped parsley
Skim any fat off the cold stock, then heat it. Taste and add
salt as needed and the vermouth. Bring to the boil for 3-5 minutes; when the
alcohol has evaporated, keep it simmering. In a separate pan, melt the butter,
add the onion and rice and then season. Sweat over a low heat with the lid on
until the onion is soft, then add the rest of the veg. Now pour in a little
stock and boil furiously for a minute; then add the remaining stock and boil
until the rice is cooked but still a bit nutty. Taste and season again and stir
in all the chopped parsley.
Serve with crusty hot bread and butter.
Now back to the fields and harvest.
This pile of durum stands as a pyramid on the wide open prairie. The bountiful harvest has been unlike anything ever seen. Along with the bounty comes the question of where do we store this grain. Some grains can be stored short term on the ground, but not all.
In our region we farm grains such as wheat, oats, barley, flax and durum. We farm lentils, chick peas and field peas. The region of southwestern Saskatchewan is considered semi-arid and irrigation is implemented in many fields. However, the weather conditions were next to ideal this summer. We had a dry spring for seeding, a lot of rain and warm weather in the growing season during July and drier weather for harvest. The results were remarkable. Crop yields surpassed anything experienced at any time in our history.
Gathering harvest pictures is a task of mammoth proportions. Every day is different. The weather plays a big part. Farms are large, up to 14,000 acres and the harvest moves from one spot to another depending upon the ripening crop and the weather.
To give you a good picture of harvest on the prairies, check this link for a wonderful array of farm pictures. https://www.facebook.com/westernproducer/photos_stream
Another temporary storage solution are these giant plastic bags. Special equipment is purchased to load the grain into these bags. The problem comes in the spring when the farmer wants to seed this land and the grain stored takes a lot of space.
 |
| Giant pile of durum wheat harvested and waiting to be sold. |
 |
| Tailgate Thanksgiving dinner during harvest. |
 |
| This is a small grain truck. Mostly semi trucks are used now. Imagine the stress on the country roads with the huge trucks. |
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