How to pluck and draw game: a partridge or pheasant.
Comments(68)
Game is a treat. We don’t shoot and I don’t know many people who do. Hero of the kitchen garden, John Coe, is a beater during the winter months and sometimes brings us a brace of pheasant. His presents are always hung and dressed, ready for the pot.
Occasionally we’re given a brace of pheasant or partridge, complete with feathers Until today, I have hung, skinned and drawn them, and then cooked them slowly, enclosed in a casserole. Now I know how to pluck a bird. By keeping the skin our repertoire of recipes has increased tenfold. The skin contains fat and makes for a more succulent bird. Roasting is now a possible option.
I’m working at a lovely house in Upend at the moment. Yesterday Carol and Patrick gave me a brace of partridge. I was delighted and spent a happy split second planning how to cook them. As I skin my game the Romanian way, there is only one recipe that really suits game prepared in this way. It’s mouth watering and will appear on this blog after Christmas. Update: 27 January 2007, we have now developed two more exellent recipes for skinned game. Check out the recipes section of the blog.
I was always a bit envious of people who could pluck game, imagining it to be a complex and fiddly procedure. Today I discovered that it’s not. When Patrick found out that I didn’t know how to pluck a bird he immediately volunteered to give me a lesson. He rustled up a carrier bag; I grabbed the birds they had given me. Patrick demonstrated and within minutes I was plucking my first bird. The plucking is straightforward. Dealing with fluttering feathers is not. Hence the carrier bag.
How to hang, pluck and draw a partridge or pheasant
- Hang the bird for a couple of days (by the neck) in a cool place such as a garage or cold larder.
- Cut off the head at the base of the neck with a decent pair of scissors. (Once you have got rid of this the whole procedure seems less ghoulish).
- snap the lower legs at the joints and pull out the tendons. This takes some strength.
- Cut off the wings at the joint. (you will find this in the fold between the wing and the body.)
Plucking the feathers:
It is easier to pluck a bird when it is warm. Let a bird reach room temperature before plucking, it makes an enormous difference
- Find a carrier bag (any supermarket one will do)
- Stand your carrier bag on a table, workbench, or in the sink (I use the sink) the bird will be plucked into this. Pull up the sides of the carrier bag so that you have an enclosed area in which to contain the plucked feathers.
- Put a few sheets of newspaper around your working area to catch any stray feathers.
- Hold the bird by the legs and brush the feathers on the breast and back (against the grain, so to speak) so they sit up a little. With small neat movements pluck the feathers away and down from the bird, ideally straight into the carrier bag.
If skin comes away on the base of the feathers you are being too rough or trying to remove too many feathers at once. Experiment a little with this. You will soon get the feel of the most efficient plucking movement. I place my fingers on the skin around the plucking area.this stops the skin being plucked from the carcass along with the tips of the feathers. - Spread the tail feathers into a fan shape and pluck these following the line of the feather.
- To remove the leg feathers, hold the body and brush the feathers smooth (with the grain) and pluck them sharply down in that direction.
Another friend sits down to pluck a bird, with a dustbin liner between her knees. The feathers are plucked with a short downwards movement, straight into the bag. It’s worth experimenting with different plucking methods to find one that suits you best. I find that some feathers are more easily removed ‘against the grain’ and some ‘with the grain’. The secret is in the short precise plucking movement. If you can get into a relaxed rythm it’s easy.
Drawing the bird
- Remove the crop (from the head end) by gently putting a finger into the neck opening, rotating gently and pulling the crop out. If you are curious, you can open this to see what the last meal was. Remove the gullet and windpipe.
- Now stick your forefinger up the birds bum. Rotate it gently and draw out the liver and guts. We freeze the livers to use in an excellent terrine.
- Wash the bird (inside and out) and refrigerate for a couple of days before use.
If your bird smalls bad chuck it away, contained in a couple of tightly sealed carrier bags. Sometimes gun dogs will pick up a lost bird from a day or so before. This is rare but it has happened to us.
Skinning a bird:
Follow the steps for ‘How to hang, pluck and draw a partridge or pheasant’ then put your finger under the skin around the neck and loosen the skin. Hold the skin firmly and pull gently down towards the tail. The skin and feathers should come off in one piece. Once skinned, don’t forget to draw the bird (see above). Roasting is really out if you have skinned your bird but any casserole or recipe that encloses the bird will probably be sucessful. See our pheasant recipes, these were all cooked with skinned game and are excellent.
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Thanks for the info I have been given two partrige by a friend, and was unsure where to start, I will let you know how I get on. Again thanks
Hi Robbie,
You are in luck partridge are much easier to pluck than pheasant. Bringing them u to room temperature before plucking makes an enormous difference as well.
Thanks for leaving a comment. Would love to hear how you get on!
Just been given a duck with feathers and guts and had trouble finding any info on dealing with it on net, so thanks for your info. To confirm I have understood: 1)Hang for couple of days with guts in.
2) Deal with head and legs and wings 3) At room temp pluck 4)Gut. Would it not be better to gut then hang?
Hi Amanda,
Hanging improves the flavour (guts in).
Don’t cut off the legs! They are tasty, and the wings if you have the energy to pluck them. All you remove is the head.
Only pluck the carcass if it is at room temp. If it is your first bird, start with the breast – the easiest but and practice the right plucking technique and then move onto the rest of the bird.
After you have plucked your first bird the supermarket ones seem great value! If you can pluck a bird you will be given a lot of game if you broadcast this feat! In time the plucking will get easier.
Thanks for the tips. I was given 4 pheasants last week and spent hours plucking wings and ripping skin in my cold garage after hanging them for a 2 days. I like the ‘smelly’ tip – one of them smelt a lot stronger than the others so i think i’ll chuck that one but the rest seemed good. Just about to try your pot roast pheasant (gypsy style) recipe – hope its good!
Hi John
Thanks for leaving a comment. Next time bring the birds into the house and leave them to reach room temperature before plucking. This makes the process much easier.
I do hope the pot roast pheasant worked out for you. We love it.
just got 2 partridges.FIRST TIME IV EVER DONE OWT LIKE THIS! 1st one seemed very green on the back and on the belly near the bum, thought maybe it was bad, (don’t have a great sense of smell) second one just had green belly near its bum!!! Is this normal?
Also didn’t get all the feathers out, little bits round the birds ankle. Havent gutted them yet…. heres hoping!
Hi Paul,
Sometimes game looks a bit green around the bum. I haven’t seen green on the back though. I’m no expert but that sounds a bit iffy to me.
I usually gut them before plucking. You will immediately see and smell if they are OK.
I wouldn’t worry about a few tiny feathers left on the bird.
HI,I am going to try out your idea, l have never ever tried to pluck any sort of bird, but l got given a pheasant and a quail for christmas, so l will have to have a go, the people are expecting me to serve these up for christmas dinner, so here goes. Thanks.
Lynn
Hi Lynn
Thanks for dropping by.
I do hope that your foray into plucking and drawing was successful. It’s earthy stuff.
I bet that the quail was easier to pluck than the pheasant. I’d love to hear how you got on!
Hi
At last the site I’ve been looking for! I’ve been given 2 partridge’s but had no idea where to start.
Here’s hoping that the plucking and gutting goes well.
If everything goes OK, I’m thinking of just doing a simple roast with some root vegetables.
Again thanks for the guide.
Andy
Hi Andy
Hope that the plucking goes well.
If you do roast the birds it’s best to put them in a roasting bag or pot roast them as they can be quite dry when they are open roasted. We have several decent game recipes on the site.
Very clear instructions – found it hard to get the crop out of one of the smaller birds, though.
They were shot on Saturday and I haven’t been able to pluck them until Friday morning. Should they be OK? They have been in a cool cellar but the innards were a bit smelly when they came out?
Thanks.
Hi Kay
If the birds were hung in a cool cellar at this time of year they should be OK. I’d wash them well and give them a good sniff. Your nose will direct you as to proceed or not!
great instructions thanks
i was given a brace of grouse recently and i’m assuming that the instructions will work for them?
cheers
liam
Hello Liam
These instructions will work with grouse and most game birds.
hi, just across your website, am going to try the normandy recipe once i’ve dealt with the bird, do i understand correctly that the pheasant needs to be hung by the neck untouched and after 2/3 days gut etc..
Hi my son has just plucked and drawn a partridge he has done this many times before but a few weeks ago near the bottom or bum he noticed what looked like a flap of skin which he wondered if it could be a tumour so he did not eat it. He has again got a small partridge and has found this again. Have you come across this. It could just be that when you draw the bird it normally all comes away and now and again there is a little bit left. What do you think? Sue
Hi Lesley
Yes the bird needs to be hung by the neck (untouched) in a cool place such as a garage for 2 or 3 days.
Hi Sue
I reckon the birds are fine. A tumour would be a growth. Perhaps these are hens and the flap of skin is at the bottom f the oviduct?
The green area around the bum of partridges is quite normal after hanging for even one day. I don’t worry about this as I usually trim off those bits of skin anyway after I have gutted them to make the birds look tidier. Also, I don’t bother plucking the tail feathers, I just snip off the whole ‘parsons nose’ as it’s known as this saves time.
I find that wrapping a piece of parma ham over the breast for the first 15 mins of roasting helps keep them moist. I remove it for the last 10 minutes so that they can brown and use it to flavour the juices in the pab before reducing the liquid to make a tasty gravy/sauce.
Hi ya
Thanks for the instructions, first time i have done this, but again with your help a great success. Not too keen on the inerds.
Thanks
Hello Mark
Thanks for your reassuring remarks about the green!
Great idea using parma ham, must try this next time that I get hold of a partridge.
Hi Dave
Yes the drawing the birds is the nasty bit! But great that you found the instructions useful.
Hi
A guy across the road from me game me 3 pair (1 pair at a time) of peasant last winter and each time he did this I did not have the guts to do it. HOwever, got another pair this morning – I walked out of the house and straight into them hanging from my porch! I have successfully plucked and gutted them and they are sitting in my fridge! Albeit they lost a bit of skin in the process so will warm them up next time and see if that works! Thank you so much for the info. Fi
Hi , thinking of purchasing a brace of pheasant and wanted to check what the “crop” was, do you chop head of first? not done this before so don’t know, also do you hang for just 2 or 3 days, as i’ve also heard to hang for up to 7 days
hi again, should I also ask the butcher when they were shot and how long they’ve already been hanging? thanks!
Hi Ian,
Thank you for raising these queries.
The crop is a little sac at the base of the neck, where it joins the trunk. I have changed the article to explain that you chop off the head “and neck”.
We used to hang game birds for 7 days but when we developed “pheasantitis”, we reduced that to just 3 days. Hanging tenderises the meat and enhances the gamey flavour. But too gamey can be offputting so we now think 3 days is best.
Yes, do ask the buthcher but any butcher would not sell game that has not been hung for 3 days at least. Staff might not know the answer anyhow so don’t worry. Assume 3 days. The pheasant that you buy at the butchers or supermarket are oven ready.
Hanging, drawing and plucking a pheasant means that you are more in control.
On the hanging front. If the weather is very cold (frosty and snowy) you may need to hang the pheasant for longer.
hiya, im good with plucking and gutting the pheasants (despite my mum wont let me have them near the house so i have to warm them up with an electric heater in the garage) i just get really stuck when it comes to removing the crop, once i have cut of the head at the base of the neck do i cut a small slit down towards the breast to enable me to efficiently remove everything?
Thank you very much indeed any help will be very much appreciated as i love eating game just havent quite got the preperation stage yet
will siddons
Hi Will
Yes, a small slit would be a good idea. Sometime if the bird has been shot there will be a hole in the breast of the bird (I always check for this first). You need to go in from the other end too, to draw out the entrails. When all is done a good rinse will sloosh out the insides.
have been on the boxing day shoot and shot a brace of pheasant, a brace of partridge and a woodcock, thank you very much as i have been able to successfully prepare the birds and have eaten them after four days hanging, i can assure you they where delicious and i cant wait till the next shoot
thank you for your help and understanding
will siddons …
just spent an enjoyable hour or so plucking a brace of pheasant for dinner, wondered why you put your pheasant in the fridge for a coupleof days before eating?
Hi Allan
What I meant was that you can store the game in the fridge for a couple of days before cooking.
HI THERE WHAT A GREAT SITE. I WAS GIVEN 3 PHEASANTS YESTERDAY (SHOT FRESH)(BUT TO MY HORROR NOT PLUCKED OR GUTTED) I PUT THEM IN MY GARAGE BUT DID NOT HANG THEM ONLY LAID THEM DOWN WILL THEY STILL BE OK I HAVE HUNG THEM NOW AFTER READING YOUR INFO. I AM NOT SQEEMISH BUT THE ONES WEV’E HAD BEFORE WERE ALL DONE FOR US LOL. THIS WILL BE MY FIRST TIME CLEANING A BIRD. I READ ON ANOTHER SITE TO SUBMERGE THEM IN BOILING WATER I TAKE IT THIS IS NOT A PRACTICE YOU USE ?.
Hi Karen
They will be fine if you laid them down.
No we don’t use boiling water! But let them get to room temerature before you deal with them as it makes the whole process easier.
BRILLIANT THANKS FOR THAT WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW I GET ON ONE MORE THING SHOULD I DO IT TOMORROW SUN OR MON ? AND ROUGHLY HOW LONG TO WAIT TO GET TO ROOM TEMP 2RS ?
I’ve got two pheasants I found by the road. I’m in Scotland and it hasn’t been warm!They seem pretty fresh but I didn’t hit them so I don’t know for sure.
.They have been in the shed for one day but lying flat, not hanging. I read the other note about them being ok if laid flat…my question is about the smell.
How do I know if the birds are ‘ok gamy’ or ‘really, don’t eat this’ ? Will I only know once I have skinned, gutted, washed and then smell the meat itself? Hope to hear from someone soon!
Hi, just seen this website. Yesterday my dog brought me a fresh – killed but not too maimed hen pheasant. I didn’t see her catch it but there was a huge kerfuffle and another one flew away so I thought I would bring it home since the alternative was leaving it to rot.
Unfortunately my (lack of) plucking skills meant a fair bit of the skin came off, but I had real trouble gutting the bird – it was a VERY smelly job. We have washed it but I’m a bit worried maybe it was a poorly pheasant and that’s why the dog got it? Do the innards usually smell awful? Please advise as I was planning to cook it tonight. We reserved the breasts and legs and they don’t smell bad so think I may not have managed to gut it very well initially. Meat looks OK and I’m pretty sure it wsn’t an old dead one as it was still twitching when the dog dropped it.
I would like to add this was entirely unintentional and I don’t intend to make a habit of sending my dog after game birds.
Sometimes the innards can be a bit wiffy if you have hung the pheasant for too long. If it’s a fresh phesant and its innards are rank I would not eat it myself.
Thanks for the useful info on the site.
This afternoon our Vizsla Dog who loves to hunt & Point held a beautiful point on game, he then proceeded to flush a pair of Partridges, I assume. Unfortunately for one of them who wasn’t fast enough it was apprehended. I am pleased to say it was all very quick and swift. I felt a little guilty as these birds may have been nesting, though I couldn’t actually see a nest the other bird flew off and survived, I guess now a lonely one. Out of respect I have brought the downed bird home and prepared and plucked. It was easier than I thought. I was astonished how much seed etc this bird had in its food sack !. I havent hung it just prep’d and placed it in the fridge to eat in a couple of days. I prefer meat less strong.
Once again thanks for the advice on the site.
Would I be right to assume they were a nesting pair (June) ?
Kevin
Hi there
Awesome website by the way!!! Fantastic!!!
Just a quick question tho, I had been told by a friend that you had to bleed a pheasant first by chopping the head off and hanging by the feet??? Whats your thoughts on this idea???
Also does this method apply/work to ducks, gease and turkeys?
Cheers Joseph
Thanks for this, I really did not know where to start on a small bird! Thai just gave me the confidence to get stuck in!
Now looking forward to the outcome for dinner tonight.
Hi Joseph
Sorry to miss your comment.
Always hang pheasant by the neck and all fowl!
Hello Lesley
I quite enjoy plucking a pheasant or a partridge. If I’m feeling lazy I skin them and use them in a casserole.
Thanks for the advice – I have twenty chukar partridge that should start feeling nervous!I regularly get pheasant from my mates shoot but up to now I have always ripped the skin when plucking, I note you say partridge should be easier, I will let you know.
Hi Fantastic site. Other sites recommend using wax to finish off the small feathers on a duck. Is this really necessary? And if so which type of wax? I’m a chef but never used unplucked game before (city boy)
and my mates just asked me over to prepare a dinner with one. Don’t want to skin it as it will leave me with a lot less recipes. Thanks. Bill
Hello t’capt’n
Forget the wax. Those downy feathers come off easily. Give yourself a bit of extra time and relax. Plucking a duck should be straight forward.
hello, ive been given a brace of pheasant which where shot on saturday. will it be ok to pluck and draw them on friday or is that leaving them to long?thanks, danny
Hi Danny
I usually hang them for three days – sometimes four if it’s very cold. Six days is quite a long time. If it was me I’d put them in the fridge now. Remember to let them get up to room temperature before plucking.
Hi fn. Just what I’ve been looking for. Are you saying there’s no need to bleed a duck? Advice appreciated.
Hi Margaret
I’m sorry but I have no experience with duck
Hi – I have been given two ducks (mallard, drake) with feathers. I have read on other sites that you should/shouldn’t hang ducks but clean them immediately and remove the wax gland? I have had them stored in a cold shed for 3 days does anybody have any advice?
Thanks
I make up and sell over the internet, custom made duck pluckers which I recently tried out on pheasants(scalded worked best) but on my site I have plucker reviews from various gents that have plucked partrige, chuckar and you can watch me as I pluck a duck in my living room!! I will try to find a Delta Waterfowl u tube video of plucking AND gutting a duck Thank You, ROD
http://www.pluckwitheasypluck.com
I just checked and there are numerous video clips on you tube Delta Waterfowl…..instructions for Plucking ducks, Cleaning(drawing) both by Plucking and breasting (which should be against the law) moost people that take the breast take it and thro away the legs and the thighs, the best parts…………so here it is if you would like to post up and let you readers VIEW some YANKEES HAVE A GO AT IT Thanks Again, ROD
Hi Rod
Some friends of mine have a pheasant plucking machine and it’s amazing. Thanks for dropping by and pointing out the videos on YouTube.
Fn, You are very welcome …Lead a quiet life and let your actions speak, help where you can!!!
Thank You, ROD
Thanks for this! I have just used your advice to pluck and draw a small pheasant hen that our friends’ dog caught and killed. Just hope we don’t ruin it now in the cooking!
Hi Richard
Great that yoiu found these instructions useful. We haven’t been given any game to date this season – sonorous sob. We have loads of easy pheasant recipes on the blog if you are lucky enough to get one.
Hello Fn, I’ve been quite busy lately working on my latest,– Easy Pluck C/P (Chicken/Pheasant)a plucker powered with your drill motor, to keep the price down, I will ship a donated one to Nicaragua possibly tomorrow and I would be happy to donate one to The Cottage smallholder for you to auction of, (Proceeds to a charity or the running of your forums) Product giveaway, just for signing in or however you want to do this,shoot me an email at rod AT pluckwitheasypluck.com Thanks, ROD
Hi Rod
Thank you so much for this generous offer. I will email you today!
I found a dead duck in a pond. Do you think it’s worth plucking and eating it?
No way!
Hi I’ve just come home to find three ducks hanging on my door and a bottle of wine….from my neighbour. I don’t have a clue where to start. I found your website and it’s really helpful. However, there’s no mention of bleeding the duck. These have been shot, so what do I do about the blood?
Hi Susan
The blood will take care of itself. Just haang the ducks (by the necks) for a couple of days or so – a cold garage is ideal. Bring them up to room temperature before plucking. There’s a wonderful recipe for teal in red wine on the site – which works well with wild duck and is superb with pheasant too
http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/dukes-teal-au-vin-or-tippled-teal-in-cider-recipe-contributed-by-duncan-lang-6522
Hi can you tell me how long I can keep a goose before I pluck it & freeze it
Regards
Ann
hi how long can i keep a goose before i have to pluck it
Hi Ann
I would say two or three days max – somewhere cold like a garage. Bring it up to room temperature before plucking.
Absolutely superb information , i was given a brace of partridges and hadn’t a clue how to prepare them .The information on your website made it very straightforward , although at first i thought i was going to see “ralph” i continued and suddenly it all came together and looked just like they had been bought from the local butcher,thankyou.
Quick question.
The dogs have finally caught a pheasant that has been wandering around for a few days. But I didn’t get a chance to bleed it as I had no knife on me when they caught it. Think it died of a broken neck or just plain shock. I have it hanging now. Will it still be alright to eat un-bled? Or will it affect the flavour of the meat?
Hi Clare
You don’t have to bleed te pheasant so it should be fine! As the weather is warm don’t hang it too long though! 2 days at most.
My Husband shoots and we keep poultry and turkeys (for christmas). Game birds do not HAVE to be hung! If you are unsure about the gamey-taste of birds, they taste very much like good chicken (not the supermarket crappy ones) if you simply roast them. I do use our pheasants for “Crispy Pheasant with Pancakes and Hoi Sin Sauce” which is done the same way as you would for chinese takeaway “Crispy Duck”.
Bleeding the bird stops blood clots forming in the breast meat, but otherwise it’s not a big deal.
Holding the cold game-bird down for a minute or two in boiling hot water makes it a doddle to pluck, it melts the fat that surrounds the quill of the feathers – or you can skin them and use the meat like chicken if they’re badly shot up.
MOST IMPORTANT THING! Make sure there is no lead shot still in the bird! Really! It really hurts when you bite down on one with your poor molars!
One of the most satisfying meats to eat, when you know it never went near a factory as it was growing up and lived free, in the air before dying in a sudden and unprotracted way. Also, low in fat and high in protein. Perfick!