Pheasant Leg Meat Doner Kebab

Pheasant leg meat doner kebab

Today's post is the first in a series of three relating to the slow cooked meat from pheasant legs. We are obviously well out of pheasant season but I still have a small supply of both legs and breasts tucked away in my freezer. Normally when I defrost and slow cook a batch of pheasant legs, I use the meat to batch cook such as chillies or curries and freeze it in smaller portions for subsequent use. In this instance, I decided to experiment a little bit further and this doner kebab (of sorts!) is the first dish I came up with.

A traditional doner kebab sees strips of lamb arranged around a skewer and cooked via a rotisserie grill. In the UK, versions of this dish are normally associated with late night takeaways for those leaving pubs or nightclubs but I hope this is a version you may want to try at home for sober consumption, whether you use pheasant leg meat or something more traditional and readily available.

Stage 1 (provides pheasant leg meat for all 3 recipes in series)

Cook Time

Prep time: 5 min (plus resting and cooling time for cooked legs)

Cook time: 10 hours

Ready in: 11 hours, approximately

Yields: Meat for 3 single serving recipes

 

Pheasant legs ready for slow cooking

Ingredients

• 8 whole, skinless, fresh or fully defrosted pheasant legs
• 1 white onion, peeled and quartered
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed
• 2 whole small red chillies
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Water

Slow cooked pheasant legs

Method

Put the pheasant legs, onion, chillies, garlic and salt into your slow cooker. Pour in enough cold water to ensure the legs are comfortably covered. Put the lid on to your slow cooker and switch it on at its low setting. Cook for 10 hours. I usually do this overnight but maybe leaving it to do its job while you are out at work during the day would suit you better?

Pheasant legs removed from slow cooker

Use a large slotted spoon to remove the onion, chillies and garlic from the slow cooker and discard. Lift the pheasant legs to a deep plate, cover and allow to rest and cool sufficiently that they may be comfortably handled. (Note:  around a pint of the pheasant cooking liquid needs to be reserved for part of the kebab preparation.) I then like to break the drumsticks and thighs apart before carefully plucking off all the meat in small clumps. Be aware that this can be pretty time consuming in the case of the drumsticks due to their unusual bone structure. 

Stage 2 (Pheasant Leg Meat Doner Kebab)

Cook Time

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 5 min

Ready in: 15 min

Yields: 2 servings

Combining ingredients for kebab sauce

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons Greek (or plain, natural) yoghurt
• 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
• 2 teaspoons mint sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon hot chilli powder
• Salt
• 3 or 4 Little Gem lettuce leaves, rolled and sliced
• 6 to 8 baby plum tomatoes, halved
• 3" (7.5cm) piece of cucumber (English cucumber, US), seeded and roughly chopped
• Black pepper
• Generous handful pheasant leg meat
• 1 pint pheasant leg cooking liquid
• 2 pitta breads

Method

Spoon the yoghurt, ketchup and mint sauce into a small bowl. Season with the chilli powder and salt before mixing very well to combine. Refrigerate until required.

Combining kebab salad ingredients

Add the lettuce, tomato and cucumber to a large bowl or suitable dish and season with salt and pepper. Carefully mix by hand to ensure even distribution of the seasoning and ingredients.

Re-heated pheasant leg meat

Pour the pheasant cooking liquid into a small saucepan and bring it up to a gentle simmer. Add the pheasant leg meat, stir well and continue to simmer for 2 or 3 minutes, just until the meat is heated through. Drain through a sieve at your sink.

Pheasant meat is added to pitta pocket

Reheat the pitta breads per the instructions on the pack, ensuring they puff up like filled envelopes. Carefully slice each one open along a long edge and use cooking tongs to divide the warmed pheasant meat between the two pockets.

Pitta pockets are filled with salad

Fill each pocket with salad and drizzle the sauce over the top before serving.