Simple Gourmet: Pheasant Breast Stuffed with Brie and Berries

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I know, I know: These are supposed to be simple recipes made from game meats. But as soon as you put “brie” in the title, it doesn’t sound simple anymore. I promise, this truly is a simple dish to make. Pheasant breast stuffed with brie and blueberries and wrapped in bacon is delicious and is even worth buying the brie. Truthfully, this is the first time I’ve ever bought brie in my life, and it was worth it to make pheasant breast stuffed with brie and berries wrapped in bacon.

Stuffed Pheasant Breast

I was inspired by the food samples at Sam’s Club the other day. They were serving those breaded chicken breasts with cheesy sauce inside — you’ve probably had the cordon bleu version before. Well, they had one stuffed with brie and cranberries, and it was tasty. And my neighbor shot a bunch of pheasants and gave me a couple, so they were hanging in the garage. So now here we are buying brie and thick-cut bacon.

You won’t regret giving this a try. It’s hard to mess up. And you don’t have to buy brie. You could use provolone, sharp cheddar, or Swiss — anything with lots of flavor. Actually, using some of those along with the brie sounds good. I used fresh blueberries another friend had given me, but dried cranberries are an excellent choice. I used thick-cut bacon, but regular-cut may be a better choice because it’ll crisp a little better in the oven. Also, you could make this recipe with chicken, grouse, or wild turkey.

Next time you bring home some birds, bring home some brie, too, and make this crowd-pleasing dish.

What You Need

• Four pheasant breasts from two birds (adjust the ingredients for however many birds you have)
• 12 slices of bacon
• 7 oz of brie cheese, sharp provolone, sharp cheddar, or Swiss cheese
• 1 Cup of dried cranberries or blueberries; Lignon berries would be good (if you have Lignon berries, I suspect you’re likely to have brie)
• Garlic powder
• Salt
• Rolling pin
• Deep pan — a cast iron skillet will do

Prep Work

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Use a rolling pin to tenderize, enlarge, and flatten the pheasant breast. Press and push it until it’s about 1/4″ thick. It’s ok if it separates, just press the pieces back together. I used four breasts here but ended up with three rolls by splitting the meat up as it separated. If you don’t have a rolling pin, you can use a thick drinking glass. A meat tenderizer/mallet is less good because the meat sticks to it too much. Season both sides of the meat with garlic powder and a little salt

Lay out the bacon, and lay the pheasant breast on top so you can roll it up. Place the cheese and berries on the meat. Use a lot of cheese so the roll is full. Roll up the breast meat, then roll the bacon over it. (I rolled the bacon and meat together, but it’s better if the bacon is only on the outside of the roll, not inside like a swiss roll.)

Bake Your Stuffed Pheasant Breast

Place the pheasant breast rolls in a pan to go in the oven. It will leak some cheese and plenty of bacon grease, so use a pan with deep enough sides.

Bake the rolls for 20 to 35 minutes until the meat reaches 160° and the bacon looks cooked. Times will vary based on the size and thickness of your meat.

Serve Your Simple Gourmet

Read More: Simple Gourmet: Best Tartar Sauce & Baked Rainbow Trout

Serve the pheasant breast stuffed with brie and berries wrapped in bacon hot. Consider drizzling it with a tangy fruit sauce or syrup. Even maple syrup wouldn’t be a mistake, nor would honey mustard.

Now, go get some pheasants to work with.