Old Timber Outdoors
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Pheasant legs and thighs

Slow Cooker Pheasant Leg Salsa Verde Tacos

Pheasant legs and thighs cooked low in tomatillo salsa until the meat falls off the bone, then pulled for tacos.

Serves
4
Hands-on
30 min
Total
8 hr 15 min
Skill
Easy

Cooks on: Slow cooker · Lunch, Dinner

Ingredients

  • 2 lbPheasant legs and thighs, legs and thighs from 5 to 7 birds, bone-in
  • 1Onions, half sliced, half finely diced for topping
  • 3 clovesGarlic, smashed
  • 2Lime, 1 juiced, 1 cut into wedges
  • 1 tspSalt
  • 1½ cups jarred salsa verde
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • ½ cup chicken stock
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil, for crisping (optional)
  • 12 small corn or flour tortillas
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro

You'll need

  • Slow cooker
  • Instant-read thermometer

Helpful: large skillet, ideally cast iron, stovetop.

Contains

Gluten. Flour tortillas contain gluten. Corn tortillas are usually gluten-free; check the label. Jarred salsa verde and tortillas vary by brand. Check the labels.

Method

  1. Thaw the pheasant legs completely in the refrigerator first; never start a slow cooker with frozen meat. Season them with the salt and cumin.
  2. Put the sliced onion and the garlic in the slow cooker, lay the legs on top, and pour the salsa verde and stock over them.
  3. Cover and cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours, until the meat slides off the bones and the thigh meat falls apart at a fork. Slow cookers vary, so tenderness decides, not the clock.
  4. Lift out the legs and let them cool until you can handle them. Pull the meat and discard the bones, skin and every tendon.
  5. Stir the meat back into the sauce with the lime juice. Taste and add salt if needed. Cover and heat on HIGH until the meat reads at least 165°F, about 15 minutes.
  6. For crisp edges (optional), heat the oil in the cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, lift the meat out of the sauce with a slotted spoon, and fry it in a thin layer without stirring until browned on the bottom, 3 to 4 minutes. Spoon a little sauce over it.
  7. Warm the tortillas in a dry skillet or microwave. Fill them with the pheasant using a slotted spoon and top with the diced onion, cilantro and lime wedges.

When it's done: fork-tender: the meat slides off the bone

Pheasant legs pass 165°F early in the cooking but stay tough and sinewy for hours. They are done when the meat pulls away from the bone with a fork and the thigh meat falls apart. If it is still tight, give it more time, not more heat.

If it goes wrong

Meat still tight on the bone
Cook another hour on LOW.
Stringy, hard bits
Those are tendons. Go back through the meat with your fingers.
Filling too wet for tacos
Simmer the sauce uncovered on HIGH for 20 minutes before stirring the meat back in, or crisp the meat in the skillet.
Tastes flat
Jarred salsas vary. Add more lime juice and a pinch of salt at the end.

Leftovers. Refrigerate within 2 hours. Reheat leftovers to 165°F.