18 Nebraskaland • October 2026
In the Field
Pheasant, Cream
and Mushrooms
By Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley
This is a wild game version of an Italian-
American dish called chicken marsala. It's like
making pheasant with cream of mushroom
soup from scratch, plus a few more ingredients
to elevate the dish. While this recipe requires
several additional ingredients and steps than
dumping a can of soup over pheasant, there's no
comparison in flavor.
Servings: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
•
4 pheasant breasts
•
8 to 10 ounces fresh mushrooms
(pictured are chamshell and shimeji)
•
1 large shallot, chopped
•
3 cloves of garlic, minced
•
2 tbsp. of olive oil, divided
•
1 tbsp. of butter
•
½ cup dry Marsala wine
•
1 cup low-sodium game or chicken stock
•
½ cup of heavy cream
•
2 sprigs fresh thyme
•
1 fresh sage leaf, optional
•
½ cup all-purpose flour
•
Kosher salt
•
Freshly cracked pepper
•
Chopped flat leaf parsley for garnish
1. Place pheasant breasts inside a zip-top bag
or between two sheets of plastic wrap and
pound with a meat mallet to even thickness.
Lightly sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides
of breasts. Set aside.
2. In a large skillet with a lid, add 1 tablespoon
of olive oil and warm over medium-high
heat. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the
mushrooms and sauté until golden. Remove
the mushrooms from skillet onto a plate and
set aside.
3. Lower heat to medium or medium low and add
shallot. Sauté until softened. Then add garlic
and stir for 1 minute — do not brown. Add
Marsala wine, scraping the bottom of the pan
to release browned bits. Simmer and reduce
wine by half.
4. In a different skillet, melt butter and 1
tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat.
In a wide, shallow bowl, combine flour, ½
teaspoon of salt, and freshly cracked pepper to
taste. When the oil/butter is hot, coat pheasant
breasts in flour and fry on both sides until
golden. Then take off heat.
5. After wine is reduced by half, add stock to
the sauce and simmer for 2 minutes. Then
turn down heat to low and stir in heavy
cream, thyme sprigs and sage. Add browned
mushrooms and pheasant breasts to the sauce.
Cover and simmer for 5 minutes for cream to
thicken and pheasant to cook through. Do not
allow cream to boil. If sauce becomes thick,
loosen with more stock.
Take off heat and season to taste. Garnish with
chopped parsley before serving with pasta noodles,
orzo, couscous, mashed potatoes or polenta.
