Summer time Watermelon and Grilled Pheasant with Ponzu Sauce

Do this pleasant appetizer that blends umami flavors and watermelon sweetness with sliced pheasant

I’ve a confession. I’m not refined. My degree of culinary data is basically restricted to the eating places through which I’ve labored and dishes through which I’ve discovered private curiosity. Stated in a different way, I’m not a voracious reader of cookbooks. However now and again, I get out of my home, my shell, and discover some fancier eating places whose cooks are extra impressed than myself.

The Belmont in Wichita, Kansas, is one such instance, due to a suggestion from a pal. For lunch, I loved their ahi tuna appetizer, served with ponzu and togarashi—two issues I don’t consider I’ve skilled earlier than. I discovered the flavour combos each eclectic and distinctive but in addition completely balanced. After all, upon returning dwelling, I needed to attempt to replicate it with wild sport. Pheasant breast is used right here however different mild meat sport birds equivalent to quail or chukar will work too.

The elements listed below are, typically talking, accessible at most grocers. If you’ll find bonito flakes as a substitute of smoking your individual salmon pores and skin, really feel welcome to go that route. Sake as a substitute of white wine within the sauce will produce a extra genuine taste as properly. The togarashi spice combine listed may be very easy, however you will have entry to different elements, through which case you may gown up your spice combine. The aim of togarashi is a mix of spice and savory (umami) with a touch of sweetness.

Lastly, the compressed watermelon facet isn’t essential. It requires a chamber vacuum sealer, which I like to recommend for any hunter if it could actually match within the funds. Nonetheless, in the event you don’t have one, simply slice the watermelon and soak it in white wine. Compressed watermelon might focus taste, however it’s not important right here.

Summer time Watermelon and Grilled Pheasant with Ponzu Sauce

Jack Hennessy

A refreshing, summery starter that blends umami and watermelon sweetness with sliced pheasant 

Prep Time 3 hours hrs

Cook dinner Time 15 minutes minutes

Whole Time 3 hours hrs 15 minutes minutes

Course Appetizer

Delicacies American

Servings 4

Energy 505 kcal

• 2 pheasant breasts with tenderloins
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper freshly cracked
• 8 watermelon slices 2″ by 1″ by ½” thick
• White wine
• 2 jalapeño peppers sliced
• 2 avocados smashed

Ponzu sauce

• 1 ½ cups white wine or sake
• 1 lime juiced
• 1 cup mirin
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 4 oz contemporary ginger smashed
• 2 slices orange zest dehydrated
• 6 inches salmon pores and skin or ½ cup bonito flakes
• 2 sheets nori seaweed crumbled

• If doable, slice the watermelon and seal it with white wine in a chamber vacuum sealer. Let it sit within the fridge for at the least a few hours.

• When you don’t have entry to bonito flakes (dried fish flakes), you may carve off 6 inches of pores and skin from a salmon fillet and smoke the pores and skin at 225 F for a few hours for the ponzu sauce. You might also want to smoke the orange zest slices throughout this time (however just for 1 hour or much less).

• To make the ponzu sauce, add all of the elements to a medium saucepan and produce it to a low simmer. Simmer on low or medium-low for 1 ½ hours. When completed, pressure it by a espresso filter or paper towel so solely the liquids stay.

• Whereas the sauce simmers, add all of the Togarashi spice elements to a blender or spice grinder and totally mix till its finely floor. Put aside the Togarashi spice combine.

• Thickly slice the pheasant breasts and preserve the tenderloins as their very own items. Evenly mud them with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

• As soon as the sauce and spice combine are prepared and the watermelon slices have marinated for at the least 2 hours, grill the pheasant sizzling and quick, roughly 2 minutes per facet, over a 600-degree or increased fireplace or grill grate.

• Let the pheasant meat relaxation. Whereas it rests, carve the avocados and smash their contents to the feel of guacamole. Thinly slice the jalapeños.

• To serve, add the watermelon slices to a plate and drizzle the ponzu sauce over prime. Subsequent, add a little bit of avocado to every slice, adopted by a pheasant slice. Then, prime with a slice of jalapeño. Safe every thing with a toothpick and sprinkle Togarashi spice excessive.

Energy: 505kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 47gFats: 18gSaturated Fats: 3gPolyunsaturated Fats: 2gMonounsaturated Fats: 11gTrans Fats: 0.01gLdl cholesterol: 92mgSodium: 322mgPotassium: 1404mgFiber: 8gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 455IUVitamin C: 31mgCalcium: 44mgIron: 2mg