Anyone who hunts and also is handy around the kitchen knows that most of the game that can be taken in the field is interchangeable recipe-wise with meat that is raised domestically.

And those who are familiar with me aren’t too surprised by the number of entrees I’ve prepared over the years that feature wild game. The total probably vastly exceeds any of those that makes use of animals raised on a farm.

That’s not to say we don’t eat some beef, pork or chicken. But when you have a freezer full of game such as elk, venison, pheasant, grouse, partridge and ducks and geese, you don’t find yourself buying a lot of meat from the supermarket.

One of my favorite wild-for-domestic substitutes is pheasant for chicken. I’ve barbecued pheasant, baked it and roasted it. I’ve used pheasant in casseroles, stir-fries and salads.

Perhaps one of my favorite recipes using pheasant as a chicken stand-in is for stroganoff. Originally, I used the recipe for venison and elk stroganoff, the combination of two recipes that looked appealing to me.

Some time later, when looking through one of my many cookbooks, I saw a picture of chicken stroganoff and immediately thought about using the hybrid recipe for pheasant.

And the rest, as they say, is history. It’s been a hit at our house ever since the first time I made it.

Pheasant Stroganoff
1 pound pheasant meat, about ½-inch thick
2 tablespoons butter
½ pound mushrooms, washed trimmed and sliced
1 medium onion, minced (about ½ cup)
1 10½ ounce can condensed chicken broth
1 10-ounce can cream of mushroom soup
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
4 tablespoons flour, divided
1 cup sour cream
¼ cup cooking sherry
3 to 4 cups hot cooked wide egg noodles
Cut meat across the grain into ½-inch strips, about 1½ inches long. Melt butter in large skillet. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until onion is tender. Add and saute pheasant until cooked through. Add half of the flour, spices and mushrooms. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add soup and half of broth. Stir in ketchup, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Blend reserved broth and flour then stir into meat mixture along with Worcestershire sauce. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Reduce heat. Stir in sour cream and sherry, heat through. Serve over noodles.