There’s something special about serving an Oven Roast Pheasant for a Sunday Dinner. Succulent, flavorful, and incredibly satisfying, a whole oven-roasted pheasant is a game bird that deserves a spot on your table.
This recipe creates a dinner with no leftovers, perfect for two hungry people.
Whether you’re new to cooking game or a seasoned pro. Our step-by-step guide for how to oven roast pheasant will help you create a meal full of flavour and easy to prepare.
Table of contents
While we’ve placed the recipe up top for convenience, read on for more tips, alternatives, and serving suggestions to make your roast pheasant as flawless as ours!
📖 Step by Step Recipe
Oven Roast Pheasant
Equipment
Ingredients
- 700 g Pheasant
- 30 g Butter
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Puree
- 1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 small Onion - red, brown or white
- 6 Stuffing Balls - optional
Instructions
- Remove 700 g Pheasant and 30 g Butter from the fridge approx 40 mins ahead of cooking to soften butter and allow pheasant to come to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 210℃ fan/230℃ conventional/450℉/gas mark 8 Pat dry the pheasant using kitchen paper towel
- Place the softened 30 g Butter, 1 teaspoon Garlic Puree and 1 teaspoon Dried Thyme into a small bowl and mash together with a fork.
- Rub the garlic and herb butter all over including inside the body cavity.
- Chop 1 small Onion in half and place inside the body cavity.
- Season the bird generously with Salt and Pepper and place in an oven roasting tray.
- Initial Roast: Start cooking at the preheated temperature of 210℃ fan/230℃ conventional/450℉/gas mark 8 for 10 minutes.
- Lower the Heat:Lower heat to 180℃ fan / 200℃ / 400 ℉ / Gas mark 6 and cook for an additional 40 - 50 minutes. Add 6 Stuffing Balls to the tray if using, timing them according to their cooking instructions.
- If your bird is bigger than the one we used, it may need 10 minutes longer. The cooking time above is for a 700g pheasant.Optional* Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the pheasant. It should reach 64°C (165°F) at the thickest part of the breast. Or the thigh should reach 74 °C
- Remove the pheasant from the oven, cover loosely with foil, and allow it to rest for 20–30 minutes.
- Carve the pheasant by cutting through both the legs.
- Then, slice down either side of the breastbone; removing the wishbone first will make that easier.
- Serve with roast potatoes, broccoli, carrots, honey roast parsnips, stuffing balls and gravy.
Video
Nutrition
What does Pheasant taste like?
Oven Roast Pheasant is a lean and flavourful wild game bird, perfect for something different from chicken or turkey. Its tender meat has a slightly earthy, rich taste that pairs beautifully with herb butter.
How many people does a pheasant serve?
A pheasant is small and is ideal for two people, offering generous portions without waste. There is a breast and leg each, so no arguments! Plus, it’s an impressive centrepiece for your roast dinner!
If you are serving more people, you can cook multiple pheasants simultaneously in the oven for the same time!
Ingredients in Detail
The short list of ingredients in this recipe allows the natural flavour of pheasant to come through. Here’s a closer look at the essentials, with tips for substitutions and variations to make it your own.
Pheasant
It is often supplied frozen. Defrost in the fridge for 24–48 hours. We sourced ours from our village butcher, supplied by Ben Rigby Game.
Butter and Herbs
We add garlic puree and dried thyme to make herb butter, but feel free to swap thyme for rosemary or sage. For a citrusy twist, try orange or lemon zest in the butter.
Onion
Placing an onion inside the pheasant’s cavity helps infuse the meat with subtle, savoury flavours as it cooks. The moisture from the onion also helps keep the bird tender, preventing it from drying out. You can use citrus fruits or apples instead.
Stuffing
There is not much room to add stuffing inside the pheasant, and as the cooking time is so short, it is best to make stuffing balls to cook along side the pheasant rather than inside for even cooking.
We have used our mushroom and red onion stuffing balls (recipe coming soon), but our sausage meat stuffing balls or sage and onion stuffing are equally fantastic.
Cooking Temperature and Time
Cooking pheasant in the oven at the right temperature ensures tender, juicy meat with a perfectly roasted finish. We start with a high oven temperature of 210°C (fan) / 230°C (conventional) / 450°F / Gas Mark 8 for the first 10 minutes.
This initial blast of heat helps seal the juices, creating a beautiful golden-brown skin and locking in the pheasant's natural flavours.
After 10 minutes, we reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (fan) / 200°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6 for the remainder of the cooking time (Between 40-50 minutes). The lower temperature allows the pheasant to cook through evenly without drying out the lean meat.
Most pheasants weigh between 600g - 900g, and this recipe is based on a 700g bird. If your bird is larger, you may need to add 10 minutes of cooking time.
Safe Cooked Temperature
Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature to ensure your pheasant is cooked perfectly.
The internal temperature of the pheasant breast should reach 64°C (165°F) for safe consumption. The thigh should reach 74 °C. Use a meat thermometer in the thickest part to check before resting the bird.
Rest
Resting game birds like pheasant after cooking is essential to keep the meat tender and juicy.
During cooking, the juices are pushed toward the outer layers, and resting allows them to redistribute evenly back into the meat. Covering the bird loosely with foil ensures it stays warm while resting, giving you a perfectly moist and flavourful roast.
How to Carve
Carving pheasant is straightforward:
- Remove the legs first by slicing at the joint.
- Remove the wishbone, then cut through the breastbone on either side to remove the breast meat.
One of the things I love about oven roast pheasant is how you don't have any waste; in those simple four cuts you have all the meat on your plate!
Serving Suggestions
Pheasant shines as part of a traditional roast dinner and pairs beautifully with, seasonal vegetables, honey-roasted parsnips, mashed potatoes or crispy roasties, with gravy, rich bread sauce or red wine jus. Fruity condiments work fab too, serve it alongside cranberry sauce, redcurrant jelly, or apple sauce.
Serve immediately with all the trimmings.
More Roast Side Dishes
Check for Shot Pellets
As a pheasant is a game bird, be aware that tiny ball bearings from the shot used during hunting may be present. We found two in ours, so always check carefully when carving and eating.
Storage
If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Use them in sandwiches, salads, or soups for a quick and tasty meal.
Wine Pairings
Pheasant pairs well with:
- Full-bodied reds like Shiraz or Malbec
- Lighter reds like Pinot Noir
- Whites like Viognier or Chardonnay
More Roast Birds
Love roasted game birds and poultry? Check out our other recipes for duck, turkey, chicken, and goose.
We hope you enjoy this guide for roasting pheasant in the oven! Let us know how it turns out, and share your photos on social media. Happy roasting!
Steve says
Tried out this recipe for our Sunday roast and it came out fantastic 👌
You cant beat a good bit of game 😋🤤
Luke and Kay says
Thanks, Steve! We're so glad you enjoyed it—nothing beats a perfectly roasted pheasant for a Sunday treat! 🦚👌 Game dishes are such a classic, and it sounds like you nailed it! 😋✨