Pheasants have long been known for their superior nutritional benefits. With half the fat of a portion of beef, pheasant also contains high amounts of B vitamins, potassium, iron, and a host of other vital minerals your body needs every day. But just because it’s good for you doesn’t mean that it has to be bland or boring. We at MacFarlane Pheasants are the leader in not only adult birds and chicks, but we’re also leading the culinary revolution of pheasant for every palate.
Each week our food products team meets to discuss industry trends across the country. We’re supplying pheasant meat to some of the finest restaurants and grocery stores in the U.S., including such culinary hot spots like Chicago. In our meetings we’re receiving feedback from our sales representatives, who have their ears to the ground to discover areas we can expand into, and that feedback helps us develop products to fill that niche.
This fall, we’re excited to launch two new additions to our food offerings: ground pheasant breast and pheasant bratwurst, both of which have come about through our weekly meetings. Ground pheasant is lean and delicious, and can be substituted in your favorite recipes that call for ground beef. Our staff has already been experimenting with it and has been thrilled with the results. “We made burgers with it,” says Food Projects Manager Sarah Baker. “It held up very well.” To create this versatile product, we’re working with a company in nearby Clinton, Wisc. It will be available in one-pound packages both locally in our retail shop and online.
But what is more Wisconsin than bratwurst? This is a product we’ve offered in the past, and both our customers and our staff have been clamoring for them ever since. Working with a small sausage company in Missouri, we’ve been tweaking our recipes to create five delicious flavors. These will also be available in the fall, just in time for inclusion in holiday gift baskets.
At MacFarlane Pheasants, we’re always thinking ahead to the next big thing, and we’ve already got a few more ideas kicking around. Our innovation is born right here on the farm in Wisconsin, and we work with independent businesses both locally and regionally in their development, like Zuber’s Sausage Kitchen in Monroe and Croissant Etc. in Milwaukee. But our focus is always on you, our nationwide consumer. Pheasant for dinner is healthy and delicious, true, but it’s also versatile, and we want to provide you with as many options as possible.