Award-Winning Grilled Feta and Spinach Pheasant Burger Recipe

We are honored that Jessica White, founder of Wander Woman KS, agreed to share her award-winning Pheasant Burger recipe with us. She even mixes in a little back story about her foray into the world of pheasant hunting, and her experience meeting wonderful women, hunting guides and bird dogs along the way. – Jackie Richardson

Growing up as an avid turkey hunter, I had little knowledge of other types of hunting – especially upland hunting. So, when a friend offered to take me out on my first pheasant hunt, I jumped at the opportunity to go. We drove out to Harveyville, Kansas, to a nearby game reserve early on a Saturday morning.

Brought with us were 3 hunting dogs, my guide and my excitement. I was so used to sitting in 1 spot for hours calling-in turkeys, maybe only moving to a different spot during the day if I wasn’t having any luck. Pheasant hunting is a constant movement between the hunter and dogs, who sniff their way around the grounds trying to pick up the scent of a bird. Watching as the 3 dogs work together is just a part of the experience of upland hunting. Just as soon as we got started, all 3 dogs went on point. I held up my Remington 870 shotgun and gave the nod for the dogs to flush the bird. That was how I harvested my very first pheasant.

Harvesting My First Pheasant Rooster

As I continue to grow Wander Woman Kansas, I am fortunate that other hunting opportunities are available to me. There are so many organizations that have a passion to provide hunting events to women in Kansas and Missouri. Recently I spotted an upcoming hunt for women only, and knew I had to join-in on the fun. I helped promote the event and encouraged other women I knew to head out to Mayview, Missouri. In a group of 6 women, we hiked out to the field with our hunting guides and our now-favorite guide dogs. With this group I finally harvested my first rooster.

Creating the Pheasant Burger Recipe

Although I enjoy being outside in nature, building these moments in my life, the biggest reason I continue to hunt is for the meat to add to my freezer for the year. I knew I wanted to try pheasant in different recipes, but had to think of how best to prepare it. I found online different blogs for ground turkey and chicken recipes, and thought to myself — why can’t I just substitute the turkey or chicken with the pheasant meat I brought home? Well, turns out was I right! Pheasant is just as good, if not better, than chicken or turkey. 

During the summer I love to be outside, especially to grill. That was when I thought of a great recipe to use up some of my pheasant: grilled feta and spinach pheasant burgers. These burgers have great flavor, are super simple to put together and everyone enjoys them. I like them so much that when I saw a recipe contest from the National Wild Turkey Federation, I did not hesitate to submit my new, favorite recipe to them.

Pheasant, Feta and Spinach Burger Ingredients

• 1-¼ lbs pheasant breast (about 5 to 6 breasts)
• 1-½ cups fresh spinach, chopped
• 5 oz. crumbled feta cheese
• ¼-cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 1 TBS garlic powder
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp salt

Optional Toppings: Red onion, lettuce, cucumber, mayonnaise, brioche buns

Pheasant, Feta and Spinach Burger Directions

1. Remove breast meat from the bird and be sure to thoroughly clean any feathers or shell pellets you can find.
2. Cut the pheasant into chunks and run meat through a grinder. Combine ground meat, chopped spinach, feta, garlic powder, black pepper, salt and breadcrumbs in a bowl. I added chopped red onion to the mixture; you can skip this ingredient if red onion isn’t your thing.
3. Mix the ingredients well, then portion the meat mixture evenly into uniform patties.

4. While patties are setting, preheat your grill to medium heat.
5. Clean and oil your grill grates, to prevent your patties from sticking.
6. Grill your pheasant patties until no longer pink and juices run clear, about 5 minutes per side. 
7. Serve patties on the brioche buns with the toppings of your choice.

National Wild Turkey Federation Recipe Contest

A few weeks later, after submitting my burger recipe to the National Wild Turkey Federation Recipe Contest, I received an email that out of the entries I had been narrowed down to the top 5! And if that wasn’t exciting enough, a couple weeks later I was told that I had placed 1st out of that selection! Be sure to check out the video on the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Facebook page, as well as the other submissions.

More from Jessica White

Be sure to keep a sharp eye out for Jessica’s contributions to The WON, including this spectacular recipe for making dandelion capers.

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  About Jessica White

  Jessica White is the founder of Wander Woman Kansas, an outdoor education program for women near the Kansas City area. She grew up with a family that spends time outdoors, which provided her a great deal of experiences. She has gone on every kind of hunting and fishing trip imaginable with her Dad. While he liked that part of the outdoors, her Mom, on the other hand, taught her the love of camping, canoeing, caving, rappelling and all kinds of outdoor sports. Jessica still enjoys trips with them, but she started Wander Woman to encourage other women to find themselves in the outdoors. View all posts by Jessica White →