What does pheasant taste like?

The flavor of pheasant meat varies depending on whether the bird was farm-raised or a wild bird. Farm-raised pheasant typically tastes like a richer version of chicken, while wild pheasant generally has a gamey flavor characteristic of the foods eaten by the bird.

Cooks can minimize the gamy flavor of wild birds by soaking the meat in salt water or milk before cooking it. To maximize tenderness of the meat, which can be easily overcooked due to the birds' leanness, many cooks choose to wrap pheasant with bacon or pancetta or to baste it with an oil-based marinade or sauce while cooking to keep the pheasant moist.