Pheasant Hatch Chile Mac and Cheese

Hot and creamy Pheasant Hatch Chile Mac and Cheese straight out of the oven.

We first saw this recipe for Pheasant Hatch Chile Mac and Cheese by Chef Hank Shaw on the NAVHDA Versatile Hunting Dog Magazine a few years ago and decided to set it aside as a possible dish to make later. When I was asked by our Black Hills NAVHDA Chapter in 2020 to make a meal for at least 40 people during their testing weekend, I first of all freaked out and then brought out this recipe as a possibility to make. I decided to test the dish out on my husband Jeff first to see how he liked it. He loved it! While I love this recipe, I did make some modifications to it to make it my own. One of these things was adding cream cheese to the mix along with some goat cheese. It offers the dish a richer texture and makes it a lot creamier too. If you don’t like goat cheese you can skip this. Many times, I make things up as I go along and then really like the changes so I save them for later. This is what happened with this particular recipe. I even offer a low carb alternative to the pasta in case some of you, like me are watching your carbs.

Hatch chiles are grown in New Mexico but can be found nationwide in the late summer/early Fall.  I get my hatch chiles in the Fall during Jolly Lane Greenhouse’s (in Rapid City) Hatch Chile Festival where they bring bushels upon bushels of chiles, both roasted and non-roasted from New Mexico. This year, I bought a half bushel of roasted hatch chiles and froze a big portion of them. They freeze well and last a while. If I can find fresh hatch chiles in South Dakota, I’m sure you can find them anywhere. They even had hatch chile roasting events at select grocery stores in Spokane, WA when I lived there. Poblanos or Anaheim peppers are good alternatives if you can’t find hatch. If you get in a real pinch there are canned green chiles, but I highly recommend using fresh if possible. Just make sure you remove the seeds and peel off the skin before dicing and using.

By the way, the dish was a hit with the NAVHDA attendees too! Enjoy!

Roasted hatch chiles need to be seeded and skins peeled before using.

Ingredients:

6 Pheasant hind quarters slow cooked with, chicken broth, onion and garlic for 7 hours then shredded.

6 Hatch Chilies roasted, skin peeled, with seeds removed. Poblano or Anaheim peppers are a great alternative if hatch chiles are not in season.

1 box Cellentani noodles (Rotini works well too) (For a low carb option, use 2 baked spaghetti squashes instead.)

4 tablespoons (2-ounces) unsalted butter

½ Red Onion-diced

3 garlic cloves-minced

1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum or 2 tablespoons of flour for non keto version.

3 cups whole milk

¼ heavy cream

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning.

 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 Cups shredded white cheddar cheese

½ cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

4oz Vermont Goat’s Cheese (optional-plain or herbed)

8oz of cream cheese

Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top

1 cup breadcrumbs (optional if making this low carb-You can also use ground up cheese crisps or pork rinds.)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

Cook pasta according to box instructions. Add butter and set aside for now.

For spaghetti squash option, cut in half and bake in a little water cut side down at 400 degrees for 50 minutes or until cooked.

While pasta is cooking, in a heavy sauce pan melt the butter. Add the diced onions and sauté until soft (about 4-5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the Xanthan gum or flour and stir until just lightly golden brown.

Add the hatch chiles and Italian season and mix in with the flour mixture.

Slowly add in the milk and heavy cream and whisk to make sure there are no lumps.

Slowly add the goat cheese until it starts melting and then cream cheese. Once they have melted slowly add in the shredded cheese.  Stir until melted and then add salt and pepper.

Slowly add the cooked shredded pheasant and mix together with the cheese.

Add the cooked pasta or spaghetti squash into a 9x12 casserole dish. Pour the cheese-pheasant mixture over it and mix together until all of the pasta or squash is coated. Sprinkle with bread crumbs if you are using them. Then sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Cover with foil.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Serve hot. You can add some Tapatio sauce for more zest!

Estimated Nutrition (Per Serving – Pasta Version)

Calories: ~610 kcal

Protein: ~42 g

Fat: ~36 g

Saturated Fat: ~20 g

Carbohydrates: ~32 g

Fiber: ~2 g

Sugars: ~6 g

Sodium: ~820 mg

Cholesterol: ~145 mg

Brenda Mizenko

Cedars Point Kennel

Summerset, SD

206-200-3454

www.cedarspointkennel.com

cedarspoint@outlook.com

Brenda Mizenko is the co-owner of Cedars Point Kennel in Summerset, SD. She is an elementary school teacher in Rapid City, SD and loves making new wild game dishes.