[Capri] Here in South Dakota... -Okay, get ready.

-Get ready.

-Get ready.

-[gunshot] [man] Oh, you got it.

[Capri] ... the love for pheasant hunting runs deep.

My gosh, look at the feathers.

Look at the colors.

Isn't it gorgeous?

They're iridescent.

[Capri] It's a tradition that turns the bounty of the Great Plains... [man] You're in luck.

because I think this is the best pheasant marsala I've cooked yet.

[laughing] [Capri] ...into all manner of culinary delights.

Everything here has just been-- I don't even know.

I don't have words for it.

And was even the centerpiece of a sandwich that fed an army.

It brings a tear to the eye to know that it meant so much to them, so it means so much to us.

[Capri] A South Dakota tradition, like so many others, being kept alive today by the beloved state bird.

I'm Capri Cafaro and I'm on a mission to uncover the incredible stories of the foods we grow... ...harvest, create... ...and celebrate.

Beautiful, amazing meal.

So, I'm traveling America's backroads to learn our cherished food traditions from those who make them possible... Look at that.

...and are helping keep them alive.

There is so much more to learn.

[man] It's just a tradition here in this area.

-[gunshot] -[woman] Mmm hmm.

[Capri] On "America the Bountiful."

[announcer] America's farmers have nourished us for generations, but today they face unprecedented challenges.

American Farmland Trust works with farmers to help save the land that sustains us.

Together we can work to keep America bountiful.

[Capri] From the Black Hills to the Eastern Plains, there's a reason South Dakotans gather in the prairies with their dogs every October: the ring-necked pheasant.

The game bird has flourished here since it was brought to the region from China in the late 19th century.

[bird squawks] Since 1919, it's been bringing prairie people together with friends and family for the annual pheasant hunt... [gunshot] ...where an estimated 1 million of the game birds are harvested each year throughout the state at hunting lodges like Double P Ranch.

Biologist Cyrus Mahmoodi owns the ranch and takes hunters of all ages and skill levels out to hunt the bird, many of them for their first time.

[gunshot] [Cyrus] I love having kids out here and introducing them to hunting.

It's such a perfect spot to be besides being on their phones.

Well, you can't beat being out in nature.

I mean, this is such a peaceful environment.

So, before you go out in the field, you're going to help me, walk me through this process so I can get a little bit more comfortable before we're actually dealing with real pheasants.

We're going to walk you through.

[gun clicks] So, you get up against your shoulders snug and get that cheek down.

-Like that?

-Yeah.

Let's put the gun down a little bit.

So when it comes out, what I want you to do is put that gun up, follow it, follow through, shoot.

Okay.

Aim ahead.

Are you ready?

Ready as I'll ever be.

We can take the safety off.

And then when you're ready, you say "pull."

Can you get that cheek down?

Okay.

All right, pull.

[giggles] Okay.

That was a good quick shot.

All right.

That's good.

We're going to do another one.

This time we're going to let it come out.

We're going to start following it here, and then we're going to shoot it.

All right.

Pull.

Wait.

-[gunshot] -Oh!

Really good.

[laughing] Take a couple more shots and then we'll get the rest.

Okay.

Here we go.

I knew it.

I told you.

Pull.

[gunshot] Are you kidding me?

-Wow.

-Who shoots two out of three?

Who does that?

I don't know.

Apparently me.

Maybe you have another career, another show you need to start.

[gunshot] [Capri] Nearly as important to the pheasant hunt as the shotgun... [gunshot] ...is the hunting dog.

Anthony Cavalli-Singer is one of several guides at Double P that also trains dogs for the hunt.

She's absolutely beautiful and super adorable, but I know she's not out here just to keep us company, right?

That's right.

I understand it's really important as part of the pheasant hunting process to have a dog along.

Why is that?

Without a dog, you really just won't be able to flush any birds or really recover any birds.

They can, you know, hide, and just lay down.

Without the dog's nose, you won't really be able to find them.

-So the nose knows?

-That's right.

I would love to see the dog in action.

It looks like she's ready to work.

Oh, yeah.

She can hear those roosters behind us.

I'll show you a water retrieve first.

Come.

Sit.

Just a very simple one.

Annie.

[Capri] Wow.

Look at her go.

[Anthony] So, she's trained to take the straightest possible line to that bird right there, grab it, and come straight back.

[Capri] Do you only work with labs or are there other dogs?

[Anthony] I'll do other breeds?

I focus on retrievers.

[Capri] I guess that's in the name, right?

[Anthony] Right.

Right.

Good girl.

Come.

[Capri] Oh, shake it up.

[Anthony] Heel.

Sic.

[Capri] Shake it off.

[Anthony] And that's just your basic mark retrieve on water right there.

Better than I could do.

That's for sure.

[Anthony] And then just your basic marked retrieve.

This is going to be a little tougher because that grass is real thick.

So, I'll pitch the pheasant dummy out.

Annie.

[Capri] Wow.

[Anthony] She's got to get in there.

Look at her go!

She's got to get in there.

So, she's on the right side of the wing.

She sniffed it out.

Good.

[Capri] That's just wonderful.

It really is a team out here.

[Anthony] That's right.

That's right.

All right.

So are we ready to get out there and find some real pheasant?

I think so.

Let's do it.

[Capri] One of the reasons pheasants thrive at the Double P Ranch property is the amount of habitat onsite, including a mix of abundant native grass prairie and wetlands, which Cyrus has worked to restore.

[Cyrus] So here you'll see this grass that is-- You know, I'm six foot four.

-It's almost six feet.

-I'm not.

[laughing] Six foot tall.

This is wonderful habitat.

The birds really love it.

So, once we're out here in the grass that's taller than me, how does one actually go find a pheasant?

Well, we have several friends out here that are very adept at finding birds for us, so we're going to utilize their skills and hopefully we won't disappoint them.

Well, I make no promises, but I will follow you.

Well, I'm going to give you the gun.

We're going to go slow.

And now the dogs are hunting.

[whistling] Okay, come up here.

[man] Get it.

Get it.

Get it.

Coming out back.

Wait, no, no.

That's going to go left.

No shot.

That's nice though.

We say, "Good dog."

All right, where to?

[man] I think we should push the grass and push it south.

[whistling] [man] Birdie right here.

Okay.

[man] Birdie right in front of me.

-Okay, get ready.

-Get ready.

Get ready.

Wait.

Okay, shoot him.

[gunshot] Oh, you got him!

[laughing] Oh, gosh.

Oh, gosh.

First shot.

[Capri] My goodness.

And they're very proud.

Yeah.

Unbelievable.

And so this is a ring-necked pheasant.

Yes.

A rooster, and that's-- My gosh, look at the feathers.

Look at the colors.

Isn't it gorgeous?

They're iridescent.

[Capri] Wow.

I'm just, honestly, I am kind of in awe of nature right now.

Yeah.

And in all of this process.

[Cyrus] You did fabulous.

Well, I have to say that, you know, now I've been part of the rooster rush, I've been part of a South Dakota tradition for, you know, decades, if not some centuries now, so I feel really honored, again, to be part of this cycle of nature.

Absolutely.

Now, we're going to take a picture.

And it's not a prop, people.

It is not just a prop.

Very well.

Well done.

[Capri] The pheasant experience at Double P Ranch doesn't end with the harvest.

Cyrus and his staff help guests experience the time-honored tradition of eating what they hunt.

And chef David Hawley cooks a variety of pheasant dishes for guests, but finds there's one dish they most often called their favorite, which also happens to be his: pheasant marsala.

We have our filets here.

They have been brined and tenderized and laid out.

And the next step after this is we're going to lay them out and butterfly them.

And after butterflying, we're going to get our mallet and we're going to pound it out.

I like it.

I want to be part of that process.

[David] All right.

[Capri] So to me, this looks a bit like the dark meat of a chicken.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

And actually, the dark meat of a pheasant is just as good.

All right.

Here we have our plastic wrap.

[Capri] Okay, so we're going to do the flat side.

Flat side.

Not the spiky side.

That's real technical.

That's right.

There we go.

If they weren't dead before, they're dead now.

[Capri] That's right.

[laughing] Sorry, pheasant.

All right.

So, we're going to transfer our pheasant back to our pan.

We want to season them with our herbs, which consist of rosemary and thyme.

All right, now we're going to go with a dash of salt, and a dash of pepper.

Oh, yeah.

It looks amazing.

All right, now what?

So, we have our pan rolling.

We're going to take our olive oil, and we're going to do a nice spread.

[Capri] Can't go wrong with olive oil.

Oh, yeah.

I always put them seasoned aside down first because you want to get that nice color first.

And we're going to let this roll in the pan for a good two to three minutes on each side.

[Capri] Okay.

It is starting to smell incredible.

I can smell all the herbs.

So, we see-- When you see that that herb, that mixture, starting to develop a crest on the outer layer of the pheasant, then you know that it's done.

There you go.

Take our pheasant off just like this.

I'm getting hungry.

And then we leave our pan going, you know why?

Because we have to make vegetables or sauce or both.

We're going to make vegetables.

We're going to throw our vegetables in this nice hot skillet with all the flavors from those herbs and that pheasant grease.

Nice.

And it's just going to make a base for our miraculous marsala wine sauce.

Two of my favorite things: asparagus and mushrooms.

Portobello?

[David] That's right, portobello.

I like to use-- Throw the mushrooms in first.

[Capri] Okay.

[David] Let those get a nice color on the grease.

and then we'll throw in our asparagus.

And we're going to let this cook for a good two to three minutes.

Oh, you see that coloring of the mushrooms?

[Capri] You make it look so easy.

It sounds like it's ready.

[Capri] It's talking to you.

It says, "Pour the marsala."

It's calling for it.

-Oh.

-Yeah.

All right, we've got our marsala in there.

It'll start to cook for another two to three minutes.

I think we're about ready.

So, for this amount of marsala wine and vegetables mixture, we will use anywhere from four to five chunks of butter.

[Capri] Okay.

[David] And the trick will be to take a spoon and you just move that pan slightly and you stir that butter in.

Just like so.

So, you're not actually, like, trying to break the butter pats up?

You're just, like, letting them melt on their own.

Slowly let it melt, and then you start to see that marsala wine start to change color.

[Capri] Yep.

[David] So, this is what we want.

All right, so we have our mashed potatoes here.

We'll take our pheasant, and we're going to place two pieces like so.

[Capri] You look like you've done this before once or twice.

[David] Oh yeah.

You want to add some nice vegetables here?

This is where I plate all around.

Get some mushrooms in there.

I was going to say, don't skimp on the mushrooms, man.

That's right.

All right.

You digging in?

I am so excited.

Even though I feel a little bit bad because this looks so pretty, but I won't feel as bad when it's in my mouth.

Cheers.

So fresh.

It does not have a gamey hint at all to me.

Like, not even a bit.

Not even a little bit.

It's fantastic.

The fresh herbs really come through, but I think that the taste of the wine, the marsala helps kind of accentuate and bring those flavors out as well.

You're in luck, because I think this is the best pheasant marsala I've cooked yet.

[laughing] Well, I'm a good luck charm, then.

That's right.

That's right.

Thank you for stopping by.

Thank you for sharing this with me.

[David] Absolutely.

I want to continue to dig in.

[David] Enjoy.

[Capri] South Dakota pheasants have been feeding hunters for decades, and not just hunters from South Dakota.

Every October, volunteers from Aberdeen hand out pheasant sandwiches to hunters arriving at the airport.

It's a tradition that dates back to World War II, when the very same sandwiches were given to soldiers passing through on their way to fight the war.

So, if we were walking in here over 80 years ago, what would have been the experience?

Who would have been here in 1943?

Oh, this place would have just exploded with the hustle and bustle.

This common area would have just been completely filled with troops and families waiting to watch their loved ones hop on a train to go overseas to fight in the war.

[Capri] Yeah.

[man] And we are known for the Aberdeen Pheasant Sandwich.

They used to serve them during World War II to the troops as they passed through.

It was the least they could do to thank the troops for what they did to serve the country.

And you're still keeping that tradition alive today, right?

We are.

This, as we're going to prepare, is the authentic World War II Pheasant Canteen recipe.

I'm excited to give this a try, and let you show me how it's done.

Absolutely.

I'm assuming this is pheasant, right?

This is pheasant harvested in South Dakota.

As we prepare, we are just basically going to follow the recipe to the best of our ability.

The ladies back in the day, would just straight chop.

[Capri] Because of course, there were no food processors in 1943.

There were no modern luxuries back in the day.

No.

So, they're putting their sweat equity into this as a way to say thank you, right?

[man] And not only that, back in the day, the community of Aberdeen used to save their rations.

[Capri] Oh, wow.

[man] So, back in the day, butter was rationed, so they would save those rations and donate them to the Pheasant Canteen because they would serve in here 500 to 1,500 troops as they'd come through.

That's a lot of chopping.

That's a lot of hands.

-And a lot of pheasants.

-Yes.

Absolutely.

-All right, so we got to chop.

-We got to chop.

Should we put these in here?

We'll mix it in the bowl.

Hand that over to you.

And you've already pre-chopped some of these other things.

I have pre-measured and pre-chopped.

We have two thirds cup carrots.

You have two hard boiled eggs, roughly chopped.

Two thirds cup celery.

Celery.

Good old crunch.

Well, on the carrots, too.

And then the third cup of onions.

And I guarantee you, these are fresh onions.

[Capri] Oh, yeah.

Make my eyes water, so when I get teary eyed thinking about somebody like my grandpa coming through here, I'm just going to blame the onions.

Absolutely.

So then, we have 1 to 2 tablespoons of sweet relish.

[Capri] Getting it all over the place.

All right.

Salt and pepper to taste.

You know, that's funny, because growing up, I shouldn't say growing up, but working with the ladies from the Pheasant Canteen side by side, they used to help us make this every year.

[Capri] The women that were actually here.

The actual women.

The daughters of the actual group used to help us make this every year.

That's so special that you actually had that greatest generation.

It brings a tear to the eye to know that it meant so much to them, so it means so much to us.

And that's why we keep the tradition alive.

I'm going to blame the onions.

I'm blaming the onions right now.

Thank you very much.

I'm going to start just mixing this a little bit, if you don't mind.

[man] That's looking good.

So, the butter, it goes on the inside.

So, we're going to butter the bread on both sides on the inside, and what that does is that creates a barrier because this is kind of a wet sandwich.

[Capri] Makes sense.

[man] So, then your bread doesn't get soggy and so forth.

-That's good?

-Yep.

Put that together.

Butter face down.

Butter face down.

You can either slice it in half or diagonally, or you can just grab and go.

[Capri] I'm going to go diagonal with this.

[man] So, the true traditional pheasant sandwich, that's where you-- You nailed it.

You did a great job.

[Capri] I'm going to give this a try.

All right.

Let's do this.

I like that crunch.

You did a great job.

Pheasant is so good.

Absolutely.

I can only imagine how excited the soldiers had to be to get this kind of, you know, welcoming, homemade...

The word spread.

-That's right.

-Word spread wide.

And they knew when they were coming to Aberdeen they were going to get a traditional pheasant sandwich.

Just to think that back then everything that came together to make this happen is pretty special.

No, I can see the pride and the emotion in you, and I can feel it in this room as well.

And I can hear it in the echo of this room that, the spirit of all those people that came together in Aberdeen is still alive and well and you're keeping that tradition alive as the greatest generation, the people, they're gone.

Many of them are gone, if not all of them.

So, this is what's keeping them alive.

And I feel like I've taken a bite out of history.

[laughing] You have.

You have.

Enjoy Aberdeen's hospitality.

[Capri] The Pheasant Canteen isn't the only institution in South Dakota known for its pheasant sandwiches.

Over in Brookings, the Pheasant Restaurant and Lounge has a version that's caught the attention of both Oprah and Gordon Ramsay.

It's a fresh take that pays homage to the original while adding some new flavors and textures.

General manager and head chef Michael Johnson creates updates on a variety of South Dakota classics in an establishment owned by his grandparents for more than 50 years.

[man] Of course, South Dakota is famous for pheasant salad sandwiches, but like the one maybe you had in Aberdeen probably had some like, mayo, carrots.

Yep.

Yep.

Some simple ingredients, which is kind of the O.G.

This one is not a total innovation.

We did look at lots of different recipes from hunters and families with hunters.

Oh, interesting.

And kind of played and combined until we arrived at this one.

You'll notice one little hint of something in there that nods to the Chinese origins of the Chinese ring-necked pheasant.

[Capri] I love it.

Don't tell me.

Let me see if I can taste it?

Mm.

This is fantastic.

I love anything that incorporates that sweet and savory with some crunch, as I apologize for talking with my mouth full, but I want to say there's water chestnuts, but I think that's apples.

It's apples.

Yep.

So, you have to tell me.

I want to know.

A little sesame and scallion.

Green onion.

Okay, now that you mention sesame, I can taste it.

Yeah.

It is so good.

It is so good.

It's not overpowering.

And then you get that crunch, you get that chewiness of the cranberries and the pheasant still is incredibly fresh and comes through.

Fantastic.

So, what else do we have on here?

Well, you definitely have to try this one.

You are actually here experimenting with us.

Okay.

[man] And this actually isn't on the menu yet, but this is sort of our reconstruction, our reiteration of kind of what-- Every kid who had a hunter in the family, like, the hunter dad, typically, would have this recipe where it would just be rice, and then after he skinned and butchered the pheasant in the garage, he would put that quartered pheasant over the rice and kind of cover it with a cream of mushroom soup base kind of sauce.

You know, you have to do things to keep the pheasant-- to retain all the moisture it can because it's so lean.

-Right.

-You can't just rely on fat.

So, we've done wild rice, which is kind of a regional thing that I know you know something about.

Absolutely.

[man] And then we've brined the pheasant and breaded it and fried it and then made a sauce that's a cream-based sauce, but with some, like, an assortment of wild foraged mushrooms and some seasonings and kind of brought it back together.

And I don't know if this is how it's going to end up on the menu because you get to be part of the experimentation process.

I am excited to be part of the experimentation process.

It looks beautiful.

I almost like don't want to get in there, but I can't resist.

A lot of times we think of ourselves as sort of stewards of a tradition.

I love that.

Because there are so many things that were here before us.

We have people who've been coming here longer than I've been alive.

So, while we like to use our own creativity and inspiration, we really like to lean into the traditions that came before us and local culture, because we think that local culinary culture is underrepresented here.

We have all of these sort of shy groups that, you know, we go eat our weird foods in some like, country Lutheran church basement or out having a Wacipi or having India or Nepal night on campus, and we think that needs to all kind of like, be drug out of the church basements and into the public sphere and be shared with other people.

We have a great team.

We serve a great community.

We have a lot of history to lean into.

So, it doesn't feel like you're just feeding stomachs.

There's so much more reward to being embedded in the community in that way.

And, you know, the fact that you all have been here for 75 years and recognize you're a steward of that is unbelievable.

Now I'm going to have to try this and see what kind of steward you really are.

So, this is the breast and tenderloin.

I have to get this perfect little bite.

A little mushroom.

A little carrot.

A little rice.

Mmm.

So, earthiness is kind of what we're going for here.

You're right.

Because we have pheasant, which we're just eating-- The wild rice and the root vegetables help with that earthiness.

And what's in the sauce?

So, this is just basically a cream sauce with a sparkling white wine.

In this case, we've used prosecco, which makes it pair well here.

Sparkling wine.

It's hard to pair fried food with wine, but sparkling wines and fried foods like each other.

You know, this isn't like a really heavy fried dish, but that's there.

But we wanted to keep the taste familiar to people so that we can still recognize, you know, maybe Dad's version of the hot dish or casserole of pheasant rice and creamy mushroom soup.

I mean, it's so tender.

So, so tender.

My vote, if it means anything as part of this process, is this deserves to be on the menu for all the reasons.

Not only because it tastes incredible, but for all the reasons that you've stated that these are familiar flavors, but they're constructed in this very unique way that shows that we can retain that cultural identity and that heritage while kind of being forward thinking about what you're putting on the plate.

So, you're doing something right.

Everything here has just been, you know, I don't even know.

I don't have words for it.

I mean, I feel like I've been tasting history one dish at a time, and getting a tour of this incredible community in South Dakota through the eyes of an establishment that's been here for four generations.

So, let's cheers to that.

Yeah.

Well, thank you, and we're glad to have you.

So, cheers.

To the pheasant and to pheasants.

[Capri] All across the Great Plains of South Dakota, the state bird continues to inspire... [bird squawk] ...from land conservation to Aberdeen hospitality... ...to Lutheran church recipes.

Given new life... ...the ring-necked pheasant has soared into the hearts of the Plains people and welcomes annual visitors from near and far.

But why take my word for it, when you can come experience it for yourself.

"America The Bountiful" is waiting for you and me.

For more information visit Americathebountifulshow.com.

[announcer] America's farmers have nourished us for generations, but today they face unprecedented challenges.

American Farmland Trust works with farmers to help save the land that sustains us.

Together we can work to keep America bountiful.