I grew up eating the individually-packed chicken Kiev found in grocery store freezer aisles. It was a quick and easy meal for my parents to whip up, usually with some form of taters and maybe a vegetable. I loved it and still do. It's nostalgic, which makes it fun to recreate.

Kiev is a fairly technique-heavy dish. Skip a step, and you might have molten garlic butter spewing out somewhere you don't want it to. These would cook great in an air fryer or roasted in the oven. If you opt to do that, I suggest spraying the Kiev lightly with oil first to ensure the same crispy fried effect.

I like making extra compound butter for other dishes like garlic bread or pasta. It holds up well in the fridge or the freezer, as does the Kiev—you can make and freeze a bunch for an easy, ready-made meal.

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1. Make the compound butter. Start by pulling the butter from the fridge to come to room temperature. Now, roast the garlic. Wrap the garlic bulb in tin foil with a splash of milk and extra virgin olive oil. Roast at 350ºF until it's tender—about one hour. Wait for it to cool, and squeeze out the bulbs. Add all compound butter ingredients to a food processor or blender. Blend until thoroughly mixed. There should be no clumps of butter, but you can still identify the individual components.
2. Roll the butter into two pieces of plastic wrap. Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap about one foot long. Add half of the soft butter in a semi-log form. Roll the butter all the way up in the plastic wrap. Pinch the ends and turn each side in opposite directions (like rolling up a tootsie roll) until the butter is tight and formed into a log. Put in the fridge or freezer to cool and set.
3. Pound the pheasant breasts between parchment or in a ziploc until about ¼-inch thick. Take your time not to pound holes into the meat
4. Lay a pheasant breast, lengthwise facing you, skin side down, onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Cut one of the butter logs into four sections lengthwise. You'll need sticks about three inches long. Reserve the rest for mashed potatoes. Add one of the butter sticks on the edge of the pheasant closest to you. Roll the breast over the butter and tightly tuck the edges. Roll the pheasant into a log in the plastic wrap like you did with the butter. Repeat with all four. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes to set.
5. Remove the stuffed pheasant from the freezer and carefully unwrap. Prepare the three-part dredge. Mix the flour with the mushroom powder and season with salt and pepper. Dredge each pheasant roll, starting with the flour, then egg wash, then panko. Shake off extra flour. Roll these back up again in plastic wrap and place them in the fridge for the breading to set.
6. Turn the oven on to 375ºF and prepare your fryer or fryer oil. Fry the kiev at about 375ºF for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the Kiev and finish them in the oven on a sheet tray or cast iron pan for 15 minutes or until the internal temperature of the pheasant is 160ºF.
7. Let the Kiev rest for five minutes. Slice and serve with mashed potatoes and some extra compound butter. To keep from losing all of the butter, slice the kiev on the plate.