Now the obvious thread. Wild game cooking !!

[Kyle]

Ok , so I just unloaded about 300 pounds of meat into the freezer. Usually when we cook it simply to get the job done and nothing fancy. This time I am looking for recipies and sauces that you guys use for Deer and Elk and the like.... Should be a good thread to keep rolling and add to when you come up on something.

 

[Eric N.]

Since you have some Elk..

http://www.wapiti.net/recipes.cfm

http://www.empireelk.com/recipies.htm

http://www.gamebirdhunts.com/wild-game-recipies.asp

I ussually just make mine simple since I like to preserve that wild taste... However, I'll also substitute it for almost any red meat dish.

My favorite being venison tenderlion wellingtons.. Same as any Beef Wellington from other cook books just with venison instead.

But, plain old salt & pepper on the grill over a real hard wood fire is probably what I like best.

 

[Kyle]

Yeah thats pretty much what I have always done. A good one for quick meals is to make a bunch of rice , cook up some thin cut strips of tenderloin and then dump some packaged brown gravy in the pan with it , add water as needed and then mix that concoction with the rice and plenty of pepper.. If you make large amounts its nice to freeze in bags for quick trail meals or whatever..
BUT , we are trying to get more creative these days. Growing up with just me and the old man most of my cooking skills are based on quick and getting the job done...

 

[Eric N.]

Ya, that's how it was when I was growing up too... Lots of scrambled eggs for dinner

When I got older I started doing the cooking and would make stuff out of the cook books so that we weren't always eating the same thing.. Now that I have been home all day every day for the last 18 months I have been Martha Stewarting dinners up around here.. All the folks at my wifes office are a jealous cause she's getting these great smelling left overs at work and they got that PB&J they slapped together in the 2 minutes that they had to spare before getting to work..

 

[Kyle]

I got two steaks cooking right now that probably are 5 lbs combined weight

 

[D Chapman]

I like to make a rub using equel parts of:
Black Pepper
Salt
Garlic powder

It's simple, and tasty. It's really good on bone-in deer hams when cooked on the grill or smoker. I have wrapped them in bacon before which gave them a good flavor too, but the cost of bacon these days is crazy. It's really a universal rub, it's really good on pork too.

Now goose breast, that stuff is awesome. I have done a simple old bay seasoning before, which I though sounded weird, but it was really good. We also did a "wet" recipe, but I will have to find that one.

Really, anyway you cook elk it comes out great. I don't think I have ever had bad elk meat. When I was in College, I had some elk BBQ. Awesome!

Kyle, If you want to come off a few elk steaks, I will glady buy some. The guys I know who go out west to hunt them only go about every 5 years or so. Or maybe we can trade for some wild salmon, not that "farm raised" stuff.

 

[andrewv]

Just used this recipe for pheasant-turned out very well.


2 split deboned pheasant breasts (grouse, quail or chukar)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tab butter
1/4 cup dry sherry wine
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbs fresh tyme
Press breasts flat with hand. Combine flour and spices and dredge cutlets. In a hevy skillet, melt butter and cook cutlets on each side until lightly browned. Remove cutlets from skillet. Add sherry to skillet and cook one minute, add cream and simmer but do not boil. Add thyme. Return cutlets to skillet and simmer until tender about 10 minutes.

 

[ChrismonDA]

Kyle, do you marinate your deer steaks because I have experiance cooking beef but not deer on the grill. Also I like my steaks beef med rare is that temp safe for venison..

 

[JSQ]

Unfortunately it's not red meat but this is how we treat the quail that are lucky enough to come home with us:

 

[agro1]

Yeah, but that dish was almost as good as my NY's...Clearly the presentation was better, but nuthin' comes close to good steak...
The above shot was taken right before Jack and I gorged on some tasty AZ quail.

I marinated 6 whole quail overnight. The marinade consisted of a high quality olive oil, Worchester sauce and a little white wine. I then mixed in some sage (so they'd feel at home) thyme and parsley and seasoned them with sea salt poultry rub, and fresh ground pepper.
Everything was prepared in a Pyrex dish just large enough to fit the 6 birds and the following...
After marinating overnight in the Pyrex dish I added baby carrots, pearl onions, sliced Portobello mushrooms, and halved Roma tomatoes. I drizzled olive oil over the veggies and a bit of salt and pepper. Then, about a 1/4 stick of butter, sliced into pieces and placed on top of the veggies. When placed in a preheated 375 degree oven the butter immediately melts, coats the birds and mixes in with the marinade making a great sauce. Cooking time, 35-45 mins.
Jack steamed some spinich and placed it around the bed of parmesan cous cous. The birds and the veggies were then strategically placed on top of the cous cous for quite a meal. You could also substitute some good mashed potatoes for the cous cous...Seriously tasty shit...

 

[Mike_Rupp]

Here's a good recipe for quail:

6 quail

Marinade:
2 tbl peanut oil
1.5 tbl sugar
3 tbl soy sauce
1 tsp 5 spice powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 minced garlic cloves
3 tbl rice wine
1 tbl minced ginger

Mix all of the marinade ingredients well and marinate the quail for a couple hours. I like to use a plastic bag for marinating so the meat is in more direct contact with the marinade.

Grill the quail. I like the quail medium; the cooking time is probably 3-4 minutes per side.

 

[agro1]

That sounds real good, Mike, thanks - I'll try it if my aim ever improves

 

[Roverlady]

If anyone has any good recipes for venison...please send them to me.....we have a freezer full of meat and I hate the way it tastes un-treated. Great in Chili, but I haven't found any other way that can hide the gaminess for my tastes.

 

[ChrismonDA]

I had a friend of mine make spaghetti with deer meat. When I get back to work I will get that recipe for you.

 

[DIIdude]

If anyone has any good recipes for venison...please send them to me.....we have a freezer full of meat and I hate the way it tastes un-treated. Great in Chili, but I haven't found any other way that can hide the gaminess for my tastes.

Most of mine we have made into burger and substitute it for about any dish that calls for burger. The only stakes I have cut are loins, it?s not just the taste but the fact it?s just tougher than regular meat.

One other thing we do with it is have the processors make summer sausage and the like with it. Franks, bologna, sausage, and just about any thing you can think of they offer. Cost about a $1.00-1.50 extra per pound but well worth it. My father also makes jerky with ours, the wife and kids eat it and they usually won?t touch the stuff.

 

[Roverlady]

Good point about the sausage, etc. I think we will have some this year.

They say the 'fish' meat is best and the tenderloins....I haven't tried either yet. Burger is good in chili too.

 

[joeb1]

If your meats are too "gamey" for your taste. I have used vinegar to mask this. Sometimes when cooking steaks, I will use some red-wine vinegar mask the gamey flavor for my wife. (make a rub with it using your normal spices.)

We used to use a marinade called Cattlebaron, It was vinegar based. That was the best stuff we have ever used for a marinade. I can't find it anymore though. Not even on the internet. Damn!

I personally am a salt and pepper kind of guy for my deer steaks. Oh.. and don't forget a beer with that.

Now for elk, Kyle.... if you want to get fancy. Put on your apron and try these....


Elk Tenderloin with Brandy Mustard Sauce

2 Elk tenderloins -- 8-10 oz Each
Sliced bacon
1/2 c Sliced mushrooms
1 tb Grey Poupon mustard
1/4 c Onion -- finely diced
1/4 c Bell pepper -- diced
1/2 c Brown gravy
1 1/2 oz Brandy
1 Clove garlic
Thyme
Ground black pepper

Remove silverskin from tenderloins and rub meat with split garlic cloves. Sprinkle lightly with thyme and black pepper. Wrap bacon around tenderloin and use toothpick to secure. Place in hot frypan and saute until bacon is cooked. Note: tenderloins should not be cooked past medium rare. Remove from pan and pour off excess grease. Place onion and bell pepper in pan for 30 seconds, add mushrooms and saute until tender.



Elk Parmesan

1 1/2 lb Elk steak, boneless
1/4 ts Garlic salt; to 1/2 ts.
1/8 ts Pepper
1/2 c Bread crumbs, Italian
1/2 c Cheese, Parmesan; grated
2 Eggs
1/4 c water
1/2 c Flour
1/4 c Oil, olive/vegetable
1 1/2 c Sauce, spaghetti
6 Cheese slices, Mozzarella
Noodles; hot cooked
Parsley, fresh; snipped


Cut meat into six pieces; pound with a meat mallet to tenderize. Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper.
Combine bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese in a bowl.

In another bowl, beat eggs with water. Dip both sides of meat into flour, then into egg mixture. Press each side of meat into crumb mixture; refrigerate for 20 minutes. Heat oil in a large skillet; brown meat on both sides.

Place in a greased 13x9x2" baking pan. Spoon 2 tablespoons spaghetti sauce over each piece. Cover with mozarella; top with remaining spaghetti sauce. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until meat is tender. Serve over noodles; garnish with parsley if desired.

 

[discostu]

Venison Tenderloin Stirfry

Simple, quick, and tasty.

We take the tenderloin and cut it into bite size pieces. Toss a couple straps of bacon on a skillet and remove after they are fully cooked. Save all the grease. Then throw in some diced onions and cook until almost clear, to preserve color of onions add salt and pepper now. At this point we add some Dales seasoning (if living up North I am sorry as this is probably not available), worstechester (who really knows how to spell it without looking?), soy and terriyaki. Let it sizzle down a little (condense) and then drop the venison in. Once the meat is mostly cooked we add some ketchup, stir, and remove from heat. Let the food sit for a minute until the venison is fully cooked and serve over rice. Oh, and add lots of garlic to keep the mosquitos at bay. All seasonings are to taste. This recipee i just a family one and every family member cooks it differently.



One thing a friend of ours does to remove the game flavor for his wife is to soak the meat in a coler of ice-water and sprite overnight. The general idea being that gasses draw most of the blood from the flesh thereby reducing the intense flavor of the meat. I imagine tonic or other soda could be used. If using tonic, save some for the gin.

Anyone have any more good antelope recipees???
\

 

[Nomar]

How about "jerky"? Just get one of those cheap dehydraters.

 

[andrewv]

Scotch Pheasant

Here's what's happening to the Pheasant in the oven:

1/4 cup Scotch whisky
2 oranges, cut into 1/8ths
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 (2 to 2 1/2-pound) pheasants
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 slices bacon, halved
Whisky-Cumberland Sauce:
1 cup Scotch whisky
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1 cup red currant jelly
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch cayenne

Serving suggestion: Wild rice


For the pheasant: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a bowl, toss the oranges with 3 tablespoons of the whisky. Rub the pheasants with the remaining 1 tablespoon of whisky and lightly season with salt and pepper. Stuff each pheasant with the oranges and 1 sprig of fresh thyme, and close the cavities with skewers. Wrap the breast of each pheasant with the bacon and set in a roasting pan. Roast the pheasants until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast registers 160 degrees F., about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand 10 minutes.

For the Whisky Cumberland Sauce: In a medium saucepan, combine the whisky, orange juice, and orange zest, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced by 50 percent in volume to about 3/4 cup. Add the currant jelly, salt, and cayenne, and stir well.

Cook until thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour into a decorative bowl. Cool slightly before serving.

Remove the bacon from the pheasant breasts, if desired, and cut each bird in half. Discard the oranges and thyme in the cavity. Serve hot with Whisky-Cumberland Sauce and wild rice.


I'll let you know in the am how it turns out.