Tips, Tricks & Recipes for cooking wild game!

[Alberta_huntress_83]

Other than making Crown BBQ sauce I haven't cooked with it, and I know its not game but, I'm sure you could find a way to enjoy these after a game dinner lol.

Me personally, would reduce the sugar by HALF and only use 3/4c as Crown is all sugar, and they would for sure be too sweet with 1.5c of white sugar. The cocoa will balance it out but the cookies turn out darker than the picture.



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[Love2Hunt]

Hey everyone,   If you have a roast or big steak that may not necessarily be a tender cut.  Why not try the Cook it in a "COOK IN A BAG  method.  I tried this thinking it was a joke...and it is unbelievable how the meat is tender and delicious.  Make sure you cut off most of the fat, cartilages, clear thin skin, etc. 
Once the meat is ready, make some 1 inch cuts in meat about 1 inch deep and place butter mixed with sweet basil in each cut.  (I also put a garlic clove, This is optional, depends on your taste.)  No salt!   Now your ready to put your meat in the cooking bag.  Follow the instruction on the "COOKING BAG" package.   Put meat in bag and add an envelope of Lipton Onion Soup Mix, half on meat and rest in bag.  If your roast is small just use half the onion soup mix  We all  know there is a lot of sodium in dry soup mix.  Pepper to taste. Cook your raost as per temperature marked on package.    You'll see you familly and friends will love this.  Good luck.
(Never heard of "COOK IN A BAG" packages, let me know - I'll send you a package.  Awesome easy cooking method.

Another method using the oven again;  Cut the meat in small chunk, brown quickly in pan using small amount at the time, otherwise the meat will make to much moisture.  You need to brown the meat not boil it.  Depending on the amount of meat you have, Add 1/2 to 1 pack of Onion Soup Mix, 1/2 to 1 cup of beef broth and a can of cream of mushrooms, bake at 325d oven for a few hours.   At the end add fresh Mushrooms (optional) 
Sometimes, when I have lots of company coming... I place a roaster full of meat in my oven over night at 250d with the onion soup mix, extra chopped onion pepper, spices but NOT THE CREAM OF MUSHROOM.   I add the mushroom soup the next day when ready to serve.  Makes a nice thick sauce.    ENJOY!   

[Alberta_huntress_83]

Where would one find a bag that you can boil? I can't recall ever seeing them, but I know what you're talking about! I don't imagine using a ziplock is a good idea?

Either way, sounds great, and I think the concept is great for hunting season to premake some boil in a bag meals for easy storage and prep/clean up.

Great share! I will post up my Corned Elk recipe later or tomorrow. Another of Georgia's recipes which I farted around with (like any recipe). It was my first time corning anything, and the recipe called for Flank, but I used a bone-in shoulder cut and it turned out simply amazing. Brought it in for my crew at work and they ate the entire shoulder for lunch LOL. I think I've found a new fave way to do meat....you could do a whole cooler worth of roasts like that and freeze your meat after and never have to buy storebought deli meat for the year! It tastes 100x better than store bought processed meats anyways, and way better for you.

Anyhoo! Looking forward to more info about the boil in a bag bags! Thanks

[Alberta_huntress_83]

Yellow Pepper & Creamy Mushroom Deer Steaks

Made this yesterday, and it was excellent. You can use any sweet peppers you like (red, orange, yellow or my least favourite - green lol). And you can serve with brown or white rice, buttered egg noodles, or mashed potatoes. All are great!

4 venison steaks (I defrosted a sirloin and cut into 1" thick steaks)
2 onions sliced (one yellow, one white)
1 sweet pepper sliced (yellow, orange or red)
6-8 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp red wine vinegar
Montreal Steak spice
Maggi Seasoning (if you don't have this use soya sauce)
A few dashes Worcestershire Sauce
Black Pepper (to taste)
2 tsp honey dijon (or regular dijon or grainy mustard)
Can of cream of mushroom soup
1/3c whole milk

In a non-reactive bowl or ziplock bag, tenderize the steaks in the red wine vinegar for a few minutes. Just enough to coat the meat (this will cook off in the pan, but take away any "game" taste and tenderize your meat). Brown off deer steaks in a med-high pan in some butter. Season with Montreal Steak spice as you get a good brown on. Remove from pan, set aside "tent" with foil on a plate. Keep those juices!

While your pan is still hot, throw in your sliced up onions. Let them coat in those butter and deer juices from the pan and cook down for a few minutes til translucent. Then add your sliced peppers and garlic, cook down about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Season with pepper. (I don't use salt only because Maggi or Soya sauce has salt in it)

When peppers are soft, add the can of cream of mushroom soup, milk, the Maggi or soya, pepper, dijon, worcesteshire. Place your deer steaks in a glass baking dish single layer, pour any juices from the plate into cream sauce, mix well, then cover the steaks with the sauce. Wrap pan with foil and bake for 45min-1hr @ 350F. Let stand a few minutes before serving. Serve with choice of side. I made brown rice and buttered egg noodles. But smashed potatoes goes well too

(If you like "stroganoff" style you can grate a bit of whole nutmeg and crush a few dried tarragon leaves into your sauce before you pour it over the steaks and bake)

[Alberta_huntress_83]

Corned Elk

4 quarts water
2 cups kosher salt
1/4c white sugar (if using brown sugar, use 1/2c)
1/2 tsp cracked black peppercorns
1/2 tsp cracked mustard seeds (black or yellow)
1/2 tsp cracked corriander seeds
1 Bay leaf (I use a few)
2 whole cloves
4 allspice or juniper berries
2-6 cloves garlic, crushed
5 lbs Elk brisket (I used Bone-in shoulder roast)
2 onions, sliced

In a large, non-reactive pot, heat and whisk together 1 cup of the water and salt, sugar, and spices until the salt and sugar have dissolved.

Turn off the heat and add the remaining water. Place the brisket in a large plastic brine bag and add the brine (I used the ceramic crock pot). If using a bowl, weight the meat with a plate so that it is completely submerged.

Refrigerate 3 weeks.

After 3 weeks, remove the brisket from the brine and rince well. Discard the brine. The Elk (or moose) is now corned and ready to be cooked.

Place in a large pot and barely cover with water. Add the onions and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium, cover the pot, and simmer for 2 1/2 hours or until meat is tender. (If using bone-in shoulder like I did, you'll be able to tell the meat is ready when the bone separates from the meat)

To serve, slice meat across the grain. Serve with sauerkraut and mustard.  I also made a "horsey sauce" for this which went excellent, with some sliced dill pickles on rye bread.

1/2 c mayonaise
1/2 tbsp horseraddish
2 tsp  lemon juice
A few dashes worcestershire sauce
Cracked black pepper to taste

Also try: other antlered game or bison

[Alberta_huntress_83]

Omg these looked amazing! I'm sure you could use any ground meat. There are step-by-step photo instructions if you follow this link. The images are great if you've never made tzaziki before.

http://foodforhunters.blogspot.ca/2012/08/bison-kafta-kebabs-with-tzatziki-sauce.html?m=1

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 7-10 minutes
Ingredients:
Kebabs
- 1 lb. ground bison
- 2 shallots, minced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tsp. cumin
- 2 tsp. coriander
- 2 tsp. Hungarian paprika (or regular)
- 2 tsp. mint
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. Kosher/sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Tzatziki Sauce 
- 3 tbs. olive oil
- 1 tbs. white wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced finely
- 1/2 tsp. Kosher/sea salt
- 1/4 tsp. white pepper
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt (Yoplait or similar)
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
- 1 tbs. fresh dill, chopped (or 1/2 tbs. dried)

- skewers or Popsicle sticks (soaked in water for 20 minutes)
- olive oil, for brushing


Doesn't it look just lovely? Beautiful light red color.

1. Place 1 lb. of ground bison in a medium-sized bowl. Add minced shallots, garlic, chopped parsley and mint.

Then add the spices: 2 tsp. cumin, 2 tsp. coriander, 2 tsp. paprika, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste).

We always opt to use Hungarian paprika in every recipe that calls for paprika. It's like regular paprika, but way more flavorful. It's up to you.

Combine meat ingredients well. Your hands are the best cooking tools. Set aside for 15 minutes. Let the flavors marry. Beware of house flies.

Prepare grill.

2. To make the Tzatziki Sauce, seed peeled cucumber by scraping with a spoon. 

Combine diced cucumber in a medium-sized bowl with 3 tbs. olive oil, 1 tbs. white wine vinegar, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. white pepper.

In another bowl, whisk together 1 cup of Greek yogurt and 1 cup of sour cream.

Add the yogurt/sour cream mixture to the cucumber.

Finally, add 1 tbs. of freshly chopped dill. Fold ingredients together. Add more salt, if necessary. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

3. Back to the meat. Squeeze bison mixture onto Popsicle sticks or skewers. Be careful not to pack on too much because the meat may fall off when you pick up the sticks.

4. Brush kebabs with olive oil. Then grill over direct heat for 4-5 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.

YUM! Your neighbors will be jealous.

Serve with Tzatziki Sauce. Couscous, Greek salad and pita bread are perfect for these kebabs. You can even make shawarma!








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[Alberta_huntress_83]

In light of some of our more recent members' harvests as of late I felt compelled to share some more of Georgia's game tips for seasonal critters.

Rabbit aging is deemed optional, and if aged should only be aged a MAXIMUM of 2-3 days (skin and gut, then chill in a cooler). The meat will benefit from an overnight soak of ice-cold salt water.

For those who eat squirrel, aging is not reccomended. But again, will benefit from an overnight soak of ice-cold saltwater.

Turkey IS recommended you age for 3-6 days. Age the meat, hanging whole by the feet with the feathers and skin on and the guts intact, at a temperature of 34F-37F.
***3-5 days is best for a smaller bird, 5-6 days for a larger one.  If the bird is damaged, pluck and gut it and place it on a wire rack over a pan in the refrigerator, covered in a wet cloth to prevent drying.***

If you want to read more about Georgia Pellegrini's recipes and hunts (my new fave Author and chef gone hunter) you can buy her book, its called 'Girl Hunter' and I have already read it 3x LOL. Ill post a few rabbit recipes. I myself love making rabbit game pie. That's not georgia's recipe though lol

Has anyone got a Spring turkey yet? I haven't seen any posts but recall hearing of some peeps going out.

Happy Hunting and Healthy Eating, folks!

[BruceW]

Smoked Pike........tis the season!

Fillet the pike, rinse fillets in cold water.
Make brine:
Approx 2 qts water
about 2/3 cup kosher salt
about 2/3 cup brown sugar
a little onion powder (tsp??)
about a tbsp of dried dill
Bring brine to simmer, or even light boil, let cool.

Soak fillets in brine in fridge overnight.
Next day rinse fillets in cold water, place on racks out of the sun in an area without much breeze for an hour or so (this is important, the fillets will start to look shiny, that glaze will keep the moisture in)

Smoke fillets with heavy smoke at around 150-160 for 3-5 hrs.  Start checking them after 3 hrs regularly.  They're done when you're happy with how dry they are.

The meat pulls easily from the bones, and it makes a delicious snack.

[josh gelinas]

mmmmmmm smoked pike

[deerman]

I got two words, SLOW COOKER.  Lots of wild game is great eating just as it is.  But some needs the help of a slow cooker.

I always save the heart of game if it ain't too badly shot up (I like to shoot them in the heart).  It used to be more a tradition as I don't really like heart.  Until I started doing it in the slow cooker with some garlic and salsa.  Mmmmmmmmm tender.

We raise our own broiler chickens (to supplement the grouse harvest) and when we butcher we save the hearts, livers and gizzards.  Gizzards in the slow cooker with salsa is really good.

I love to hunt geese in a field over decoys.  Calling in those honkers and shooting them when they set their wings to land.  But geese are best plucked and stuffed.  It takes a lot of time and effort to do that so most get breasted out.  Then they are ready for the slow cooker with, you guessed it salsa.

[deerman]

Smoked PIKE!  I love em.  But my wife has a pickled pike spell that rivals any pickled herring you can buy.  A great way to get some fish in your diet.

[BruceW]

Not surprisingly, we're running on moose again(woohoo).  First thing I did was dust off my old antelope jerky recipe:  (if you don't have a smoker you can also do it in the oven, on the lowest setting likely with the door cracked open)

For 8-10 lbs meat (cut with the grain approx. 1/4" thick in strips
2/3 cup worsteshire sauce
2/3 cup soy sauce (don't cheap out on these, buy the good sauces)
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp pepper
1 heaping tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder

Mix it up, soak the meat in it at least overnight in the fridge, mixing it a few times so everything get's soaked up good.

Next day pat on paper towels, put on racks and into the smoker.
Heavy smoke for a good 3 hrs or so at no more than ab out 160 degrees.  I personally smoke everything with oak.  It's a nice smoky but neutral flavor.  Only other wood I use is maple for hams and bacon.
Another 2-3 hrs at 160-180 degrees until it the amount of dried out you like.  Keep in mind it'll be a little drier than it feels when hot.  I take it out when if you bend it in half some of the grains split but it won't break in half.
I vacum seal it to freeze, always keep a quart sealer in the fridge with some it.  My recent experience 8lbs of meat will last just over a week. 

[BruceW]

These next recipe's I can't take credit for, found them on the internet from a lady in Alaska.  All 3 are really, really great.

Moosey joes--------------

2 lbs moose meat
1 med. onion diced
3/4 cup brown sugar
1Tbsp yellow prepared mustard
1/2 cup bbq sauce
2 Tbsp ketchup

Start the onion, when it's translucent brown the meat, (I use a potato masher to make the meat into small pieces once it's browned)
Add the fixin's and let it bubble for an hour or two.
Serve on open buns.  Nummy!


Moose Meatloaf ----------------------------------
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (or crushed crackers)
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp sage
2 Tbsp parsley
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/2 onion diced
+- 2 lbs meat. 

Mix it up and bake for 50 minute's at 350 in a loaf pan, then add sauce:

2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup

Bake for another 10-15 minute's.  With the milk in the meatloaf before adding the sauce I skimmed the floaty bit off and put it on broil for a couple minutes to dry the top of it.  Very nice meatloaf.  For supper tonight having leftover meatloaf sandwiches.


Steak Marinade. ---------------------
Tried this last night.  Very nice.
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup worsteshire sauce
1 Tbsp garlic powder
3 Tbsp Basil
pepper

Let soak for about 6 hrs. then grill as normal.  Do not rinse off marinade, in fact brush on as you would bbq sauce.  This one's going to be a staple in our house.

[BruceW]

If anyone's interested I can also post my bacon and ham recipe's.  Right now I've got 5 moose roasts and 3 bear roasts in brine, and two small slabs of moose brining for bacon.

I've come to the conclusion any meat you brine for hams will taste like hams;  I think you're tasting the brine and the maple smoke, nothing more.  If you've never made game hams, they taste exactly like hams, "used" to taste when they were made locally with care;  only difference is the meat is a darker pink than pork hams.

Figured I'd try baconing some moose meat as well, figure just have to have oil in the pan to cook it........we'll see in about 10 days. 

[sporthunting]

Keep posting these Bruce I love to try new recipes

[BruceW]

You bet, I'm always on the lookout as well.  Here's what's in the smoker today, another batch of jerky and a small trial batch of, "old fashioned balogna" from a kit.  The baloney got up to to temp, just had some on a bun, pretty nice, sort of has that baloney taste, but not strong.  Be good for sandwiches.


Anyway, Ham brine:
In a large pot 2l of water
3/4 cup kosher salt
1 packed cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons pink salt (morton's tender quick)
2 heaping tbsp's garlic powder
dozen or so whole cloves (only use whole cloves, if you use the crushed cloves you'll inject the bit's into the ham and it'll leave black spots)

Make mulitple's of the brine as required.  I usually multiply it by 4.  I bought a plastic garbage can I use only to soak hams in.  A fridge is too cold for the brine to work.  Fall in the garage is usually about right, or if you have an old round top fridge that has the, "vacation" setting that'll work too.

You need an injector.  Most sporting stores sell the stainless one's.  Prior to adding the hams to the brine inject them heavily from the bone out, in all directions.  Put them in the brine.  Inject daily or every other day for between a week and 10 days.  You can use a dinner plate to hold them below the surface of the brine.  Injecting is the key, anyplace the brine doesn't reach will just be a roast.
After they're done soaking, rinse them off and let them soak in cold water for an hour.

Into the smoker with maple chips.  I cold smoke ours for 7 hrs with heavy smoke, then raise the temp in the hams to 160.  Let them cool and package.  Cook like any ham.  You don't realize you've forgotten how good ham really is until you start making your own.  Once you do, you'll notice next time you're in the grocery store how pale and unappetizing the store bought hams look.

Bacon
I've got two small slabs of moose in this brine just to try it, only done it with pork before.  I'll have to use oil in the pan to cook it but wanted to try it.

3-5lb slab of meat (I'm trying a slab off the moose brisket)
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 tsp pink salt

Rub on both sides of the meat, place it in a freezer bag.
Pour in/all over a generous 1/2 cup of maple syrup  (I've tried it with brown sugar as well, it's good, but maple syrup is better)
Put the bag in the fridge, turn it over every morning for a week.

After a week take it out, rinse it off, and it's bacon.  I cold smoke mine while I'm doing the hams but the smoking is just for flavor, the bacon after a week is ready to slice and cook.

[BruceW]

Smoked the hams and moose bacon yesterday, so had to try the bacon last night.  Of course didn't taste anything like fatty bacon, but was both sweet and salty at the same time, really quite nice.  Was kind of surprised it didn't have a strong maple flavor though, not sure if it's worth spending on the maple syrup instead of just using brown sugar.  Have to think about that.  Will definitely be making more when this is gone.

[walleyes]

I've been wanting to try a deer ham from a young animal for years now I just never seem to be home long enough in the fall to do the brine and they say it works much better on a non frozen piece of meat.

Let us know how that ham turns out.

[BruceW]

The hams are always Very good, go ahead and try it, you won't be disappointed.  Just keep in mind it's imperative to inject the hell out of it, if not daily, then every other day.  By the end of the week or 10 days when you inject it, no matter where you inject it, it should run out other places.

This'll be the first time with bear hams, but have done many deer moose and pork.  Something else I found out by trial one day when I had space in the canner was to pressure can leftover ham in cup jars, when you open them, just give it a swirl with a butterknife and it'll break up into small fibres, great for sandwiches, just like the storebought canned ham except much, much tastier. 

When we cook a ham I'll post a pic.

[David]

I encourage you all to have a look at of couple cook books written by a hunting buddies mother.. She spent a lot of time cooking at the hunting lodges in Churchill Manitoba
Ther called
Blueberries and polar bears
Black currants and caribou