Wild Game

Fiery BBQ Venison

Ingredients:

4 Venison steaks or medallions -(about 4 oz. per portion)
2 teaspoons Paprika
1 teaspoon Chili powder
1 teaspoon Ground cumin
1 teaspoon Ground coriander (cilantro)
1 teaspoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Dry mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon Dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon Good curry powder
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne

Coriander Avocado Cream

1/2 Avocado (~ 4 tablespoon)
3 tablespoons Sour cream
2 tablespoons Fresh chopped coriander
1/2 teaspoon Grated lime peel
4 dr Tabasco sauce
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil for basting
 
This Southwestern-style dish from the Cervena venison people packs an intense flavor punch.
To make the avocado cream, place all ingredients in a processor or blender and blend until smooth.
Combine all the meat spices in a large bowl. Place the venison in the bowl and mix to coat well. Brush off excess coating and let stand 1 hour. Heat the barbecue grill; oil the grill. Brown venison well over high heat, turning often and basting lightly with olive oil. When done to your taste, remove from grill, cover with foil and let stand about 5 minutes; serve with coriander cream.
 
4 servings

French's Simply Venison

Ingredients:
Deer ham parts
Adolph's Meat Tenderizer
Coarsely ground black pepper
Squeezable soft margarine
 
The secret to good venison is always to muscle the meat. Muscling means to remove each muscle individually. Once finished, the cook will have several cylindrical pieces resembling tenderloin. Place pieces in a Pyrex dish, sprinkle each side with meat tenderizer and coarsely ground black pepper. Puncture each side liberally with a sharp fork. Squeeze margarine on one side. Turn meat over and repeat process on other side. Broil on high heat for about 4 minutes. Turn meat over and broil until brown. Remember venison is not as good when it is overcooked.

4 servings  

Hawaiian Venison

Ingredients  
1 lb Boneless Elk/Deer round stk
1/4 cup Flour
2 tablespoon Margarine or butter
1/2 cup Boiling water
1 teaspoon Salt
2 ea 3 green peppers
1/2 cup Pineapple chunks

Sauce

2 1/2 tablespoon Cornstarch
1/2 cup Pineapple juice
1/4 cup Vinegar
1/4 cup Sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon Soy sauce
 
Cut steak into 1-inch cubes and dredge with flour. Brown meat cubes on all sides in hot fat. Add water and salt. Simmer gently until meat is tender. Clean green peppers and cut into 1-inch squares. Boil 10 minutes and drain. Add pepper squares and pineapple chunks to browned meat. SAUCE: Combine cornstarch, pineapple juice, vinegar, sugar and soy sauce and cook until sauce is clear and thick. Pour sauce over meat mixture and simmer5 minutes. Serve over Chinese noodles or cooked rice.
 

Dutch Oven Venison

Ingredients:
4 lb Shoulder roast of venison
Flour seasoned with salt and
Pepper
3 tablespoon Cooking oil
1 Onion, sliced
1 Green pepper, sliced
1 Garlic clove, minced
1 can Tomatoes (16-oz)
1 tablespoon Sugar
1/2 cup Dry red wine
1/2 teaspoon Thyme
1 Parsley sprig
4 Cloves, whole
20 Peppercorns
2 Bay leaves, crushed
12 Juniper berries, crushed
 
Marinate meat overnight in whole milk. Discard marinade. Pat dry. Roll roast in seasoned flour and brown in hot cooking oil in Dutch oven. When brown on all sides, remove the roast from the pot. In the same pan, sauté the onion, green pepper, and garlic over moderate heat for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add tomatoes, sugar, wine, and thyme to the Dutch oven and heat.

Place the parsley, cloves, peppercorns, and bay leaves on a piece of double-thickness cheese cloth, and tie with a string into a bag. Add the bag to pot. When the mixture is boiling, add the browned roast and baste with sauce. Cover and cook at 350 degrees F. for about 2 1/2 hours, until tender. Baste several times with pan juices during the roasting, slice thinly, and serve with pan juices.

4 servings

Venison Kabobs

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Cranberry juice
1/4 cup Olive oil
1/4 teaspoon Fresh garlic
1/4 teaspoon Onion salt
1/4 teaspoon Celery salt
1/4 teaspoon Black pepper
1/4 teaspoon Sweet basil
1/8 teaspoon Ginger
Mushroom
Onions
Green peppers
Cherry tomatoes
 
 
Mix juice, oil and spices. Marinate the venison kabobs overnight or at least 4 hours in the refrigerator Thread the kabob on skewers. Alternate skewered meat with mushrooms, onion and green peppers. Grill over hot fire for several minutes. Do not overcook

While cooking, baste meat and vegetables several times with leftover marina Serve on a warmed platter.
 
1 serving  

Barbecued Turkey Legs

4 turkey drumsticks -- thawed
salt and pepper -- to taste
1/4 cup catsup
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon hickory smoke salt
1 tablespoon instant minced onion
Sprinkle turkey drums with salt and pepper. Place in large crock pot. Combine catsup , molasses, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, hickory smoked salt and
instant minced onion. Pour over turkey. Cover and cook on Low for 7-9 hours.
4 servings

Deep-Fried Wild Turkey

1 ea Wild turkey, whole, dressed
2 1/2 ga Peanut oil
1 cup Italian salad dressing
1/2 cup Lemon juice, fresh
3 Tablespoon Onion juice
3 Tablespoon Garlic juice
2 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon Liquid smoke
1 1/3 oz Cayenne
1/4 cup Salt
 
Mix all ingredients except turkey, pot and peanut oil to make a marinade. Let stand overnight in refrigerator. Use meat injecting needle to inject all through turkey. Put turkey and marinade in a large plastic bag and keep in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 days. Remove in time to bring to room temp before cooking. Heat oil in a 40-60 quart pot to 325 degrees (Use candy thermometer). Immerse turkey completely and cook for 4 minutes per pound. Place a pie tin with holes in the bottom in the bottom of the deep fryer to prevent sticking. This is supposed to be a red-hot favorite. Try one.
1 servings  

Honey Roast Pheasant

Pheasant season in my area always came around Thanksgiving, this recipe has pleased many for the holidays.

Ingredients:
1 pheasant
¾ cup honey
½ cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon msg.-optional
 
Combine all ingredients but the pheasant in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat until peanut butter is melted, stirring frequently. Place the pheasant in a roasting pan. Pour the sauce over the bird, cover and place into the refrigerator overnight. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, basting frequently with the drippings. This recipe goes well with fresh vegetables, mash potatoes, gravy, and macaroni and cheese.    

Mushroom Goose

This is another holiday favorite in our house. Duck cooks up well with this recipe also.
Ingredients:
1 Goose Dressed
1/3 Cup Bacon Drippings
2 Can Mushroom Soup
1/4 Cup Water
1 Medium Sliced White Onion
3 Cubes Chicken Bouillon
1 Clove Garlic Minced
Thyme, Marjoram to taste
Cut the goose into serving size portions. Brown well with bacon drippings in a Dutch oven. When well browned put the goose along with all other ingredients in a baking dish.
Cover and place in the oven, cook at 300 degrees for approximately 1 hour.
Serve with all the traditional holiday extras!
 

Game Birds

2 Cornish hens, or 6 quail, butterflied*
Teriyaki
4 Oranges
1 Lemon
Finely chopped or pressed Garlic to taste
Black Pepper
You'll also need two basting brushes and two plastic rubbish bags. Juice the oranges and put the juice in one of the rubbish bags. Grate the peel off of
half of one of the oranges and add it to the juice. Juice the lemon and grate the peel off of about a quarter of it, and add both the juice and the peel to the orange juice and peel. Put in half of the birds. Mix the teriyaki, garlic, and black pepper in a rubbish bag and add the rest of the
birds. Allow to sit in the fridge at least four hours, although overnight is better. I've always cooked them on the grill, although they could be cooked in the oven, I suppose. Baste regularly, turning once, until done, usually about 25 minutes depending on the size of the birds.
There are many variations to this recipe. Try apple juice with freshly ground fennel in it. Or put some small pieces of cayenne pepper in either the citrus or teriyaki marinade. I generally serve half of each style of bird to myself and my guest, so both get the citrus and the salt.

2 servings
 

Barbecued Vietnamese Five-Spice Cornish Game Hens

From Stephen Ceideburg
4 Cornish game hens (14 ounces each)
4 Garlic cloves
2 Shallots, or 3 green onions,
-white part only
1 1/2 tablespoons Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Five spice powder
1 1/2 tablespoon Vietnamese fish sauce
-(nouc mam)
1 1/2 teaspoon Light soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon Dry sherry
 
This aromatic barbecued game hen can be easily served Western style with rice, cole slaw or a green salad. [But it would be better with Thai cucumber salad or Vietnamese carrot salad. Halve the hens through the breast. Flatten with the palm of your hand. In a mortar or food processor, pound or mince garlic, shallots and sugar. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour mixture over hens; marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight in refrigerator. Set hens, skin-side down, on grill and barbecue over medium coals for 15 minutes. Turn and barbecue 15 minutes longer or until they are thoroughly cooked. Serve with Nuoc Cham dipping sauce.

4 servings

Marinated Grilled Duck

Filet the breast meat off the bone.
Marinate in your favorite bottled Italian dressing (vinegar and oil
type) for at least 24 hours. Longer is better.
Grill outdoors like you would grill chicken.
 

Barbecued Duck Aloha

2 ducklings, 4 pounds each
salt and pepper
1/2 Cup chopped onion
1/2 Cup chopped celery
1 apple, chopped
1/4 Cup Sherry wine
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 Tablespoon lemon juice
If I recall, I used Cornish game hens instead of duck on this recipe. It should work well for quail or dove. I did not cook these on the rotisserie as the recipe suggests. I cooked them in the crock pot, or was it the oven? Anyway ...
Prepare hot coals. Season ducklings with salt and pepper. Fill cavities with a mixture of onions, celery and apple. Clip off wing tips of ducklings. Run spit through birds lengthwise, catching the bird in the fork of the wishbone. Cook on a rotisserie until tender - about 2 hours. Brush with a mixture of sherry, soy sauce, ginger and lemon
juice during the last half hour of cooking.
 

Wild Duck

Bake at 250 degrees for 4 hours in following sauce and baste.
Sauce:
1/2 Cup white vinegar or white wine
4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 Cup soy sauce
Sauce to serve with baked duck: "Duck Sauce"
1/2 Cup red currant jelly
1/4 Cup catsup
1/4 Cup port wine
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoon butter
Serve sauce warm. Let everyone spoon sauce over their portions
Variation: Stuff duck with raw potato (I don't know if that's whole, diced, grated, one or several - probably why I've never tried to make this).
 

Favorite recipe for Pheasant

Cut pheasant into boneless "nuggets". Coat pieces in the next four ingredients IN ORDER (quantities depend on amount of meat you have - I start small and add more if needed): milk flour (can add salt and pepper to taste)
egg, beaten corn flake crumbs (I use prepackages Kellogg's Cornflake Crumbs)
Pan fry or deep fry until golden and crisp. Drain on paper
towels. Excellent dipped in one of these bottles salad dressings: Creamy Cucumber, Creamy Italian, or Ranch.
Caution: watch out for those kitchen nibblers, you may not have enough to put on the table!
 

Pheasant

Cut pheasant into boneless nuggets. Roll in next 2 ingredients IN ORDER.
egg, beaten cracker crumbs Brown in small amount of oil. Remove from oil, place in roaster. Sauté
green pepper, onion, and fresh mushrooms in oil. Add to roaster. In saucepan, mix:
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can milk
1/2 cup sherry
Stir and heat through.
Pour sauce over pheasant. Roast at 250 degrees for 2 hours or until done.  

Special Dutch Oven Pheasant

2 large pheasants, 2-1/2 to 3 pounds each, cut into 8 pieces, breasts halved
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 scallions (or green onions), finely chopped
6 fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cracked black peppercorns
3/4 cup green olives, seeded and halved
2 cups fresh plums, diced

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Wash and pat dry pheasant pieces. Place in the bottom of a clay cooker or a Dutch oven pot. Add oil, wine, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, scallions, basil, parsley, pepper, olives and 1 cup plums. Stir, cover and place in oven for about 1-1/2 hours. About 15 minutes before completion, add remaining 1 cup plums. Stir and return to oven.
Serve with brown rice and crusty French bread.
Serves 4-6.

Smoked Pheasant Salad

Ingredients:

2 large pheasant breasts, boneless, skinless
1/2 cup fresh apple cider
1/2 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning or chili powder

For the dressing:

1/2 cup shelled pistachio nuts
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh dates
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 teaspoon fleshly ground pepper
1/2 head green leaf lettuce, washed
1/2 pound mixed baby greens
 

Preparation:

Trim the pheasant breasts, wash and pat dry. Mix cider and Old Bay Seasoning together in a glass or ceramic container. Immerse pheasant breasts into the solution, cover and refrigerate 2-4 hours or overnight.
Light a charcoal fire in a backyard smoker.

When the charcoals are gray and hot remove the pheasant breasts from the cure, pat dry and lay on the wire rack over the wood chips. Cover and smoke for 1-1/2 hours. Replenish charcoal and wood chips as needed. Remove pheasant breasts, cool in refrigerator for at least one hour.

To prepare the dressing:
In a mortar and pestle, a clean coffee grinder or with a sharp knife, pulverize the pistachio nuts until they are finely chopped. Combine pistachios, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dates, chives, cumin, salt and pepper in a small mixing bowl and whisk together. Transfer to a serving container and set aside.

In four individual salad bowls, lay a thick bed of green leaf lettuce on the bottom. Pile baby greens mixture in the center of each. Set aside.

Remove pheasant from refrigerator. Slice breasts the long way into 1/4-inch x 1/4 strips and fan around the top of the baby greens mix. Drizzle salad dressing over top, making sure you spoon out plenty of the pistachios and dates onto each dish (they may have settled to the bottom). Serve with lemon wedges on the side.

Pheasant With Apple

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2-1/2 to 3 cups vegetable oil
2 large pheasants, cut into 8 pieces each
2 medium white onions, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
3/4 cup apple-flavored brandy
3 cups fresh apple cider
4-6 medium Macintosh apples, peeled, cored and sliced

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine flour with salt and pepper in a large brown paper bag. Shake to mix and add the pheasant pieces, 3-4 at a time. Shake well. Remove the pheasant, shake off excess flour and set aside.

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat (375 degrees F). Brown for 6-8 minutes on both sides in small batches to avoid crowding. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on paper towels. (Recipe can be prepared ahead up to this point and refrigerated.)

Drain off all but about 1/4 cup of the oil from the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the onions and reduce by two-thirds, about 45 minutes or until they begin to turn brown and caramelize. Remove the onions from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Pour off any excess oil and de-glaze the pan with the apple brandy, scraping together the browned bits in the bottom of the pan. Reduce about 1-2 minutes and add the cider. Bring to a boil, immediately reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 4-5 minutes.

Return the pheasant and onions to the pan, stir, covering the pheasant with some sauce and onions. Cover and place in the oven for about 1 to 1-1/2 hours. About 30 minutes before completion, turn pheasant pieces, add the apples, stir and cover.

Serve pheasant with a generous amount of apples, onions and sauce ladled over each plate.
Serves 6-8.  

More Pheasant

Ingredients:
1 pheasant
1 bay leaf
2 whole cloves (or more to taste)
1 clove of garlic
1 Tablespoon parsley, chopped fine
2 Tablespoons celery leaves, chopped fine
1 slice lemon (peeled and chopped)
6-12 juniper berries (or more to taste)
1 tangerine (peeled whole)
1 1/2 cups port (*NOT* "cooking port", real port. "Cooking port" has salt added.
1/4 LB larding pork (Bacon will do)
5 onion slices (slice thin)
2 Tablespoons mushroom peelings
1 cup chicken stock
10 peppercorns (bruised)
1/4 cup butter napoleon (a tangerine liqueur; you could probably substitute Counter in a pinch. Use more or less, to taste.)
1 cup sour cream

Procedure

Preheat oven to
Rub pheasant inside and out with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with port. Stuff with bay leaf, cloves, garlic, parsley, celery leaves, lemon, juniper berries and tangerine.

Sew the body cavity of the pheasant shut. Moisten the larding pork or bacon with port, and cover the breast.
To the roasting pan add onion slices, mushroom peelings, 1 cup of port, chicken stock, salt to taste, peppercorns, more juniper berries to taste, and Mandarin liqueur.

Roast 40-45 minutes, basting every 10 minutes at least.

Strain gravy. Let stand and skim fat. Just before serving, add sour cream.

Notes

(We usually stick the whole cloves into the tangerine, insert all the other spices into the body cavity, then add the tangerine.)
Some of these ingredients may be hard to find; feel free to omit them. "Mushroom peelings" are simply mushroom stems and leftovers, chopped fine. "Bruised peppercorns" are peppercorns that have been hit with a wooden mallet. Bon appetit, and good luck!

Fruit Duck Breast

About the only wild game I have tried and did not like is DUCK. That is, until I came across a recipe a couple of years ago and modified it to my taste. I think you will agree this is the easiest "good tasting" duck recipe you will come across.
 
Ingredients:
Half Breasts of Duck, Boned
1/4 Cup Mushroom Caps
1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1/4 Cup Orange Juice
2 Tablespoon Grated Orange Peel
1/2 Cup Can Peaches, Pureed
1/2 Cup Can Pineapple, Pureed
1/3 Cup Whipping Cream
1 Teaspoon Bacon Drippings
2 Tablespoon Butter
1/2 Teaspoon Chopped Fresh Garlic
1 Teaspoon Tomato Paste
1 Cup Chicken Broth
1 Tablespoon Clover Honey