think you got game?

[aaustin]

So, after 2+ years of having barely enough room in my NYC freezer for a couple of ice trays and a loaf of half-eaten bread, I've moved to the country and I'm lucky to have both an elk and an antelope in the freezer right now....ah, the joys of having access to wild game right outside our door.

We've become amazingly adept at perfectly roasting our loins and either pan-searing and finishing in the oven, or grilling our steaks. But as any hunter (or hunter's sig other) knows, that leaves a huge amount of burger. When I say a huge amount, I mean probably upwards of 50lbs....

I've learned that adding a fattier meat to wild game burger helps, ie when I make meatballs I grind up some fatty pork to mix into the elk burger and sausage (adding full-fat Italian pork sausage works too), because wild game (vs farm-raised, which is what you get in restaurants) is very lean.

What I'm needing is some inspiration, since one can only eat so much elk meatloaf. I'd also love to see ideas for other dishes, especially really successful game roasts. We've done a couple of classic wine braises in the le creuset, but any great Indian recipes would be very much appreciated (great eating here in Jackson Hole, but Indian is one thing we do not have and I crave it! being that I lived in Seattle and NYC prior).

Thanks for any ideas!

Edited October 30, 2005 by aaustin (log)

[Jmahl]

I have enjoyed Craig Claiborne's receipe for Venison Goulash both with either venison or elk. I have also prepared a mixed Goulash with excellent results.

Served with good mashed or boiled potatoes and red cabbage. Outstanding.

See New York Times Cook Book, revised edition 1990.

[aaustin]

Thanks for the idea! My fiance's family is very big into goulash so this would be a good one to try over the holidays.

Edited October 30, 2005 by aaustin (log)

[Smithy]

One thing you could do with the ground meat is to make kofta - basically, a Middle Eastern treatment where the ground meat mixture is wrapped around skewers and grilled, then served with good sauces. I'm pretty sure there's discussion about kofta over on the Middle Eastern forum.

Chili con carne, and spaghetti sauce with ground game, are two other standard ground meat treatments. I don't think they do anything to show off the flavor, necessarily, but they use the meat well.

As for the un-ground meat (you still have some of that left too, yes?0 I've had good success with venison stroganoff, using my favorite recipe for beef stroganoff and substituting deer meat instead. I also am very fond of marinading the venison using my mother's shish-ka-bob recipe then grilling the meat (this works for kebabs or steaks) or searing the meat in a pan and then building a pilaf around it. I haven't had antelope in ages, but as I recall the recipe worked just as well on antelope.

[srhcb]

Find a copy of "Bull Cook and Authentic Historical Recipes and Practices" by George and Berthe Herter.

Herters, one of the first mail order hunting/fishing/camping catalogs, was located in Waseca, MN. The cook book was first published in 1960, and is great fun to read.

Some articles and recipes include: "Where to get Good Buffalo & Elk

Meat", "Doves Wyatt Earp", "Swedish Muskrat", and "Snapping Turtle Stew".

SB (my grandfather had the book)

Edited October 31, 2005 by srhcb (log)

[snowangel]

There are a few other topics about game:

Venison, One Dead Deer

Venison Loin

Venison and Squab

Wild Game Recipes

Book Recommendations

GAME!!!

All Game Menu

Braising Bambi

I'm all searched out for a few minutes!

[JEL]

make some cured sausage........

a hard salami, or a summer sausage would be killer.....

[aaustin]

Find a copy of "Bull Cook and Authentic Historical Recipes and Practices" by George and Berthe Herter.

Herters, one of the first mail order hunting/fishing/camping catalogs, was located in Waseca, MN.  The cook book was first published in 1960, and is great fun to read.

Some articles and recipes include: "Where to get Good Buffalo & Elk

Meat", "Doves Wyatt Earp", "Swedish Muskrat", and "Snapping Turtle Stew".

SB (my grandfather had the book)

←

Excellent! I'll try to fine a copy of this. I actually collect funny (or what I consider funny) cookbooks, including the campbell's soup cookbook with recipes like, "cheddar soup: open 1 can campbell's cheese soup, add one can milk, stir...." there's also a picture in this cookbook of a tv dinner and on the tray with the mixed peas and carrots, salsbury steak and such, is a little toy bomb. pretty frickin' funny.

[aaustin]

I should also mention that I'm in the midst of making an all-day meatball sauce. I start by grinding fatty pork (they call it stew meat at my grocery store) into elk sausage and elk burger. I throw it all through the meat grinder attachment on my kitchenaid. I then add toasted bread that I've soaked in milk, worcestershire sauce, a-1 steak sauce, grain mustard, some horseradish, lots of salt and pepper, cumin, dried crushed in my hand rosemary (I rub it between my palms so the pieces are smaller), dried oregano and a bunch of flat-leaf parsley chopped, a sweet onion finely chopped, plus 4 eggs (I think my total meat was around 6lbs, so this is alot). I brown the meatballs in a pan until very brown (not long, just at a moderate to high heat) and then I place them into the sauce in my big le creuset.

My sauce:

sweet onions, carrots, fennel, red and yellow pepper sauteed in olive oil until nice and sweaty, then I add a cup or so of red wine, let it reduce for about 5 minutes, then I add tomato paste that I've sauteed with olive oil and chopped garlic (lots) in another pan (this is a trick I learned from "the man who ate everything"---takes the tinny taste out of the paste). I add 2 cans of whole tomatoes that I hand squish into the pan, and some dried thyme and oregano. I do NOT salt or pepper the sauce, since the meatballs are well seasoned. I wait til the sauce is finished to season.

I cook the sauce with the meatballs for 3 hours on very low heat, letting it just simmer. I take it off the heat and add fresh flat-leaf and basil as it's cooling, so as not to cook it too much.

This is a perfect almost all-day project. I just took the dog for a walk and when we came back in, the house was just filled with the nicest tomato sauce aroma.

and now I have lunch for the whole week, even if I freeze about a quarter of it.

Edited November 1, 2005 by aaustin (log)

[vanderb]

I'm a big fan of ground Elk (or Bison) burgers, essentially the same mix as for meatballs except I don't add any other fatty meats, bbq to perfection then top with a generous lump of fresh chevre cheese. Annoint with whatever sauces you find appropriate for a burger and serve on a crusty toasted kaiser.

This is burger heaven. I just don't eat beef burgers since discovering how flavourful and healthy elk, bison and ostrich are. I know the ostrich isn't game in N. America but thought I'd mention it anyway.

[redglass]

My father makes venison burgers mixing in a little bit of beef fat to help them stay together- I serve these almost exclusively and none of my squeamish "You eat deer meat!? Ewwww! friends can tell the difference.

I use ground venison in chili, tacos- pretty much anything that calls for ground beef. I've even made lasagna using ground moose meat, but that didn't come out so well...maybe it would turn out better with elk or antelope.

Recipe Source has numerous game recipes- I'm sure you can find some good ideas.

[Milagai]

You mentioned upthread that you like Indian recipes?

Here is one for keema kofta

(minced meat meatballs), you can sub any of your game

for the mutton...

http://www.surfindia.com/recipes/kheema-kofta.html

Milagai

ps: here are some desi game recipes

(kadhai kangaroo anyone?)

http://www.recipezaar.com/r/310/122

and some recipes from the coorg region of southern india;

pork = wild pig...

http://www.ourkarnataka.com/recipes/coorgpoorkcurry.htm

milagai

Edited November 1, 2005 by Milagai (log)

[AzianBrewer]

Now what kind of wine are we gonna pair with all these game recipes? I think a big red like cabs will do the job.

[Peter the eater]

Today we had farmed elk from Prince Edward Island. Here's what you can get for $10:

I'm not sure what to properly call the cut - it was very lean and tender with no visible marbling. I removed the gristly bits and made 3" strips to be shallow poached in butter/olive oil until blue rare in the centre. Made a pan sauce (flour, ruby port, salt, molasses, parsely) and cranberry sauce from fresh berries, mashed new potatoes and corn-off-the-cob:

It was very tender and flavourful - like a nice bit of venison. It was also finely grained and quite dark, reminding me of a calf's liver. It didn't taste the same as wild elk (wapiti) like you get out west, this farmed variety seemed more mild. Thumbs up!

[LB Howes]

Aren't you lucky to have game meat to eat!

A few years ago we had deer meat for a couple of winters and aside from steaks, chops, and braised roasts discovered that less tender cuts of deer make wonderful hearty stews, as well as Filipino style adobo stews. We found we liked Bambi spaghetti sauce and Bambi chili rather than Bambi meatloaf. Sometimes we had some smaller amounts of tender cuts which I sliced thin, quickly sauteed and then made a quick pan stroganoff sauce and served it all over noodles. I did make curry once and it was not very tasty, perhaps because I used Americanized green curry powder. Having expanded my knowlege of curries since then - deer might go well with any of the different kinds of Thai curries that complement beef.

If you have rear antelope legs from a youngish antelope don't cut them up or use the meat for burger meat - you can roast it whole. We were gifted with a leg once and it was delicious roasted after being seasoned by poking holes in it and stuffing in small chunks of garlic, marinated it in a bit of wine and rosemary for an hour or so, rubbed with salt and pepper and then roasted.

Good luck and happy eating.

LB Howes

[Peter the eater]

. . . . If you have rear antelope legs from a youngish antelope don't cut them up or use the meat for burger meat - you can roast it whole.  We were gifted with a leg once and it was delicious roasted after being seasoned by poking holes in it and stuffing in small chunks of garlic, marinated it in a bit of wine and rosemary for an hour or so, rubbed with salt and pepper and then roasted.

Sounds good.

When you say antelope are you referring to wild pronghorn?