Wild about game
A freezer stocked with meats from successful hunting seasons can provide good-tasting (and good for you) meals. That's good news to the thousands of Missouri hunters who pursue the abundant deer, turkey, waterfowl, and small game found throughout the state.
Ducks & geese
by S.G.B. Tennant, Jr. ; photography by Arie deZanger.
Minocqua, Wis. : Willow Creek Press, c1999.
Many of the recipes in this book can be traced "with some adjustments" to 19th-century United States, France, Germany, Britain or China. All 36 beautifully illustrated recipes are adaptable to both wild and the reliably plump and tender domestic waterfowl.
Wild fish & game cookbook
recipes, stories & illustrations by John Manikowski ; photographs by Zeva Oelbaum.
New York : Artisan, 1997.
Wildlife artist and chef John Manikowski offers recipes, stories, and illustrations from his hunting and fishing trips.
The everything wild game cookbook : from fowl and fish to rabbit and venison : 300 recipes for home-cooked meals
Karen Eagle.
Avon, MA : Adams Media, c2006.
If you're in the mood for a cookbook that offers tons of variety with easy-to-make recipes that you'll actually like, look no further! The Everything Wild Game Cookbook is loaded with 300 mouth-watering recipes for a huge selection of dishes that will please any palate. You'll find delicious dishes not only for dinner, but desserts as well.
Poultry : the essential guide to buying, preparing and cooking game and poultry with over 50 great recipes
Lucy Knox and Keith Richmond.
London : Lorenz Books ; Lanham, Md. : North American agent/distributor National Book Network, c2006.
A definitive full-color identification guide to selecting, preparing and cooking with poultry and game.
Slow cookers go wild!
Teresa Marrone.
Chanhassen, Minn. : Creative Pub. International, c2006.
100+ recipes for the crockpot using wild game. Tips for choosing slow cookers to match recipe and ingredients.
Too often people think game meat must taste 'wild or gamey'. Not true--with proper field dressing, processing, and cooking, wild game meat will be both tender and flavorable.
Venison, the meat from members of the deer family (whitetails, elk, caribou, and moose), can be a source of high quality meat. Venison is leaner than beef being lower in fat and calories, provides more protein, and is less expensive. Cooking with venison may require more aromatics like celery and onions to give the dish extra flavor. Venison can be processed and cooked in many ways like beef is prepared.
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Venison burger - have the processor add about 20% pork so it's not too dry.
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Cubed - have the processor pass the meat through the tenderizer twice so it isn't too tuff.
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Special cuts - roasts, round steaks, tenderloins and stew meat should be processed without the bone.
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Sausage - can be made at home so you can season it to your tastes.
Missouri's small game hunters can hunt throughout much of the year. Small game includes fur and hare bearers like rabbits, squirrel, beaver and raccoons. Their meat is dark, rich and flavorful. Moist cooking is the best way to prepare a small game meal. Try substituting it in chicken recipes.
The age of a game bird or waterfowl helps determine the best cooking method. Young birds are more tender and can be cooked quickly. Older birds need longer, slower and moist cooking.
- Upland birds need additional fat in cooking. They are excellent when smoked first, then cooked. And they can be eaten hot or cold. Wild turkeys, quail and pheasants are these type of game.
- Waterfowl, geese and ducks, with their dark, rich meat can be roasted, grilled,or slow cooked in a crockpot. Tasty marinates with orange flavorings or soy sauce can be added.
Today many game meats are available at grocery stores and on restaurant menus. So next time you are looking for some new meal ideas, get 'wild about game.'
Article by: St. Louis Public Library staff.
