Description:
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author and host of the television series and podcast MeatEater, the definitive guide to cooking wild game, including fish and fowl, featuring more than 100 new recipes
“As a MeatEater fan who loves to cook, I can tell you that this book is a must-have.”—Andrew Zimmern
When Steven Rinella hears from fans of his MeatEater show and podcast, it’s often requests for more recipes. One of the most respected and beloved hunters in America, Rinella is also an accomplished wild game cook, and he offers recipes here that range from his takes on favorite staples to more surprising and exotic meals.
• Big Game: Techniques and strategies for butchering and cooking all big game, from whitetail deer to moose, wild hogs, and black bear, and recipes for everything from shanks to tongue.
• Small Game: How to prepare appetizers and main courses using common small game species such as squirrels and rabbits as well as lesser-known culinary treats like muskrat and beaver.
• Waterfowl: How to make the most of available waterfowl, ranging from favorites like mallards and wood ducks to more challenging birds, such as wild geese and diving ducks.
• Upland Birds: A wide variety of butchering methods for all upland birds, plus recipes, including Thanksgiving wild turkey, grilled grouse, and a fresh take on jalapeño poppers made with mourning dove.
• Freshwater Fish: Best practices for cleaning and cooking virtually all varieties of freshwater fish, including trout, bass, catfish, walleye, suckers, northern pike, eels, carp, and salmon.
• Saltwater Fish: Handling methods and recipes for common and not-so-common species of saltwater fish encountered by anglers everywhere, from Maine to the Bahamas, and from Southern California to northern British Columbia.
• Everything else: How to prepare great meals from wild clams, crabs, crayfish, mussels, snapping turtles, bullfrogs, and even sea cucumbers and alligators.
Whether you’re cooking outdoors or in the kitchen, at the campfire or on the grill, The MeatEater Fish and Game Cookbook is an indispensable guide for both novices and expert chefs.
“As a MeatEater fan who loves to cook, I can tell you that this book is a must-have.”—Andrew Zimmern
When Steven Rinella hears from fans of his MeatEater show and podcast, it’s often requests for more recipes. One of the most respected and beloved hunters in America, Rinella is also an accomplished wild game cook, and he offers recipes here that range from his takes on favorite staples to more surprising and exotic meals.
• Big Game: Techniques and strategies for butchering and cooking all big game, from whitetail deer to moose, wild hogs, and black bear, and recipes for everything from shanks to tongue.
• Small Game: How to prepare appetizers and main courses using common small game species such as squirrels and rabbits as well as lesser-known culinary treats like muskrat and beaver.
• Waterfowl: How to make the most of available waterfowl, ranging from favorites like mallards and wood ducks to more challenging birds, such as wild geese and diving ducks.
• Upland Birds: A wide variety of butchering methods for all upland birds, plus recipes, including Thanksgiving wild turkey, grilled grouse, and a fresh take on jalapeño poppers made with mourning dove.
• Freshwater Fish: Best practices for cleaning and cooking virtually all varieties of freshwater fish, including trout, bass, catfish, walleye, suckers, northern pike, eels, carp, and salmon.
• Saltwater Fish: Handling methods and recipes for common and not-so-common species of saltwater fish encountered by anglers everywhere, from Maine to the Bahamas, and from Southern California to northern British Columbia.
• Everything else: How to prepare great meals from wild clams, crabs, crayfish, mussels, snapping turtles, bullfrogs, and even sea cucumbers and alligators.
Whether you’re cooking outdoors or in the kitchen, at the campfire or on the grill, The MeatEater Fish and Game Cookbook is an indispensable guide for both novices and expert chefs.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“As a MeatEater fan who loves to cook, I can tell you that this book is a must-have for anyone who ever spends any time harvesting food in the outdoors. The recipes are superb and simple, and the learning here is immense. Most importantly, home cooks looking for great ways to stretch their boundaries even in the smallest ways will delight in this superb reference for fish and game meat cookery. Steven Rinella is the total package when it comes to food and the great outdoors.”—Andrew Zimmern
“Field-to-table cooking is ‘the new black.’ But when it comes to cookin’ up wild game, it’s important to give the animal the respect it deserves both in the field and the kitchen, as it’s not as simple as just throwin’ everything on the grill and expecting a great outcome. In The MeatEater Fish and Game Cookbook, Steven Rinella goes to the next level and offers some real deal culinary know-how to make sure that your friends and family will dig what you put on the table.”—Guy Fieri
“As a hunter and a chef, I appreciate the mindfulness and awareness that Steven Rinella brings to conservation and food utilization. His work is thoughtful and necessary for a modern world that is reconnecting with its food sources.”—Joshua Skenes
“In this insightful and straightforward look at cooking what one hunts, [Rinella] proves to be as skilled with a pen as he is with a gun. . . . Rinella includes clear, photo-enhanced instructions on gutting, skinning, and butchering, along with taste charts that explain the differing flavors and textures of similar beasts. . . . The nose-to-tail approach incorporates everything from bullfrog legs (simmered in butter and wine) to duck hearts (grilled and served with a walnut pesto). Rinella is at the top of his game in this must-read cookbook for those seeking a taste of the wild.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Yes, you should actually buy this fish and game cookbook . . . full of helpful information for the hunter and non-hunter alike. . . . Anyone new to hunting or fishing will find a wealth of solutions to the mysteries upon which they are embarking. What strikes me about this book, however, is not how helpful it is for hunters. For while there can be no doubt about that . . . what is far more interesting is how useful this book is for people who don’t hunt, who don’t have game to process. . . . Due to Rinella’s use of different types of game as an organizing principle, the book is wonderfully varied. There are recipes for goose pastrami, tea smoked duck, marrow bones and hot pots. Because he is not pinned to a restaurant or a region, Rinella is free to include recipes from all over the world, at varying levels of difficulty. He douses salmon in tequila to make a cilantro hinted gravlax, and fills up big pots to make a crab boil. . . . Is this a cookbook, as it claims, for every hunter and angler? Of course it is. But it’s also a cookbook for everyone else.”—The Daily Beast
“Field-to-table cooking is ‘the new black.’ But when it comes to cookin’ up wild game, it’s important to give the animal the respect it deserves both in the field and the kitchen, as it’s not as simple as just throwin’ everything on the grill and expecting a great outcome. In The MeatEater Fish and Game Cookbook, Steven Rinella goes to the next level and offers some real deal culinary know-how to make sure that your friends and family will dig what you put on the table.”—Guy Fieri
“As a hunter and a chef, I appreciate the mindfulness and awareness that Steven Rinella brings to conservation and food utilization. His work is thoughtful and necessary for a modern world that is reconnecting with its food sources.”—Joshua Skenes
“In this insightful and straightforward look at cooking what one hunts, [Rinella] proves to be as skilled with a pen as he is with a gun. . . . Rinella includes clear, photo-enhanced instructions on gutting, skinning, and butchering, along with taste charts that explain the differing flavors and textures of similar beasts. . . . The nose-to-tail approach incorporates everything from bullfrog legs (simmered in butter and wine) to duck hearts (grilled and served with a walnut pesto). Rinella is at the top of his game in this must-read cookbook for those seeking a taste of the wild.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Yes, you should actually buy this fish and game cookbook . . . full of helpful information for the hunter and non-hunter alike. . . . Anyone new to hunting or fishing will find a wealth of solutions to the mysteries upon which they are embarking. What strikes me about this book, however, is not how helpful it is for hunters. For while there can be no doubt about that . . . what is far more interesting is how useful this book is for people who don’t hunt, who don’t have game to process. . . . Due to Rinella’s use of different types of game as an organizing principle, the book is wonderfully varied. There are recipes for goose pastrami, tea smoked duck, marrow bones and hot pots. Because he is not pinned to a restaurant or a region, Rinella is free to include recipes from all over the world, at varying levels of difficulty. He douses salmon in tequila to make a cilantro hinted gravlax, and fills up big pots to make a crab boil. . . . Is this a cookbook, as it claims, for every hunter and angler? Of course it is. But it’s also a cookbook for everyone else.”—The Daily Beast
About the Author
In addition to being an expert chef known for working with wild game, Steven Rinella is an outdoorsman, writer, and television and podcast personality with an exceptional ability to communicate the hunting lifestyle to a wide variety of audiences. The host of the television show and podcast MeatEater, he is also the author of two volumes of The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game; Meat Eater: Adventures from the Life of an American Hunter; American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon; and The Scavenger’s Guide to Haute Cuisine. His writing has appeared in many publications, including Outside, Field & Stream, The New Yorker, Glamour, The New York Times, Men’s Journal, Salon, O: The Oprah Magazine, Bowhunter, and the anthologies Best American Travel Writing and Best Food Writing.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
01 Big Game
INTRODUCTION
The big game section is in the front of this book because it is a fitting position for what I consider to be the pinnacle of the wild game world. While I regard myself as a hunting generalist (I’ll chase anything that’s good to eat, and at times my definition of good has been elastic enough to include everything from common carp to porcupines), big game hunting is my deepest passion. I killed my first deer when I was thirteen, after two unsuccessful seasons of misses and mistakes. I’ve kept at it, without ever missing a season, for the past thirty-three years. Every fall and winter, I put fifty days or more into pursuing big game. I believe that it’s the most challenging form of hunting, both physically and mentally, and it pays off in the biggest way. Long ago, I committed to feeding my family a diet of wild meat. Big game is how I’m able to stay true to that commitment.
Most hunters share my fondness. According to statistics from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 80 percent of all hunters chase big game at some point during the year. Each of those hunters has his or her own particular set of motivations, but you can’t argue with the seductive size of big game animals. A mature whitetail deer can yield anywhere from forty to eighty pounds of boneless, recipe-ready meat. An elk can yield well over two hundred pounds. A moose, well over three hundred pounds. In addition to abundance, big game also gives you variety. I break my deer down into a dozen different cuts, ranging from short ribs to sirloins to tongue. Each cut is suitable for an endless array of recipes and preparations. With just a single deer in your freezer, you can have months’ worth of eating with no fear of redundancy or boredom.
This cut-based approach is the key to big game cooking. It remedies a problem that I have with wild game cookbooks in general, which tend to draw unnecessary distinctions among various species of antlered and horned game. To me, there is no fundamental difference between a recipe for a pronghorn antelope shank and a recipe for a whitetail deer shank beyond some minor adjustments in cooking times. In fact, I’d argue that it’s more important to understand what part of the animal you’re cooking than it is to understand what kind of big game animal it came from.
Keep this approach in mind as you work through this section. Virtually every recipe here is interchangeable from one big game species to the next. Admittedly, the recipe for Kimchi Tacos with Wild Pig or Javelina shoulder on page 152 is especially suitable for the stringier meat and sometimes stronger flavors of those particular animals. But it could easily be applied to a venison shoulder or bear shoulder, as all three of these pieces of meat share in common a lot of sinews and connective tissue that will break down during the cooking process and yield a finished product that is rich, moist, and silky. This is just one example where substitutions are appropriate; I have called out many others in the following recipes. I’m hopeful that you’ll make additional discoveries on your own as you apply these methods to whatever big game happens to turn up in your freezer over the coming years.
Finally, I’d like to throw in a few thoughts on the subject of big game meat that tastes “gamey,” a term that drives me a little bit insane every time I hear it. As best as I can tell, gamey has no fixed definition. I’ve heard it used to describe a dozen or more different things. It’s used to describe meat that was spoiled, meaning rotten, from improper handling in the field. I’ve heard it used to describe meat that hadn’t been trimmed of tallow and blood clots. I’ve heard it used to describe meat that had been tainted by secretions from the tarsal gland on a deer’s back leg. And I’ve heard it used by people who are trying to say that game meat doesn’t taste like the flavorless beef that they’re used to buying from fast-food restaurants.
Whatever it actually means to you or the people you’re cooking for, most causes of gamey meat can be eliminated by taking a careful approach to your hunting techniques and field care. First off, don’t let fly with an arrow or bullet unless you know exactly what’s going to happen when you do it. There is no place for guesswork or surprises when it comes to marksmanship. You need to put your projectile cleanly through the lungs and/or heart of the animal for a quick, clean kill. Poor shot placement can lead to an animal being heavily stressed before it eventually dies. When that happens, there’s a chance that the animal could indeed have tough meat with strong, off-putting flavors.
Gut the animal immediately. Big game animals have an internal body temperature of over one hundred degrees. Once the animal is dead, that heat will quickly spoil the meat. The area around the ball joints, at the base of the rear legs, is the first to go. Removing the guts helps cool things down. In this chapter you’ll see how to properly do the job. After gutting, pack the chest cavity with ice or snow. If need be, quarter the animal and get the quarters into a walk-in meat locker, a household fridge, or even a cooler loaded with ice. Whatever it takes, keep the animal cold and dry until you’re ready to butcher it. And when it comes to butchering, keep things cold and clean and follow the directions that are laid out here. You’ll eliminate the majority of your gamey situations.
But no amount of careful shooting and trimming is going to change the minds of squeamish folks who think that anything other than domestically produced meat tastes different and, therefore, gamey. What will change their minds is repeated exposure to what real meat actually tastes like. It only helps when it’s properly prepared and served. Getting a deer—or an elk, moose, caribou, or bear—in your freezer is the first step of the process. This chapter is the second step. Enjoy.
The Big Buck/Little Buck Myth
A lot of hunters have this idea that big bucks aren’t that good to eat. This is nonsense. There are myriad factors that influence the palatability of a deer; age is hardly the defining one. We put this idea to the test on a Colorado mule deer hunt when we killed two bucks. The first was a three- to four-year-old giant; the second was a year-and-a-half-old forky. Served raw, the unanimous consensus was that the bigger and older ham was a better piece of meat. In all fairness, the older buck had been aged a day or so longer—which goes to show that factors beyond the animal’s age are at play when it comes to quality meat.
THE NATURE OF THE BEAST
American Pronghorn (Antelope)
The meat of the American pronghorn, or antelope, tends to be rather polarizing. Critics often say that it tastes gamey or musky, while fans of antelope will say that the faint hint of sage is a welcome attribute that brings to mind the open landscapes of the American West. Unpleasant experiences with antelope meat can be avoided if the hunter practices good marksmanship and field care. If you follow all of the advice within this book, you’ll find that antelope have an excellent flavor on par with the finest big game animals.
Black Bear
During the time of Daniel Boone, black bear was the preferred meat on the American frontier. Deer were good for buckskin clothes, bear was good for eating. There’s no reason to think any differently about black bear meat today. Trimmed of fat, the meat is excellent and can be used for a wide variety of purposes. When slow-cooked or braised it resembles beef pot roast in texture and flavor. The quality of the meat does vary according to the animal’s diet. Bears that have been feeding on fish or marine mammals can have an off-putting fishy taste. A bear that’s been feeding heavily on rotten carrion can also taste bad. These occasions are rare, however, as most black bears derive the bulk of their diet from plant matter. Some of the best bear meat comes from animals feeding on berries or hardwood mast. When baiting bears, avoid using animal or fish matter so that you don’t taint the flesh of the animals that you’re hunting. Trichinosis is another consideration with bear meat. Unless you’ve had your animal tested, it’s safe to assume that all bears are infected by microscopic Trichinella larvae—the same larvae that used to commonly infect domestic pork and is still present in wild hogs. Destroying the threat is simple: cook all bear meat to 160°F and you’re safe.
Caribou
Complaints about the gamey qualities of caribou meat can often be attributed to bulls killed during the rut. Caribou flesh seems to be affected by the hormonal changes of the breeding season in a more dramatic way than any other big game animal. For most hunters, this isn’t an issue, because caribou are typically hunted between late August and early October, before the rut begins. People accustomed to eating beef are likely to recognize caribou meat as being “different,” though it is highly prized by hunters who live in caribou country. The meat is often more tender than other antlered game, to the point that some people have described it as “pasty.” Its coloration is sometimes lighter, too, and it can lack the deep mahogany color that characterizes the flesh of other members of the deer family. Caribou meat can be used in any recipe calling for venison.
Elk
Elk are widely regarded as the best of the best among wild game meats and are often compared to grass-fed beef. There is no such thing as a bad-tasting elk, and rarely does anyone complain about gamey elk. Older animals can be tough, but aging and proper cooking methods can take care of that. Elk meat can be used for any recipe calling for venison.
Moose
In the north, moose meat is as popular among hunters as elk meat is in the Rockies. While it doesn’t prompt as many comparisons to grass-fed beef, it is mild and easily approachable. The flesh is heavily grained and colored a deep, rich red. It is generally a tougher, chewier meat than whitetail deer. It’s a good practice to age your moose meat for a week or so before butchering. If you can’t do that, you can let your butchered cuts rest in the freezer for a few months. You’ll find that the meat gets better and better as time goes by. Moose can be used in any preparation calling for venison.
Mule Deer
Most people would have a hard time distinguishing mule deer meat from the meat of a whitetail deer. Occasionally you’ll encounter a mature mule deer that has a ruttier and muskier taste than you’d find on a whitetail, but generally they are excellent. The best meat comes off the animals that are in the best condition, regardless of age or gender. If it’s killed quickly and handled properly, a well-fed mule deer buck with a good layer of fat on its rump is going to provide some of the most tender and pleasantly flavored meat that you’ll ever encounter.
Whitetail Deer
Whitetail deer are by far the most widely consumed game meat in the United States. If care is taken to avoid contamination by the fluids produced by the tarsal glands on the animal’s rear legs, the meat is exceptionally mild and usually quite tender. Most people who have a familiarity with both whitetails and elk will choose elk as their favorite, though whitetail meat is highly regarded by most hunters.
Wild Pigs
Wild pigs, or feral hogs, are the exact same species as the farm-raised varieties of pigs that you can find in a butcher shop or grocery store: Sus scrofa. The difference is that wild pigs are far leaner than domestic pigs, as they eat a lot less food and get a lot more exercise. For perspective, consider that it’s virtually unheard of to find a wild pig that can be used to make a slab of bacon. Because of their leanness, wild pig flesh has more in common with venison than it does with commercially produced pork. It is generally regarded as more flavorful and complex than domestic pork. When cooking with it, you usually need to add fat and take measures to prevent it from drying out. Younger pigs generally have better meat than older pigs. Many hunters prefer the flesh of a pregnant sow above all others, as they have a lot of stored body fat. Most hunters regard sexually mature boars as the least desirable when it comes to eating. At times, their meat can be very tough, with an off-putting odor. Diet matters with wild pigs. Animals feeding on green grass or acorns, for instance, will likely have much better meat than animals who are ingesting lower-quality foods or animal matter. Wild pigs often carry microscopic Trichinella larvae in their flesh, which can cause the disease trichinosis. (The larvae used to be carried by domestic pigs as well, though it’s been virtually eradicated from pigs raised in accordance to USDA guidelines.) Cook all wild pork to 160°F and you’re safe.
gutting Big Game Animals
Wild hogs, like the one pictured here, share the same basic anatomy with all hooved big game animals. The process of skinning, gutting, and butchering any big game animal is basically the same, whether it’s a wild pig or a whitetail deer. But there are different approaches to big game field care. Here Ben Binnion, a commercial wild hog trapper who has handled thousands of wild hogs, demonstrates a clean and efficient way to go about this process. For additional information on butchering big game animals check out The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game, Volume 1: Big Game.
How to Gut Big Game Animals
1. Because this hog was trapped and shot in the head, it was necessary to bleed it out by cutting its throat immediately after the shot. Bleeding out a big game animal can give the meat a cleaner taste and better appearance, but it is unnecessary if the animal was shot in the vital heart/lung area with a rifle or bow.
2. Start by cutting through the skin around the genitals and down to the anus. Be extremely careful to cut only the hide without puncturing the gut cavity. Once this cut is made, use your knife to separate the skin and genitals from the carcass. This hog was trapped in Texas, where leaving evidence of sex on the carcass is not a legal requirement. However, some state game agencies do require that you leave evidence of sex naturally attached to the carcass of big game animals. (Read more on page 16.)
INTRODUCTION
The big game section is in the front of this book because it is a fitting position for what I consider to be the pinnacle of the wild game world. While I regard myself as a hunting generalist (I’ll chase anything that’s good to eat, and at times my definition of good has been elastic enough to include everything from common carp to porcupines), big game hunting is my deepest passion. I killed my first deer when I was thirteen, after two unsuccessful seasons of misses and mistakes. I’ve kept at it, without ever missing a season, for the past thirty-three years. Every fall and winter, I put fifty days or more into pursuing big game. I believe that it’s the most challenging form of hunting, both physically and mentally, and it pays off in the biggest way. Long ago, I committed to feeding my family a diet of wild meat. Big game is how I’m able to stay true to that commitment.
Most hunters share my fondness. According to statistics from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 80 percent of all hunters chase big game at some point during the year. Each of those hunters has his or her own particular set of motivations, but you can’t argue with the seductive size of big game animals. A mature whitetail deer can yield anywhere from forty to eighty pounds of boneless, recipe-ready meat. An elk can yield well over two hundred pounds. A moose, well over three hundred pounds. In addition to abundance, big game also gives you variety. I break my deer down into a dozen different cuts, ranging from short ribs to sirloins to tongue. Each cut is suitable for an endless array of recipes and preparations. With just a single deer in your freezer, you can have months’ worth of eating with no fear of redundancy or boredom.
This cut-based approach is the key to big game cooking. It remedies a problem that I have with wild game cookbooks in general, which tend to draw unnecessary distinctions among various species of antlered and horned game. To me, there is no fundamental difference between a recipe for a pronghorn antelope shank and a recipe for a whitetail deer shank beyond some minor adjustments in cooking times. In fact, I’d argue that it’s more important to understand what part of the animal you’re cooking than it is to understand what kind of big game animal it came from.
Keep this approach in mind as you work through this section. Virtually every recipe here is interchangeable from one big game species to the next. Admittedly, the recipe for Kimchi Tacos with Wild Pig or Javelina shoulder on page 152 is especially suitable for the stringier meat and sometimes stronger flavors of those particular animals. But it could easily be applied to a venison shoulder or bear shoulder, as all three of these pieces of meat share in common a lot of sinews and connective tissue that will break down during the cooking process and yield a finished product that is rich, moist, and silky. This is just one example where substitutions are appropriate; I have called out many others in the following recipes. I’m hopeful that you’ll make additional discoveries on your own as you apply these methods to whatever big game happens to turn up in your freezer over the coming years.
Finally, I’d like to throw in a few thoughts on the subject of big game meat that tastes “gamey,” a term that drives me a little bit insane every time I hear it. As best as I can tell, gamey has no fixed definition. I’ve heard it used to describe a dozen or more different things. It’s used to describe meat that was spoiled, meaning rotten, from improper handling in the field. I’ve heard it used to describe meat that hadn’t been trimmed of tallow and blood clots. I’ve heard it used to describe meat that had been tainted by secretions from the tarsal gland on a deer’s back leg. And I’ve heard it used by people who are trying to say that game meat doesn’t taste like the flavorless beef that they’re used to buying from fast-food restaurants.
Whatever it actually means to you or the people you’re cooking for, most causes of gamey meat can be eliminated by taking a careful approach to your hunting techniques and field care. First off, don’t let fly with an arrow or bullet unless you know exactly what’s going to happen when you do it. There is no place for guesswork or surprises when it comes to marksmanship. You need to put your projectile cleanly through the lungs and/or heart of the animal for a quick, clean kill. Poor shot placement can lead to an animal being heavily stressed before it eventually dies. When that happens, there’s a chance that the animal could indeed have tough meat with strong, off-putting flavors.
Gut the animal immediately. Big game animals have an internal body temperature of over one hundred degrees. Once the animal is dead, that heat will quickly spoil the meat. The area around the ball joints, at the base of the rear legs, is the first to go. Removing the guts helps cool things down. In this chapter you’ll see how to properly do the job. After gutting, pack the chest cavity with ice or snow. If need be, quarter the animal and get the quarters into a walk-in meat locker, a household fridge, or even a cooler loaded with ice. Whatever it takes, keep the animal cold and dry until you’re ready to butcher it. And when it comes to butchering, keep things cold and clean and follow the directions that are laid out here. You’ll eliminate the majority of your gamey situations.
But no amount of careful shooting and trimming is going to change the minds of squeamish folks who think that anything other than domestically produced meat tastes different and, therefore, gamey. What will change their minds is repeated exposure to what real meat actually tastes like. It only helps when it’s properly prepared and served. Getting a deer—or an elk, moose, caribou, or bear—in your freezer is the first step of the process. This chapter is the second step. Enjoy.
The Big Buck/Little Buck Myth
A lot of hunters have this idea that big bucks aren’t that good to eat. This is nonsense. There are myriad factors that influence the palatability of a deer; age is hardly the defining one. We put this idea to the test on a Colorado mule deer hunt when we killed two bucks. The first was a three- to four-year-old giant; the second was a year-and-a-half-old forky. Served raw, the unanimous consensus was that the bigger and older ham was a better piece of meat. In all fairness, the older buck had been aged a day or so longer—which goes to show that factors beyond the animal’s age are at play when it comes to quality meat.
THE NATURE OF THE BEAST
American Pronghorn (Antelope)
The meat of the American pronghorn, or antelope, tends to be rather polarizing. Critics often say that it tastes gamey or musky, while fans of antelope will say that the faint hint of sage is a welcome attribute that brings to mind the open landscapes of the American West. Unpleasant experiences with antelope meat can be avoided if the hunter practices good marksmanship and field care. If you follow all of the advice within this book, you’ll find that antelope have an excellent flavor on par with the finest big game animals.
Black Bear
During the time of Daniel Boone, black bear was the preferred meat on the American frontier. Deer were good for buckskin clothes, bear was good for eating. There’s no reason to think any differently about black bear meat today. Trimmed of fat, the meat is excellent and can be used for a wide variety of purposes. When slow-cooked or braised it resembles beef pot roast in texture and flavor. The quality of the meat does vary according to the animal’s diet. Bears that have been feeding on fish or marine mammals can have an off-putting fishy taste. A bear that’s been feeding heavily on rotten carrion can also taste bad. These occasions are rare, however, as most black bears derive the bulk of their diet from plant matter. Some of the best bear meat comes from animals feeding on berries or hardwood mast. When baiting bears, avoid using animal or fish matter so that you don’t taint the flesh of the animals that you’re hunting. Trichinosis is another consideration with bear meat. Unless you’ve had your animal tested, it’s safe to assume that all bears are infected by microscopic Trichinella larvae—the same larvae that used to commonly infect domestic pork and is still present in wild hogs. Destroying the threat is simple: cook all bear meat to 160°F and you’re safe.
Caribou
Complaints about the gamey qualities of caribou meat can often be attributed to bulls killed during the rut. Caribou flesh seems to be affected by the hormonal changes of the breeding season in a more dramatic way than any other big game animal. For most hunters, this isn’t an issue, because caribou are typically hunted between late August and early October, before the rut begins. People accustomed to eating beef are likely to recognize caribou meat as being “different,” though it is highly prized by hunters who live in caribou country. The meat is often more tender than other antlered game, to the point that some people have described it as “pasty.” Its coloration is sometimes lighter, too, and it can lack the deep mahogany color that characterizes the flesh of other members of the deer family. Caribou meat can be used in any recipe calling for venison.
Elk
Elk are widely regarded as the best of the best among wild game meats and are often compared to grass-fed beef. There is no such thing as a bad-tasting elk, and rarely does anyone complain about gamey elk. Older animals can be tough, but aging and proper cooking methods can take care of that. Elk meat can be used for any recipe calling for venison.
Moose
In the north, moose meat is as popular among hunters as elk meat is in the Rockies. While it doesn’t prompt as many comparisons to grass-fed beef, it is mild and easily approachable. The flesh is heavily grained and colored a deep, rich red. It is generally a tougher, chewier meat than whitetail deer. It’s a good practice to age your moose meat for a week or so before butchering. If you can’t do that, you can let your butchered cuts rest in the freezer for a few months. You’ll find that the meat gets better and better as time goes by. Moose can be used in any preparation calling for venison.
Mule Deer
Most people would have a hard time distinguishing mule deer meat from the meat of a whitetail deer. Occasionally you’ll encounter a mature mule deer that has a ruttier and muskier taste than you’d find on a whitetail, but generally they are excellent. The best meat comes off the animals that are in the best condition, regardless of age or gender. If it’s killed quickly and handled properly, a well-fed mule deer buck with a good layer of fat on its rump is going to provide some of the most tender and pleasantly flavored meat that you’ll ever encounter.
Whitetail Deer
Whitetail deer are by far the most widely consumed game meat in the United States. If care is taken to avoid contamination by the fluids produced by the tarsal glands on the animal’s rear legs, the meat is exceptionally mild and usually quite tender. Most people who have a familiarity with both whitetails and elk will choose elk as their favorite, though whitetail meat is highly regarded by most hunters.
Wild Pigs
Wild pigs, or feral hogs, are the exact same species as the farm-raised varieties of pigs that you can find in a butcher shop or grocery store: Sus scrofa. The difference is that wild pigs are far leaner than domestic pigs, as they eat a lot less food and get a lot more exercise. For perspective, consider that it’s virtually unheard of to find a wild pig that can be used to make a slab of bacon. Because of their leanness, wild pig flesh has more in common with venison than it does with commercially produced pork. It is generally regarded as more flavorful and complex than domestic pork. When cooking with it, you usually need to add fat and take measures to prevent it from drying out. Younger pigs generally have better meat than older pigs. Many hunters prefer the flesh of a pregnant sow above all others, as they have a lot of stored body fat. Most hunters regard sexually mature boars as the least desirable when it comes to eating. At times, their meat can be very tough, with an off-putting odor. Diet matters with wild pigs. Animals feeding on green grass or acorns, for instance, will likely have much better meat than animals who are ingesting lower-quality foods or animal matter. Wild pigs often carry microscopic Trichinella larvae in their flesh, which can cause the disease trichinosis. (The larvae used to be carried by domestic pigs as well, though it’s been virtually eradicated from pigs raised in accordance to USDA guidelines.) Cook all wild pork to 160°F and you’re safe.
gutting Big Game Animals
Wild hogs, like the one pictured here, share the same basic anatomy with all hooved big game animals. The process of skinning, gutting, and butchering any big game animal is basically the same, whether it’s a wild pig or a whitetail deer. But there are different approaches to big game field care. Here Ben Binnion, a commercial wild hog trapper who has handled thousands of wild hogs, demonstrates a clean and efficient way to go about this process. For additional information on butchering big game animals check out The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game, Volume 1: Big Game.
How to Gut Big Game Animals
1. Because this hog was trapped and shot in the head, it was necessary to bleed it out by cutting its throat immediately after the shot. Bleeding out a big game animal can give the meat a cleaner taste and better appearance, but it is unnecessary if the animal was shot in the vital heart/lung area with a rifle or bow.
2. Start by cutting through the skin around the genitals and down to the anus. Be extremely careful to cut only the hide without puncturing the gut cavity. Once this cut is made, use your knife to separate the skin and genitals from the carcass. This hog was trapped in Texas, where leaving evidence of sex on the carcass is not a legal requirement. However, some state game agencies do require that you leave evidence of sex naturally attached to the carcass of big game animals. (Read more on page 16.)
Details:
Visit the Random House Store
The MeatEater Fish and Game Cookbook: Recipes and Techniques for Every Hunter and Angler
Product ID: U0399590072
Condition: New
AED17169
Price includes VAT & Import Duties
Type: Hardcover
Availability: In Stock
Quantity:
|
Order today to get by 7-14 business days
Delivery fee of AED 20. Free for orders above AED 200.
Imported From: United States
At BOLO, we work hard to ensure the products you receive are new, genuine, and sourced from reputable suppliers.
Every product in the BOLO catalogue is sourced through our Verified Global Supply Network of verified sellers, authorized distributors or directly from the manufacturer.
Each product undergoes thorough inspection and verification at our consolidation and fulfilment centers to ensure it meets our strict authenticity and quality standards before being shipped and delivered to you.
If you ever have concerns regarding the authenticity of a product purchased from us, please contact Bolo Support. We will review your inquiry promptly and, if necessary, provide documentation verifying authenticity or offer a suitable resolution.
Your trust is our top priority, and we are committed to maintaining transparency and integrity in every transaction.
While we strive to display accurate information, variations in packaging, labeling, instructions, or formulation may occasionally occur due to regional differences or supplier updates. For detailed or manufacturer-specific information, please contact the brand directly or reach out to BOLO Support for assistance.
Unless otherwise stated, all prices displayed on the product page include applicable taxes and import duties.
BOLO operates in accordance with the laws and regulations of United Arab Emirates. Any items found to be restricted or prohibited for sale within the United Arab Emirates will be cancelled prior to shipment. We take proactive measures to ensure that only products permitted for sale in United Arab Emirates are listed on our website.
All items are shipped by air, and any products classified as “Dangerous Goods (DG)” under IATA regulations will be removed from the order and cancelled.
All orders are processed manually, and we make every effort to process them promptly once confirmed. Products cancelled due to the above reasons will be permanently removed from listings across the website.
Share with
Or share with link
https://www.bolo.ae/products/U0399590072
Visit the Random House Store
The MeatEater Fish and Game Cookbook: Recipes and Techniques for Every Hunter and Angler
Product ID: U0399590072
Condition: New
Type: Hardcover
AED17169
Price includes VAT & Import Duties
Availability: In Stock
Quantity:
|
Order today to get by 7-14 business days
Delivery fee of AED 20. Free for orders above AED 200.
Imported From: United States
At BOLO, we work hard to ensure the products you receive are new, genuine, and sourced from reputable suppliers.
Every product in the BOLO catalogue is sourced through our Verified Global Supply Network of verified sellers, authorized distributors or directly from the manufacturer.
Each product undergoes thorough inspection and verification at our consolidation and fulfilment centers to ensure it meets our strict authenticity and quality standards before being shipped and delivered to you.
If you ever have concerns regarding the authenticity of a product purchased from us, please contact Bolo Support. We will review your inquiry promptly and, if necessary, provide documentation verifying authenticity or offer a suitable resolution.
Your trust is our top priority, and we are committed to maintaining transparency and integrity in every transaction.
While we strive to display accurate information, variations in packaging, labeling, instructions, or formulation may occasionally occur due to regional differences or supplier updates. For detailed or manufacturer-specific information, please contact the brand directly or reach out to BOLO Support for assistance.
Unless otherwise stated, all prices displayed on the product page include applicable taxes and import duties.
BOLO operates in accordance with the laws and regulations of United Arab Emirates. Any items found to be restricted or prohibited for sale within the United Arab Emirates will be cancelled prior to shipment. We take proactive measures to ensure that only products permitted for sale in United Arab Emirates are listed on our website.
All items are shipped by air, and any products classified as “Dangerous Goods (DG)” under IATA regulations will be removed from the order and cancelled.
All orders are processed manually, and we make every effort to process them promptly once confirmed. Products cancelled due to the above reasons will be permanently removed from listings across the website.
Description:
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author and host of the television series and podcast MeatEater, the definitive guide to cooking wild game, including fish and fowl, featuring more than 100 new recipes
“As a MeatEater fan who loves to cook, I can tell you that this book is a must-have.”—Andrew Zimmern
When Steven Rinella hears from fans of his MeatEater show and podcast, it’s often requests for more recipes. One of the most respected and beloved hunters in America, Rinella is also an accomplished wild game cook, and he offers recipes here that range from his takes on favorite staples to more surprising and exotic meals.
• Big Game: Techniques and strategies for butchering and cooking all big game, from whitetail deer to moose, wild hogs, and black bear, and recipes for everything from shanks to tongue.
• Small Game: How to prepare appetizers and main courses using common small game species such as squirrels and rabbits as well as lesser-known culinary treats like muskrat and beaver.
• Waterfowl: How to make the most of available waterfowl, ranging from favorites like mallards and wood ducks to more challenging birds, such as wild geese and diving ducks.
• Upland Birds: A wide variety of butchering methods for all upland birds, plus recipes, including Thanksgiving wild turkey, grilled grouse, and a fresh take on jalapeño poppers made with mourning dove.
• Freshwater Fish: Best practices for cleaning and cooking virtually all varieties of freshwater fish, including trout, bass, catfish, walleye, suckers, northern pike, eels, carp, and salmon.
• Saltwater Fish: Handling methods and recipes for common and not-so-common species of saltwater fish encountered by anglers everywhere, from Maine to the Bahamas, and from Southern California to northern British Columbia.
• Everything else: How to prepare great meals from wild clams, crabs, crayfish, mussels, snapping turtles, bullfrogs, and even sea cucumbers and alligators.
Whether you’re cooking outdoors or in the kitchen, at the campfire or on the grill, The MeatEater Fish and Game Cookbook is an indispensable guide for both novices and expert chefs.
“As a MeatEater fan who loves to cook, I can tell you that this book is a must-have.”—Andrew Zimmern
When Steven Rinella hears from fans of his MeatEater show and podcast, it’s often requests for more recipes. One of the most respected and beloved hunters in America, Rinella is also an accomplished wild game cook, and he offers recipes here that range from his takes on favorite staples to more surprising and exotic meals.
• Big Game: Techniques and strategies for butchering and cooking all big game, from whitetail deer to moose, wild hogs, and black bear, and recipes for everything from shanks to tongue.
• Small Game: How to prepare appetizers and main courses using common small game species such as squirrels and rabbits as well as lesser-known culinary treats like muskrat and beaver.
• Waterfowl: How to make the most of available waterfowl, ranging from favorites like mallards and wood ducks to more challenging birds, such as wild geese and diving ducks.
• Upland Birds: A wide variety of butchering methods for all upland birds, plus recipes, including Thanksgiving wild turkey, grilled grouse, and a fresh take on jalapeño poppers made with mourning dove.
• Freshwater Fish: Best practices for cleaning and cooking virtually all varieties of freshwater fish, including trout, bass, catfish, walleye, suckers, northern pike, eels, carp, and salmon.
• Saltwater Fish: Handling methods and recipes for common and not-so-common species of saltwater fish encountered by anglers everywhere, from Maine to the Bahamas, and from Southern California to northern British Columbia.
• Everything else: How to prepare great meals from wild clams, crabs, crayfish, mussels, snapping turtles, bullfrogs, and even sea cucumbers and alligators.
Whether you’re cooking outdoors or in the kitchen, at the campfire or on the grill, The MeatEater Fish and Game Cookbook is an indispensable guide for both novices and expert chefs.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“As a MeatEater fan who loves to cook, I can tell you that this book is a must-have for anyone who ever spends any time harvesting food in the outdoors. The recipes are superb and simple, and the learning here is immense. Most importantly, home cooks looking for great ways to stretch their boundaries even in the smallest ways will delight in this superb reference for fish and game meat cookery. Steven Rinella is the total package when it comes to food and the great outdoors.”—Andrew Zimmern
“Field-to-table cooking is ‘the new black.’ But when it comes to cookin’ up wild game, it’s important to give the animal the respect it deserves both in the field and the kitchen, as it’s not as simple as just throwin’ everything on the grill and expecting a great outcome. In The MeatEater Fish and Game Cookbook, Steven Rinella goes to the next level and offers some real deal culinary know-how to make sure that your friends and family will dig what you put on the table.”—Guy Fieri
“As a hunter and a chef, I appreciate the mindfulness and awareness that Steven Rinella brings to conservation and food utilization. His work is thoughtful and necessary for a modern world that is reconnecting with its food sources.”—Joshua Skenes
“In this insightful and straightforward look at cooking what one hunts, [Rinella] proves to be as skilled with a pen as he is with a gun. . . . Rinella includes clear, photo-enhanced instructions on gutting, skinning, and butchering, along with taste charts that explain the differing flavors and textures of similar beasts. . . . The nose-to-tail approach incorporates everything from bullfrog legs (simmered in butter and wine) to duck hearts (grilled and served with a walnut pesto). Rinella is at the top of his game in this must-read cookbook for those seeking a taste of the wild.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Yes, you should actually buy this fish and game cookbook . . . full of helpful information for the hunter and non-hunter alike. . . . Anyone new to hunting or fishing will find a wealth of solutions to the mysteries upon which they are embarking. What strikes me about this book, however, is not how helpful it is for hunters. For while there can be no doubt about that . . . what is far more interesting is how useful this book is for people who don’t hunt, who don’t have game to process. . . . Due to Rinella’s use of different types of game as an organizing principle, the book is wonderfully varied. There are recipes for goose pastrami, tea smoked duck, marrow bones and hot pots. Because he is not pinned to a restaurant or a region, Rinella is free to include recipes from all over the world, at varying levels of difficulty. He douses salmon in tequila to make a cilantro hinted gravlax, and fills up big pots to make a crab boil. . . . Is this a cookbook, as it claims, for every hunter and angler? Of course it is. But it’s also a cookbook for everyone else.”—The Daily Beast
“Field-to-table cooking is ‘the new black.’ But when it comes to cookin’ up wild game, it’s important to give the animal the respect it deserves both in the field and the kitchen, as it’s not as simple as just throwin’ everything on the grill and expecting a great outcome. In The MeatEater Fish and Game Cookbook, Steven Rinella goes to the next level and offers some real deal culinary know-how to make sure that your friends and family will dig what you put on the table.”—Guy Fieri
“As a hunter and a chef, I appreciate the mindfulness and awareness that Steven Rinella brings to conservation and food utilization. His work is thoughtful and necessary for a modern world that is reconnecting with its food sources.”—Joshua Skenes
“In this insightful and straightforward look at cooking what one hunts, [Rinella] proves to be as skilled with a pen as he is with a gun. . . . Rinella includes clear, photo-enhanced instructions on gutting, skinning, and butchering, along with taste charts that explain the differing flavors and textures of similar beasts. . . . The nose-to-tail approach incorporates everything from bullfrog legs (simmered in butter and wine) to duck hearts (grilled and served with a walnut pesto). Rinella is at the top of his game in this must-read cookbook for those seeking a taste of the wild.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Yes, you should actually buy this fish and game cookbook . . . full of helpful information for the hunter and non-hunter alike. . . . Anyone new to hunting or fishing will find a wealth of solutions to the mysteries upon which they are embarking. What strikes me about this book, however, is not how helpful it is for hunters. For while there can be no doubt about that . . . what is far more interesting is how useful this book is for people who don’t hunt, who don’t have game to process. . . . Due to Rinella’s use of different types of game as an organizing principle, the book is wonderfully varied. There are recipes for goose pastrami, tea smoked duck, marrow bones and hot pots. Because he is not pinned to a restaurant or a region, Rinella is free to include recipes from all over the world, at varying levels of difficulty. He douses salmon in tequila to make a cilantro hinted gravlax, and fills up big pots to make a crab boil. . . . Is this a cookbook, as it claims, for every hunter and angler? Of course it is. But it’s also a cookbook for everyone else.”—The Daily Beast
About the Author
In addition to being an expert chef known for working with wild game, Steven Rinella is an outdoorsman, writer, and television and podcast personality with an exceptional ability to communicate the hunting lifestyle to a wide variety of audiences. The host of the television show and podcast MeatEater, he is also the author of two volumes of The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game; Meat Eater: Adventures from the Life of an American Hunter; American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon; and The Scavenger’s Guide to Haute Cuisine. His writing has appeared in many publications, including Outside, Field & Stream, The New Yorker, Glamour, The New York Times, Men’s Journal, Salon, O: The Oprah Magazine, Bowhunter, and the anthologies Best American Travel Writing and Best Food Writing.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
01 Big Game
INTRODUCTION
The big game section is in the front of this book because it is a fitting position for what I consider to be the pinnacle of the wild game world. While I regard myself as a hunting generalist (I’ll chase anything that’s good to eat, and at times my definition of good has been elastic enough to include everything from common carp to porcupines), big game hunting is my deepest passion. I killed my first deer when I was thirteen, after two unsuccessful seasons of misses and mistakes. I’ve kept at it, without ever missing a season, for the past thirty-three years. Every fall and winter, I put fifty days or more into pursuing big game. I believe that it’s the most challenging form of hunting, both physically and mentally, and it pays off in the biggest way. Long ago, I committed to feeding my family a diet of wild meat. Big game is how I’m able to stay true to that commitment.
Most hunters share my fondness. According to statistics from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 80 percent of all hunters chase big game at some point during the year. Each of those hunters has his or her own particular set of motivations, but you can’t argue with the seductive size of big game animals. A mature whitetail deer can yield anywhere from forty to eighty pounds of boneless, recipe-ready meat. An elk can yield well over two hundred pounds. A moose, well over three hundred pounds. In addition to abundance, big game also gives you variety. I break my deer down into a dozen different cuts, ranging from short ribs to sirloins to tongue. Each cut is suitable for an endless array of recipes and preparations. With just a single deer in your freezer, you can have months’ worth of eating with no fear of redundancy or boredom.
This cut-based approach is the key to big game cooking. It remedies a problem that I have with wild game cookbooks in general, which tend to draw unnecessary distinctions among various species of antlered and horned game. To me, there is no fundamental difference between a recipe for a pronghorn antelope shank and a recipe for a whitetail deer shank beyond some minor adjustments in cooking times. In fact, I’d argue that it’s more important to understand what part of the animal you’re cooking than it is to understand what kind of big game animal it came from.
Keep this approach in mind as you work through this section. Virtually every recipe here is interchangeable from one big game species to the next. Admittedly, the recipe for Kimchi Tacos with Wild Pig or Javelina shoulder on page 152 is especially suitable for the stringier meat and sometimes stronger flavors of those particular animals. But it could easily be applied to a venison shoulder or bear shoulder, as all three of these pieces of meat share in common a lot of sinews and connective tissue that will break down during the cooking process and yield a finished product that is rich, moist, and silky. This is just one example where substitutions are appropriate; I have called out many others in the following recipes. I’m hopeful that you’ll make additional discoveries on your own as you apply these methods to whatever big game happens to turn up in your freezer over the coming years.
Finally, I’d like to throw in a few thoughts on the subject of big game meat that tastes “gamey,” a term that drives me a little bit insane every time I hear it. As best as I can tell, gamey has no fixed definition. I’ve heard it used to describe a dozen or more different things. It’s used to describe meat that was spoiled, meaning rotten, from improper handling in the field. I’ve heard it used to describe meat that hadn’t been trimmed of tallow and blood clots. I’ve heard it used to describe meat that had been tainted by secretions from the tarsal gland on a deer’s back leg. And I’ve heard it used by people who are trying to say that game meat doesn’t taste like the flavorless beef that they’re used to buying from fast-food restaurants.
Whatever it actually means to you or the people you’re cooking for, most causes of gamey meat can be eliminated by taking a careful approach to your hunting techniques and field care. First off, don’t let fly with an arrow or bullet unless you know exactly what’s going to happen when you do it. There is no place for guesswork or surprises when it comes to marksmanship. You need to put your projectile cleanly through the lungs and/or heart of the animal for a quick, clean kill. Poor shot placement can lead to an animal being heavily stressed before it eventually dies. When that happens, there’s a chance that the animal could indeed have tough meat with strong, off-putting flavors.
Gut the animal immediately. Big game animals have an internal body temperature of over one hundred degrees. Once the animal is dead, that heat will quickly spoil the meat. The area around the ball joints, at the base of the rear legs, is the first to go. Removing the guts helps cool things down. In this chapter you’ll see how to properly do the job. After gutting, pack the chest cavity with ice or snow. If need be, quarter the animal and get the quarters into a walk-in meat locker, a household fridge, or even a cooler loaded with ice. Whatever it takes, keep the animal cold and dry until you’re ready to butcher it. And when it comes to butchering, keep things cold and clean and follow the directions that are laid out here. You’ll eliminate the majority of your gamey situations.
But no amount of careful shooting and trimming is going to change the minds of squeamish folks who think that anything other than domestically produced meat tastes different and, therefore, gamey. What will change their minds is repeated exposure to what real meat actually tastes like. It only helps when it’s properly prepared and served. Getting a deer—or an elk, moose, caribou, or bear—in your freezer is the first step of the process. This chapter is the second step. Enjoy.
The Big Buck/Little Buck Myth
A lot of hunters have this idea that big bucks aren’t that good to eat. This is nonsense. There are myriad factors that influence the palatability of a deer; age is hardly the defining one. We put this idea to the test on a Colorado mule deer hunt when we killed two bucks. The first was a three- to four-year-old giant; the second was a year-and-a-half-old forky. Served raw, the unanimous consensus was that the bigger and older ham was a better piece of meat. In all fairness, the older buck had been aged a day or so longer—which goes to show that factors beyond the animal’s age are at play when it comes to quality meat.
THE NATURE OF THE BEAST
American Pronghorn (Antelope)
The meat of the American pronghorn, or antelope, tends to be rather polarizing. Critics often say that it tastes gamey or musky, while fans of antelope will say that the faint hint of sage is a welcome attribute that brings to mind the open landscapes of the American West. Unpleasant experiences with antelope meat can be avoided if the hunter practices good marksmanship and field care. If you follow all of the advice within this book, you’ll find that antelope have an excellent flavor on par with the finest big game animals.
Black Bear
During the time of Daniel Boone, black bear was the preferred meat on the American frontier. Deer were good for buckskin clothes, bear was good for eating. There’s no reason to think any differently about black bear meat today. Trimmed of fat, the meat is excellent and can be used for a wide variety of purposes. When slow-cooked or braised it resembles beef pot roast in texture and flavor. The quality of the meat does vary according to the animal’s diet. Bears that have been feeding on fish or marine mammals can have an off-putting fishy taste. A bear that’s been feeding heavily on rotten carrion can also taste bad. These occasions are rare, however, as most black bears derive the bulk of their diet from plant matter. Some of the best bear meat comes from animals feeding on berries or hardwood mast. When baiting bears, avoid using animal or fish matter so that you don’t taint the flesh of the animals that you’re hunting. Trichinosis is another consideration with bear meat. Unless you’ve had your animal tested, it’s safe to assume that all bears are infected by microscopic Trichinella larvae—the same larvae that used to commonly infect domestic pork and is still present in wild hogs. Destroying the threat is simple: cook all bear meat to 160°F and you’re safe.
Caribou
Complaints about the gamey qualities of caribou meat can often be attributed to bulls killed during the rut. Caribou flesh seems to be affected by the hormonal changes of the breeding season in a more dramatic way than any other big game animal. For most hunters, this isn’t an issue, because caribou are typically hunted between late August and early October, before the rut begins. People accustomed to eating beef are likely to recognize caribou meat as being “different,” though it is highly prized by hunters who live in caribou country. The meat is often more tender than other antlered game, to the point that some people have described it as “pasty.” Its coloration is sometimes lighter, too, and it can lack the deep mahogany color that characterizes the flesh of other members of the deer family. Caribou meat can be used in any recipe calling for venison.
Elk
Elk are widely regarded as the best of the best among wild game meats and are often compared to grass-fed beef. There is no such thing as a bad-tasting elk, and rarely does anyone complain about gamey elk. Older animals can be tough, but aging and proper cooking methods can take care of that. Elk meat can be used for any recipe calling for venison.
Moose
In the north, moose meat is as popular among hunters as elk meat is in the Rockies. While it doesn’t prompt as many comparisons to grass-fed beef, it is mild and easily approachable. The flesh is heavily grained and colored a deep, rich red. It is generally a tougher, chewier meat than whitetail deer. It’s a good practice to age your moose meat for a week or so before butchering. If you can’t do that, you can let your butchered cuts rest in the freezer for a few months. You’ll find that the meat gets better and better as time goes by. Moose can be used in any preparation calling for venison.
Mule Deer
Most people would have a hard time distinguishing mule deer meat from the meat of a whitetail deer. Occasionally you’ll encounter a mature mule deer that has a ruttier and muskier taste than you’d find on a whitetail, but generally they are excellent. The best meat comes off the animals that are in the best condition, regardless of age or gender. If it’s killed quickly and handled properly, a well-fed mule deer buck with a good layer of fat on its rump is going to provide some of the most tender and pleasantly flavored meat that you’ll ever encounter.
Whitetail Deer
Whitetail deer are by far the most widely consumed game meat in the United States. If care is taken to avoid contamination by the fluids produced by the tarsal glands on the animal’s rear legs, the meat is exceptionally mild and usually quite tender. Most people who have a familiarity with both whitetails and elk will choose elk as their favorite, though whitetail meat is highly regarded by most hunters.
Wild Pigs
Wild pigs, or feral hogs, are the exact same species as the farm-raised varieties of pigs that you can find in a butcher shop or grocery store: Sus scrofa. The difference is that wild pigs are far leaner than domestic pigs, as they eat a lot less food and get a lot more exercise. For perspective, consider that it’s virtually unheard of to find a wild pig that can be used to make a slab of bacon. Because of their leanness, wild pig flesh has more in common with venison than it does with commercially produced pork. It is generally regarded as more flavorful and complex than domestic pork. When cooking with it, you usually need to add fat and take measures to prevent it from drying out. Younger pigs generally have better meat than older pigs. Many hunters prefer the flesh of a pregnant sow above all others, as they have a lot of stored body fat. Most hunters regard sexually mature boars as the least desirable when it comes to eating. At times, their meat can be very tough, with an off-putting odor. Diet matters with wild pigs. Animals feeding on green grass or acorns, for instance, will likely have much better meat than animals who are ingesting lower-quality foods or animal matter. Wild pigs often carry microscopic Trichinella larvae in their flesh, which can cause the disease trichinosis. (The larvae used to be carried by domestic pigs as well, though it’s been virtually eradicated from pigs raised in accordance to USDA guidelines.) Cook all wild pork to 160°F and you’re safe.
gutting Big Game Animals
Wild hogs, like the one pictured here, share the same basic anatomy with all hooved big game animals. The process of skinning, gutting, and butchering any big game animal is basically the same, whether it’s a wild pig or a whitetail deer. But there are different approaches to big game field care. Here Ben Binnion, a commercial wild hog trapper who has handled thousands of wild hogs, demonstrates a clean and efficient way to go about this process. For additional information on butchering big game animals check out The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game, Volume 1: Big Game.
How to Gut Big Game Animals
1. Because this hog was trapped and shot in the head, it was necessary to bleed it out by cutting its throat immediately after the shot. Bleeding out a big game animal can give the meat a cleaner taste and better appearance, but it is unnecessary if the animal was shot in the vital heart/lung area with a rifle or bow.
2. Start by cutting through the skin around the genitals and down to the anus. Be extremely careful to cut only the hide without puncturing the gut cavity. Once this cut is made, use your knife to separate the skin and genitals from the carcass. This hog was trapped in Texas, where leaving evidence of sex on the carcass is not a legal requirement. However, some state game agencies do require that you leave evidence of sex naturally attached to the carcass of big game animals. (Read more on page 16.)
INTRODUCTION
The big game section is in the front of this book because it is a fitting position for what I consider to be the pinnacle of the wild game world. While I regard myself as a hunting generalist (I’ll chase anything that’s good to eat, and at times my definition of good has been elastic enough to include everything from common carp to porcupines), big game hunting is my deepest passion. I killed my first deer when I was thirteen, after two unsuccessful seasons of misses and mistakes. I’ve kept at it, without ever missing a season, for the past thirty-three years. Every fall and winter, I put fifty days or more into pursuing big game. I believe that it’s the most challenging form of hunting, both physically and mentally, and it pays off in the biggest way. Long ago, I committed to feeding my family a diet of wild meat. Big game is how I’m able to stay true to that commitment.
Most hunters share my fondness. According to statistics from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 80 percent of all hunters chase big game at some point during the year. Each of those hunters has his or her own particular set of motivations, but you can’t argue with the seductive size of big game animals. A mature whitetail deer can yield anywhere from forty to eighty pounds of boneless, recipe-ready meat. An elk can yield well over two hundred pounds. A moose, well over three hundred pounds. In addition to abundance, big game also gives you variety. I break my deer down into a dozen different cuts, ranging from short ribs to sirloins to tongue. Each cut is suitable for an endless array of recipes and preparations. With just a single deer in your freezer, you can have months’ worth of eating with no fear of redundancy or boredom.
This cut-based approach is the key to big game cooking. It remedies a problem that I have with wild game cookbooks in general, which tend to draw unnecessary distinctions among various species of antlered and horned game. To me, there is no fundamental difference between a recipe for a pronghorn antelope shank and a recipe for a whitetail deer shank beyond some minor adjustments in cooking times. In fact, I’d argue that it’s more important to understand what part of the animal you’re cooking than it is to understand what kind of big game animal it came from.
Keep this approach in mind as you work through this section. Virtually every recipe here is interchangeable from one big game species to the next. Admittedly, the recipe for Kimchi Tacos with Wild Pig or Javelina shoulder on page 152 is especially suitable for the stringier meat and sometimes stronger flavors of those particular animals. But it could easily be applied to a venison shoulder or bear shoulder, as all three of these pieces of meat share in common a lot of sinews and connective tissue that will break down during the cooking process and yield a finished product that is rich, moist, and silky. This is just one example where substitutions are appropriate; I have called out many others in the following recipes. I’m hopeful that you’ll make additional discoveries on your own as you apply these methods to whatever big game happens to turn up in your freezer over the coming years.
Finally, I’d like to throw in a few thoughts on the subject of big game meat that tastes “gamey,” a term that drives me a little bit insane every time I hear it. As best as I can tell, gamey has no fixed definition. I’ve heard it used to describe a dozen or more different things. It’s used to describe meat that was spoiled, meaning rotten, from improper handling in the field. I’ve heard it used to describe meat that hadn’t been trimmed of tallow and blood clots. I’ve heard it used to describe meat that had been tainted by secretions from the tarsal gland on a deer’s back leg. And I’ve heard it used by people who are trying to say that game meat doesn’t taste like the flavorless beef that they’re used to buying from fast-food restaurants.
Whatever it actually means to you or the people you’re cooking for, most causes of gamey meat can be eliminated by taking a careful approach to your hunting techniques and field care. First off, don’t let fly with an arrow or bullet unless you know exactly what’s going to happen when you do it. There is no place for guesswork or surprises when it comes to marksmanship. You need to put your projectile cleanly through the lungs and/or heart of the animal for a quick, clean kill. Poor shot placement can lead to an animal being heavily stressed before it eventually dies. When that happens, there’s a chance that the animal could indeed have tough meat with strong, off-putting flavors.
Gut the animal immediately. Big game animals have an internal body temperature of over one hundred degrees. Once the animal is dead, that heat will quickly spoil the meat. The area around the ball joints, at the base of the rear legs, is the first to go. Removing the guts helps cool things down. In this chapter you’ll see how to properly do the job. After gutting, pack the chest cavity with ice or snow. If need be, quarter the animal and get the quarters into a walk-in meat locker, a household fridge, or even a cooler loaded with ice. Whatever it takes, keep the animal cold and dry until you’re ready to butcher it. And when it comes to butchering, keep things cold and clean and follow the directions that are laid out here. You’ll eliminate the majority of your gamey situations.
But no amount of careful shooting and trimming is going to change the minds of squeamish folks who think that anything other than domestically produced meat tastes different and, therefore, gamey. What will change their minds is repeated exposure to what real meat actually tastes like. It only helps when it’s properly prepared and served. Getting a deer—or an elk, moose, caribou, or bear—in your freezer is the first step of the process. This chapter is the second step. Enjoy.
The Big Buck/Little Buck Myth
A lot of hunters have this idea that big bucks aren’t that good to eat. This is nonsense. There are myriad factors that influence the palatability of a deer; age is hardly the defining one. We put this idea to the test on a Colorado mule deer hunt when we killed two bucks. The first was a three- to four-year-old giant; the second was a year-and-a-half-old forky. Served raw, the unanimous consensus was that the bigger and older ham was a better piece of meat. In all fairness, the older buck had been aged a day or so longer—which goes to show that factors beyond the animal’s age are at play when it comes to quality meat.
THE NATURE OF THE BEAST
American Pronghorn (Antelope)
The meat of the American pronghorn, or antelope, tends to be rather polarizing. Critics often say that it tastes gamey or musky, while fans of antelope will say that the faint hint of sage is a welcome attribute that brings to mind the open landscapes of the American West. Unpleasant experiences with antelope meat can be avoided if the hunter practices good marksmanship and field care. If you follow all of the advice within this book, you’ll find that antelope have an excellent flavor on par with the finest big game animals.
Black Bear
During the time of Daniel Boone, black bear was the preferred meat on the American frontier. Deer were good for buckskin clothes, bear was good for eating. There’s no reason to think any differently about black bear meat today. Trimmed of fat, the meat is excellent and can be used for a wide variety of purposes. When slow-cooked or braised it resembles beef pot roast in texture and flavor. The quality of the meat does vary according to the animal’s diet. Bears that have been feeding on fish or marine mammals can have an off-putting fishy taste. A bear that’s been feeding heavily on rotten carrion can also taste bad. These occasions are rare, however, as most black bears derive the bulk of their diet from plant matter. Some of the best bear meat comes from animals feeding on berries or hardwood mast. When baiting bears, avoid using animal or fish matter so that you don’t taint the flesh of the animals that you’re hunting. Trichinosis is another consideration with bear meat. Unless you’ve had your animal tested, it’s safe to assume that all bears are infected by microscopic Trichinella larvae—the same larvae that used to commonly infect domestic pork and is still present in wild hogs. Destroying the threat is simple: cook all bear meat to 160°F and you’re safe.
Caribou
Complaints about the gamey qualities of caribou meat can often be attributed to bulls killed during the rut. Caribou flesh seems to be affected by the hormonal changes of the breeding season in a more dramatic way than any other big game animal. For most hunters, this isn’t an issue, because caribou are typically hunted between late August and early October, before the rut begins. People accustomed to eating beef are likely to recognize caribou meat as being “different,” though it is highly prized by hunters who live in caribou country. The meat is often more tender than other antlered game, to the point that some people have described it as “pasty.” Its coloration is sometimes lighter, too, and it can lack the deep mahogany color that characterizes the flesh of other members of the deer family. Caribou meat can be used in any recipe calling for venison.
Elk
Elk are widely regarded as the best of the best among wild game meats and are often compared to grass-fed beef. There is no such thing as a bad-tasting elk, and rarely does anyone complain about gamey elk. Older animals can be tough, but aging and proper cooking methods can take care of that. Elk meat can be used for any recipe calling for venison.
Moose
In the north, moose meat is as popular among hunters as elk meat is in the Rockies. While it doesn’t prompt as many comparisons to grass-fed beef, it is mild and easily approachable. The flesh is heavily grained and colored a deep, rich red. It is generally a tougher, chewier meat than whitetail deer. It’s a good practice to age your moose meat for a week or so before butchering. If you can’t do that, you can let your butchered cuts rest in the freezer for a few months. You’ll find that the meat gets better and better as time goes by. Moose can be used in any preparation calling for venison.
Mule Deer
Most people would have a hard time distinguishing mule deer meat from the meat of a whitetail deer. Occasionally you’ll encounter a mature mule deer that has a ruttier and muskier taste than you’d find on a whitetail, but generally they are excellent. The best meat comes off the animals that are in the best condition, regardless of age or gender. If it’s killed quickly and handled properly, a well-fed mule deer buck with a good layer of fat on its rump is going to provide some of the most tender and pleasantly flavored meat that you’ll ever encounter.
Whitetail Deer
Whitetail deer are by far the most widely consumed game meat in the United States. If care is taken to avoid contamination by the fluids produced by the tarsal glands on the animal’s rear legs, the meat is exceptionally mild and usually quite tender. Most people who have a familiarity with both whitetails and elk will choose elk as their favorite, though whitetail meat is highly regarded by most hunters.
Wild Pigs
Wild pigs, or feral hogs, are the exact same species as the farm-raised varieties of pigs that you can find in a butcher shop or grocery store: Sus scrofa. The difference is that wild pigs are far leaner than domestic pigs, as they eat a lot less food and get a lot more exercise. For perspective, consider that it’s virtually unheard of to find a wild pig that can be used to make a slab of bacon. Because of their leanness, wild pig flesh has more in common with venison than it does with commercially produced pork. It is generally regarded as more flavorful and complex than domestic pork. When cooking with it, you usually need to add fat and take measures to prevent it from drying out. Younger pigs generally have better meat than older pigs. Many hunters prefer the flesh of a pregnant sow above all others, as they have a lot of stored body fat. Most hunters regard sexually mature boars as the least desirable when it comes to eating. At times, their meat can be very tough, with an off-putting odor. Diet matters with wild pigs. Animals feeding on green grass or acorns, for instance, will likely have much better meat than animals who are ingesting lower-quality foods or animal matter. Wild pigs often carry microscopic Trichinella larvae in their flesh, which can cause the disease trichinosis. (The larvae used to be carried by domestic pigs as well, though it’s been virtually eradicated from pigs raised in accordance to USDA guidelines.) Cook all wild pork to 160°F and you’re safe.
gutting Big Game Animals
Wild hogs, like the one pictured here, share the same basic anatomy with all hooved big game animals. The process of skinning, gutting, and butchering any big game animal is basically the same, whether it’s a wild pig or a whitetail deer. But there are different approaches to big game field care. Here Ben Binnion, a commercial wild hog trapper who has handled thousands of wild hogs, demonstrates a clean and efficient way to go about this process. For additional information on butchering big game animals check out The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game, Volume 1: Big Game.
How to Gut Big Game Animals
1. Because this hog was trapped and shot in the head, it was necessary to bleed it out by cutting its throat immediately after the shot. Bleeding out a big game animal can give the meat a cleaner taste and better appearance, but it is unnecessary if the animal was shot in the vital heart/lung area with a rifle or bow.
2. Start by cutting through the skin around the genitals and down to the anus. Be extremely careful to cut only the hide without puncturing the gut cavity. Once this cut is made, use your knife to separate the skin and genitals from the carcass. This hog was trapped in Texas, where leaving evidence of sex on the carcass is not a legal requirement. However, some state game agencies do require that you leave evidence of sex naturally attached to the carcass of big game animals. (Read more on page 16.)
Details:
Share with
Or share with link
https://www.bolo.ae/products/U0399590072