There’s not much better than a good piece of smoked meat, especially a smoked venison / deer leg roast. If you’re a long-time reader of this site you’ll know that I love charcuterie: sausages, salami, terrines and pates, as well as the cousins like whole muscle cures and brined chunks of meat like pastrami and…
Four-Legged
Venison Fat Shmaltz
Wondering what to do with venison fat? Oh do I have a treat for you! There’s a huge misconception about venison/deer fat and it’s use in cooking. Basically, people think it tastes like chapstick, it’s gamey and horrible, too rich, or some other common unfortunate misunderstanding. If you’re here, you’re probably bambi fat-curious, so know…
Sicilian Venison Heart Sandwiches (Vastedda Palermitana)
Italian street food is truly some of the coolest out there, case in point: la Vastedda Palermitana. Also known as pani ca muesa or pane con la milza, this sandwich has a few names, all of which are probably more attractive than a descriptive English one. Why? Well, to be blunt, the Vastedda is a…
Venison Neck Pastrami
Pastrami made from venison neck was a great break from the usual pounded, stuffed roast-type recipes I typically do with my deer necks. You can slice it, you can dice it, boil it, put it on a sandwich, fry it up with eggs or stick it in your ear, it’s a great way to take…
Dry-Aging Meat and Game at Home
Got a special occasion coming up, or a holiday celebration? Hunter in your family shoot too many deer and you’re running out of space? If you like meat projects, dry-aging them is a good one to add to your repertoire. By now, most people have heard of dry-aged meat, and, if they haven’t tasted some…
Tuscan Fettucine with Squirrel Giblets
Here’s a great recipe for an evening after a squirrel or rabbit hunt, especially if you have nice fat grey squirrels around like I do. When I butcher a deer or lamb, I usually save some offal, but, with limited freezer space I do have to pick and choose, and I don’t usually keep every…
Acorn Crusted Squirrel with Wild Mushroom-Giblet Gravy
Acorn crusted squirrel is one of the best things I’ve made with tree ninjas. Period. A few years ago, I had Daniel Vitalis of Wild Fed and his entourage out to film an episode for his show. We took a week to hunt things around Minnesota and Wisconsin, and put everything together for a nice…
Honey Mushroom Gulyas / Goulash
Honey Mushroom Goulash / Gulyas has been in the works for years over here, and I’m excited to finally share it with you. It’s without a doubt, one of the best things I’ve had with them, and, it’s pretty traditional, more or less. I know I’ll get some contentious comments about my creative liberties here,…
Bison Stew with Timpsila, Ramps and Hominy
I started cooking with the Thíŋpsiŋla / Timpsila / Prairie Turnips, and they are so, so delicious. I was lucky enough to get invited out near the Standing Rock Reservation by my friend, Native American ethnobotanist Linda Black Elk this past summer, and for two days, I worked hard enjoying the timpsila harvest with them….
Venison Breast with Mustard and Breadcrumbs
I eat a lot of meat, but I’m not much of a hunter. I know plenty about butchery and processing animals though, so when I got my first charity deer year, one of the first cuts I knew I would take out was the breast, which I’ve never, if rarely seen people mention when processing…
Woodchuck Stew with Garden Vegetables
The giant, beautiful gardens on the farm are home to all kinds of plants and vegetables, and they attract the attention of plenty of critters. If you have a garden that’s ever been visited by a woodchuck, you know they can be very disruptive. How I approach woodchucks is a good example of my approach…
Pork Salo, with Ramp Leaf Rub
Salo is a great piece of pork charcuterie that I found out about from one of the members of Hank Shaws great Facebook Group Hunt Gather Cook when I asked for some ideas for interesting pork cuts to take out of 2 pandemic pigs I butchered. I love cultural specialties and the rabbit holes that…
Sochan with Venison Bacon, Ramps and Maple Vinegar
It’s Sochan season, and while I was reminded of it in a big way while hunting morels in a flood plain forest. There were lots of familiar plants (no morels), but most of all I was struck by the Rudbeckia laciniata / Sochan—it was everywhere I turned. The colonies seemed to go as far as…