Venison recipes amount to the hundreds, maybe even thousands if you're creative enough

When it comes to fish and wild game cooking, Uncle Lynn is the beginning and the end, though you may have to take this with a grain … err, dash of salt and pinch of pepper. His wild game cooking philosophy permeates from the mantra of “don’t hide the flavor, work with it and enhance it. Embrace it for what it is.”

His philosophy revolves around not masking the taste with excessive marinades and sauces, but rather, giving it your own personal twist.

Figure this: If you don’t like chicken or beef stir fry, it’s probably more about the stir fry than the ingredients. If you do enjoy a Hawaiian kabob with traditional beef steak, then a teriyaki venison kabob may be just the twist that has you salivating for more.

Glazed venison pate is not your idea of fine dining? Live on the edge. Maybe curried deer is a better option.

To preface this discussion on new and unique venison recipes, keep in mind that the quality of a final dish depends heavily on initial care and preparation in the field. During and immediately after the kill, do your best to keep the meat clean and cool.

No matter what happens in the kitchen, if meat is dirty or spoiled there’s no recipe that can transform it into tasty fare.

With more deer hunters taking the field, and even adding multiple deer to the take, here are a few tips from Uncle Lynn as your freezer begins filling with venison.

* My latest and greatest is something called venison sauerbraten. Spell it however you’d like but begin with good, clean venison free of connective tissue. Put any marginal cuts away to the side and save those for sausage. For this dish we want 1 inch-by-1 inch cubes of deer. Sautée in olive oil, not crunchy but brown. Add in mild red wine and then add sour cream; salt and pepper to taste. It’s quick and easy, but not how we traditionally enjoy venison.

It's extremely important to take good care of your game, especially with warm weather

Finally we need to create the “sauer,” which is simple. Just add a balsamic vinegar. Add crushed ginger snaps and simmer it into a thick sauce. This is best served over noodles; I prefer a green spinach noodle.

My next choice is venison lasagna, not with ground venison, but rather with thin sliced deer strips. Again, I would prefer a nice cut from the round. Cut across the muscle into quarter-inch thick strips and layer that in with your traditional lasagna. One other suggestion is to add one or two egg whites into the marina sauce. And my own preference is also to use ricotta cheese. This enhances the taste of venison, and any lasagna, for that matter.

And Uncle Lynn adds emphatically: “Don’t get stuck in rut, there’s a world of opportunities just waiting. We’ve become to complacent, cooking wild game the way it’s been done for decades. Which is fine if that’s what you enjoy, but open your eyes and mouth to other possibilities.”

With white-tailed deer opportunities at record levels, the excuse “I’m tired of venison sausage, brats, jerky or any traditional method,” is no longer valid. As Uncle Lynn can attest a little imagination and preparation is all you need.

If you don’t believe me log on to the Web and do a quick search and you’ll find even more possibilities.

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Hopefully you had something like this in your scope this year

As a hunter and angler, as well as a friend of many hunters and anglers, I’ve dined on an array of wild game preparations, from delicacies like lemon-pepper broiled walleye, to more obscure offerings such as sandhill crane stir-fry, pickled beaver tail, and deep fried bullhead caviar.

Okay, I admit, I haven’t really ever tried pickled beaver tail … and honestly, I doubt I ever will. But other people have, and I threw that in to demonstrate the imagination progressive thinking of wild game connoisseurs who have gone beyond the tired standard of the past of drowning most everything in cream of mushroom soup.

Not that some concoctions, like beaver tail, are all that appealing to the masses, but when it comes to fish and game cooking, the beauty is in the eye – or the fork – of the beholder.

Similar to dining out, we each have our own preferences when it comes to wild game cuisine. It’s at this time of year, as we continue our drive toward the close of deer hunting, that the typical guy who struggles to boil water, is magically (in their own mind, anyway) transformed into the Julia Child of venison preparation.

First off, you can’t make a fillet mignon out of ground chuck. If you don’t take care of the meat in the field, no amount of seasoning or any style of preparation will overcome the damage done. Take care of your kill from the field to the fork.

What to do with venision?

Beyond properly cleaning the meat, keeping it cool and processing it efficiently are important. Along with that, proper packaging and storage will ensure the meat stays fresh.

Arm-chair deer processors will fry pounds of back straps as they work their way through carcasses. When the work is done, the end result is an array of products, from breakfast sausage, deer roasts and burger, to venison brats, summer sausage and stew meat. In fact, I recall one year in college when a wrapped meat package was marked as venison bacon.

We never did fry it up as bacon, but it gives credence to the endless possibilities of fish and wild game cooking. Odds are, if you enjoy traditional food such as stir-fry, you’ll be able to modify the recipe to include the bounties of nature.

A use for all

One last comment. My lineage utilized everything but the squeal, so to speak, when it came to pigs, and the same can be done with venison.

No need to contemplate what to do with the rib cage and carcass. It makes an attractive feast for birds as a natural suet cake. As the carcass thaws and the tallow is warmed you’ll find an array of birds devouring the energy and nutrition-rich leftovers.

The bottom line is, if you still have a deer license that is not yet filled, don’t think for a minute you can’t find a use for the venison. If you don’t believe me, search the internet and you never know what will appear.

Supplemental deer season

Plenty of does left for the taking yet this fall

The supplemental season is scheduled for December 17 – 31, in all units except 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D and 4E. The season is open to those who purchase remaining licenses, and to hunters who have unfilled antlerless whitetail, or “any-antlerless” licenses from the regular deer gun season.

Hunters who have unfilled antlered (buck) deer licenses may not hunt in the supplemental season. As in the regular deer gun season, hunters must hunt only in the unit designated on their license

Some of these units have licenses remaining and others may be experiencing a lesser harvest due to a variety of reasons,” said Randy Kreil, chief of the department’s wildlife division. “We know we still might not issue all the remaining licenses and not everyone with a license will get a deer during the December season, but we needed to make an extra effort to provide additional opportunities for harvest.”

The special season will also give landowners who may have experienced deer depredation problems in past winters, a chance to allow hunters to reduce deer numbers in localized areas.

The 2004 supplemental season marks only the third time in recent history that game and fish has added to the regular deer gun season. The last time was in 1996, primarily in the eastern part of the state, when a severe snowstorm during the second weekend of the season significantly limited travel and hunting activity. Prior to that, a supplemental season was held in 1986, also due to a significant snowstorm on opening weekend.

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When I look back over pictures of may dad and I hunting pheasants in the 1980s, it’s not hard to see from the old prints how special these birds were. In this age of taking thousands of digital photos, even 25 years ago a couple of snap shots were usually reserved only for a significant outing and a couple of roosters were worthy of such attention.

I also looked forward to dining on pheasant. I grew up in a home where wild game was the norm and traditional food was a bit more of a treat. It seems odd, but we ate it all –not just the breasts, but the heart, gizzard, legs, etc. As the old German’s would say, we ate everything from the pig except for the squeal.

I didn’t mind grouse, partridge, and an array of ducks and geese. But then as now, I far and away prefer pheasant as table fare.

Which brings us to 2007. Pheasant season started Oct. 13 and runs through Jan. 6, 2008. The daily limit is three and the possession limit is 15. As limits of roosters are now a bit more common than when I first started hunting roosters, Kodak moments are a little more frequent, though no less significant.

An additional bonus is that a few more pheasants in the freezer means more opportunities to experiment with different ways to prepare roosters for the kitchen table.

While good old fashioned roast rooster is still hard to beat, pheasant stir fry, deep fried pheasant strips and rooster soup have found their way onto plates and spoons in new and different ways. About the only way you can fail with pheasant is to not properly take care of it.

First, keep the bird clean in the field, and cool it as soon as possible. Field dressing – removing the internal organs while still maintaining legal identification requirements – is appropriate just about any time a full cleaning is more than a couple of hours away.

Next, don’t wait to long to determine the eventual plans for the game. If you’re going to prepare and cook it within 24-36 hours, storing it in a refrigerator will suffice. If you’ve decided to save the bird for a later date, properly clean it and freeze it.

The method at our home was freezing pheasants in a milk carton filled with water. Milk cartons are plentiful and over the course of a few months I don’t remember any birds tasting freezer-burned with this method of storage.

These days, many hunters use a vacuum sealer. I’ve not heard anyone complain about the functionality of these, either, though if past history is any gauge, anytime wild game is stored beyond nine months all bets are off. And it’s a shame to let such tasty fare go to waste.

As you sample the bounty of another great autumn, don’t forget that once the bird hits the ground, the time between field and frying pan is important to a mouth-watering meal.

If you’re tired of the same old Cream of Mushroom Soup Pheasant Recipes, check out one of my favorites:

Fried Pheasant Recipe Ingredients

2 pounds pheasant breast, cut into strips
1 teaspoon meat tenderizer
1 cup all-purpose flour
seasoned salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry potato flakes
1/2 (16 ounce) package buttery round crackers, crushed
1 egg
1/2 cup milk

Fried Pheasant Recipe Directions

1.Preheat a deep fryer for 375 to 400 degrees F (190 to 200 degrees C).

2.Sprinkle the pheasant meat with meat tenderizer and pound lightly with a mallet to make all the pieces uniform and the same thickness. Using a medium bowl, combine the flour, seasoned salt, pepper, potato flakes and crushed cracker crumbs. Mix well and set aside.

3.In a separate medium bowl, combine the egg and the milk and whisk until smooth. Dip the pheasant meat strips into the egg mixture then dredge each strip into the flour mixture. Coat well and thoroughly and lay out on a plate so the strips can be easily transferred to the deep fryer.

4.Place the strips in a deep fryer set at 375 to 400 degrees F (190 to 200 degrees C) until golden brown. (Note: You can also pan fry these in a skillet over medium high to high heat with 1 cup oil for pan frying, but you may need to flip them if they are not submerged in oil.)

Check out more Pheasant Recipes here at Nodak Outdoors.

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If pheasant opener left you with anything, it was most likely, birds in the freezer. The question is how one goes about eating them. No longer are hunters bound by the code of Cream of Mushroom soup and a crock pot. There are many exciting ways to prepare pheasant recipes and what follows are just a few recipes for dishes that will have your family and friends excited to sit down at the table.

Pheasant Kabobs

Ingredients:

Two whole pheasants, meat de-boned from breasts and thighs, cut into chunks
One package of thick cut bacon
2 Onions, cut into two-inch chunks
2 Bell Peppers, cut into two-inch slices
One package medium mushrooms
Glaze or marinade of your choice

Directions: If desired, put the pheasant meat and your marinade of choice together in a Ziploc bag in the refrigerator for four hours.

Place a chunk of pheasant meat and a slice of onion or pepper together and wrap one slice of bacon around them. Skewer three or four of these combinations onto a kabob stick. Take the leftover vegetables and mushrooms and skewer them on separate sticks. Using a marinade brush, put the leftover marinade on the veggies to add some flavor.

Place tinfoil on the areas of the grill you will be using to cook the kabobs and spray the tinfoil with non-stick oil, such as Pam. Ignite the grill and heat to high and then bring back down to low. Cook the kabobs on the foil – preferably on an upper or raised rack – on low heat for 10 to 12 minutes or until the kabob meat is done. The vegetable kabobs will finish before the meat kabobs, so remove them a few minutes earlier.

Honey glazed Pheasant

Ingredients:

Legs and breast of 1 pheasant, skinned
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 cups honey
1 cup butter
salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Fillet meat off of the breast and thighs. Cut the meat into pieces of the same thickness. Season the flour in a bowl with salt and pepper and dredge the pheasant meat in the mixture. Dust pheasant pieces with onion powder. Melt 3/4 cup butter in skillet over medium heat. Brown the pheasant pieces and place in a lightly oiled 9×13 glass casserole. Sprinkle with parsley.

Add the honey and 1/4 cup butter to the skillet. Mix well until butter is melted and then pour over the pheasant (should come about halfway up on the pheasant pieces). Seal the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake 30 minutes at 325 degrees.

Classic Pheasant Bake

Ingredients:

1 cup raw wild rice
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can mushrooms
2 1/2 cups water
Water chestnuts
Four strips of cooked bacon, cut into squares
2 pheasants, cut up, floured and browned
1 pkg. instant onion soup mix
1 can fried onion toppers

Directions: Mix rice, canned soups, water, mushrooms, bacon and water chestnuts in 9×13 glass casserole dish. Add pheasant. Sprinkle with onion soup mix. Cover lightly with foil. Bake for two hours at 300 degrees. Add onion toppers and cook for another 30 minutes.

Pheasant meat is a great alternative to chicken. Try it in soups, hot dishes and other meals that call for chicken. A fall weekend isn’t complete without some wild game, and with dishes like these and so many more, the preparation possibilities are endless for the finest fowl…in our outdoors.

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Baked Pheasant Recipe :

• 1 can (10.75-oz) cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup Apple cider
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 tsp. Salt
• 1/3 cup Chopped onion
• 1 Clove (small) garlic, minced
• 1 can (4-oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
• 2 Pheasants
• Paprika

Blend all ingredients except pheasants and paprika. Pour over pheasants and sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350, covered, for 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Remove cover the last 30 minutes of cooking. After 1 hour, sprinkle again with paprika.

Fried Pheasant Recipe :

• 1 Pheasant Breast, boned
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup corn meal
• 1 can beer
• salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Instructions

Cut pheasant into 2 strips. Mix flour and corn meal. Add enough beer to make batter as thick as pancake batter. Fry strips until golden brown

Grilled Pheasant Recipe

• 4 boneless Pheasant Breasts
• 2 tsp Olive Oil
• 1 lb. of your favorite pasta
• 1 large, diced tomato
• 1 jar of prepared basil presto
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Cook your favorite pasta as directed.

Place pasta on plate, and top pasta with breast, and placed tomato basil pesto across breast for delightful presentation

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Goose Recipe Ingredients:

• 4 large goose breasts
• 6 tablespoons of salt
• 3 containers of BBQ sauce (kraft works fine, and it’s cheap)
• 1 container of favorite BBQ sauce (I like Famous Dave’s “Rich and Sassy”)
• Mustard
• Hamburger Buns

I like to prepare it the night before the hunt, than it’s ready for after the morning hunt.

Make sure you get all blood clots out, and rinse thoroughly. Cut goose into 1/4″ strips across the grain. Take the goose strips and let them soak overnight with the 6 tablespoons of salt. After letting it soak, pour out all the water. Continue to add water and keep rinsing the stips. The more blood you get out, the less game taste will remain.
Add the strips to a crock pot, and cover with the 3 containers of BBQ sauce. Turn the crock pot to low. Give it 4-6 hours at low heat to cook through.
That’s about it! Just throw the strips on a hamburger bun, cover with bbq sauce and a little mustard.
Baked Goose Recipe Ingredients

1 Goose 6 – 8 lbs.
1 quart Buttermilk
8 oz Prunes, dried
2 Apples – sliced
5 slices Bacon
Butter – as needed

Soak goose in buttermilk for 4-8 hours in refrigerator. Wash bird and drain. Stuff with prunes and apples. Truss and wrap in bacon. Cover tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil. Bake until tender at roughly 325 degrees F. for about 3 hours or so. Baste with butter to help it brown.

Sauce

1/2 cup Butter
1/4 cup Flour
3/4 cup Beef or chicken broth
Salt – to taste
1 cup Sour cream
4 tb Currant jelly

Melt butter in sauce pan. Use whisk to stir in flour. Add broth and heat stirring constantly. Just before serving add sour cream and jelly. Heat and serve.

Note:

I suggest removing fruit before serving and arranging it around the bird.

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Orange Duck Recipe :

• 1 Tablespoon of Vegetable Oil
• 1/3 Cup of Orange Juice
• 2 Tablespoons Grated Orange Peel
• 1/2 Cup Can of Peaches, Pureed
• 1/2 Cup Can of Pineapple, Pureed
• 1/3 Cup Whipping Cream
• 1 Tsp. Bacon Drippings
• 2 Tablespoon Butter
• 1/2 Tsp. Chopped Fresh Garlic
• 1 Tsp. Tomato Paste
• 1 Cup Chicken Broth
• 1 Tablespoon Clover Honey

In a large skillet, heat oil and add 1 tablespoon butter and bacon drippings. Once the oil is hot, add mushrooms and sauté for about a couple minutes. Remove and set aside. Add garlic and brown duck breasts on both sides, remove and set aside. Add the remaining butter and reduce heat to simmer. Once the butter is melted add orange rind, tomato paste, chicken broth, honey, and orange juice. Stir over medium low heat until mixture comes to a boil. Add pineapple and peach, bring back to a light boil. Place breasts in a large pot and coat with sauce. Cook over low heat about 20 minutes. Arrange breasts on serving platter. Whisk whipped cream into sauce and add mushrooms. Put sauce over breasts and place in the broiler. Brown lightly and serve.

Grilled Duck Recipe :

• 4 Duck Breasts (cut into 1/2 – 3/4″ strips)
• Sealed Plastic Bag
• Bottle of Olive Oil
• 3 Tbsp of Soy Sauce
• 3 Tbsp of Worchesteir sauce
• 1 Tbsp of Seasoned Salt

Clean and rinse off duck breasts, place them in a plastic bag, and fill enough olive oil in the bag so it covers the duck breasts. Than add the other sauces and seasonings. Seal up the bag and shake it thoroughly, and refrigerate overnight.

Take duck strips out and cook on the grill, making sure not to overcook the duck. Cook for about 3 – 4 minutes on each side until medium. Great for when you’re hunting on the go.

Asian Duck Recipe :

• 4 lb. duck
• 2 cooked, peeled sweet potatoes, cut into rounds
• 3 peeled and chopped garlic cloves
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 peeled and quartered apple
• 4 tbs cornstarch
• 1 cup oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce
• 3 peeled and cubed turnips

Rinse and clean duck, and cut off all inside fat. Place garlic, apple, and lemon in cavity. In a large pot, fill with water and steam for 20 minutes/lb., or until meat is tender. Remove from water, cut duck in half, and remove bones.

Cut cornstarch into each part of duck. Pour oil in pan, and add salt. Brown duck in hot oil until golden and crispy, drain well when finished.

In small pan combine brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and lemon juice. Heat until sugar is dissolved and ingredients are well blended. Apply mixture over duck and let stand for 30 minutes in warm oven, basting with sauce several times.

Place duck on platter and surround with vegetables.

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Pickled Northern Pike Recipe

This recipe can be used with any fish but northern pike works best. Before using this recipe be sure to freeze the fish at least 5 days. This will destroy any parasites that are present in the fish or bacteria that may have been picked up during the cleaning process.

Ingredients

5 pounds of fish chunked
2.5 cups of canning salt
1 gallon of bottled water
1 quart distilled vinegar
5.5 cups of sugar
4 teaspoons pickling spice
1 cup dry white wine
1 onion cut into pieces

In a plastic container dissolve the 2.5 cups of salt in the gallon of bottled water and add chunked fish. Refrigerate for 48 to 72 hours. Remove fish and rinse in cold water. Cover fish with white vinegar for 24 hours and refrigerate.

Remove fish from vinagar and pack in jars with pieces of onion. Cover with the following solution.

–1 quart distilled vinegar
–5 1/2 cups sugar
–4 teaspoons of pickling spice
–1 cup dry white wine

Bring all ingredients to a boil except the dry wine. When solution has cooled add the dry white wine and cover fish. Seal with lids that have been scalded. Refrigerate at least one before eating.

Grilled Northern Pike Recipe

(5-7 pound northern work best)

Fillet Northern and remove Y bones. Place whole fillet on tinfoil that has been greased with cooking spray or butter. Baste fish with a combination of lemon pepper and liquid butter. The size of the fillet will dictate cooking time. Start off with low heat to make sure the fish does not burn.

This is really simple and is one of the best ways to enjoy northern pike

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Baked Crappie Recipe

This is another extremely quick and easy way to make crappie, as well as healthy.

• Cut up crappie fillets in 2 strips and lay out on a cookie sheet
• Spread some melted butter over the top of each crappie fillet
• Shake on Cavender’s Greek Seasoning (try experimenting with others)
• Lightly cover each fillet with mozzarella cheese
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes
• 1 cup shredded provolone and mozzarella cheese

Yogurt Baked Crappie Recipe

If you’re looking for “something different” you have to give this crappie recipe a try.

Ingredients:

8 – 10 crappie fillets
1 cup plain yogurt (cold)
1 cup flour
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. Creole seasoning
1 tbs. old bay seasoning
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
Cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Evenly coat baking sheet with cooking spray. Place yogurt in a bowl. Toss all breading ingredients in a plastic bag and mix well. Dip crappie fillets in yogurt and then in breaded mixture. Coat each of the crappie fillets and place on the baking sheet. Bake 15 to 20 minutes on center rack.

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