Finally! The 2018-2019 hunting season has begun. Everyone pretty much melted their way through the first week with temps regularly hitting over the 100 degree mark. Now, in a cruel twist of fate, mother nature has cooled the temps considerably but, she is trying to drown us all. And, adding insult to injury, Florence is trying to wash away the southeast.
Well, for those of you that have been able to get out and harvest dove, canada goose or, if you are lucky enough to have an urban archery location, fresh venison, I have a few fantastic recipes to share. If you noticed the title for this posting seems to be anti-bacon, well, that’s because it is, sort of. Everyone’s go to recipe seems to be to wrap a slice of bacon around a dove breast or piece of backstrap. The only dominant flavor at that point is the pig and not the animal you harvested, that and there are so many more delicious ways to enjoy all of that hard work. So, I am enlisting the boundless knowledge and creative culinary skills of Hank Shaw. The acclaimed author, hunter, angler and gourmet chef. Click here to skip all of my jibber-jabber and get right to the “meat of things”.
Hank also has some great tutorials and tips on how to make plucking your bird easier. I remember last year when Mike, my husband, just about threw a fit when I started to pluck down a goose. He insisted I was absolutely wasting my time and I should just carve out the breast meat and get dinner started. I refused and he apologized. That goose was amazing! I roasted it, according to a recipe I pulled from Hank, of course and Mike and I fought over the scraps. Plucking doves, pigeons and woodcock is super easy and something everyone should really try, at least once.
I get asked quite a bit how I make my wild game meats not taste “gamey”? That’s easy. It’s all in how you butcher them. All of the “distinctive” flavoring is locked away in the skin and in the fat. Depending on your palette and preference, as well as preparation method of the harvest, you need to either leave the skin and fat in tact or, remove it. For more delicate meals, such as my dove breasts in cream sauce over pasta, I remove all of the skin. For roasted goose, I leave it. All of our big game, venison, elk, bear, etc. has everything including the silver skin removed. This light, silvery layer that is right against the muscles is responsible for that overbearing “gamey” flavor. Yes, it is a chore to thinly slice it all off. Yes, it adds on extra 30-45 minutes to the process. Yes, it is so completely worth it as anyone that eats it will swear that they are eating a lovely cut of beef. It’s just that good. The easiest way to deal with removing this thin, silver layer is to butcher your meat, removing as much of the fat as possible and creating your cuts. Next, line a cookie sheet with plastic wrap and layer on your cuts of meat. Place the cookie sheet, uncovered into the freezer for an hour two until the meat has just started to firm up. Remove the cookie sheet from the freezer and using a sharp fillet knife or paring knife, thinly slice off the silver layer. Once you have completed this process then simply package the meat for freezing or enjoy for dinner in your favorite recipe.
Do you have a favorite recipe to share? Email Kate and she will add it to the list and possibly feature it in a post.