The 1 Thing You Learned- Cooking Wild Game

WoodDuck

FNG
Joined
Sep 24, 2017
Messages
94
Location
Wisconsin
Learning how to pan sear a steak was a big step for me. Lots of good videos that show how to do this. The keys are 1. Get a good sear 2. Baste with butter/herbs while cooking and 3. DO NOT cook past medium rare.
 

krhuntin

FNG
Joined
Jan 21, 2021
Messages
6
I always make a marinade specifically for venison steaks. Then I start them in a cast iron pan with all the marinade in the pan. Cool it on fairly high temp until it is boiling. Then back it off little by little until you are 20 degrees before where you need to be. Then I finish it by searing it on each side. Remains juicy, very tender, and hell my wife doesn’t like venison but she loves the steaks when cooked this way.
 

trapperJ

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Dec 24, 2013
Messages
139
Location
All over AK

Scoony

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Oct 5, 2017
Messages
263
Location
Ky
Instant Pot those shanks whole. Pressure cook for 50 minutes, release the pressure normally. Shred the meat off the bones, add veggies and seasoning, and pressure cook another 15-20 minutes. You will start saving those shanks whole from then on. Works great on wild turkey legs and thighs also.
 

WRM

WKR
Joined
Jan 15, 2015
Messages
968
Instant Pot those shanks whole. Pressure cook for 50 minutes, release the pressure normally. Shred the meat off the bones, add veggies and seasoning, and pressure cook another 15-20 minutes. You will start saving those shanks whole from then on. Works great on wild turkey legs and thighs also.

Amen to that. Don't know about the "Instant Pot", but you can work magic with a pressure cooker. Tough ass old squirrels--3 or 4 minutes first in cooker. Turkey legs n thigh, pressure cooker then on the smoker. Anything tough gets tamed by pressure.
 

Zappaman

WKR
Joined
Mar 9, 2021
Messages
541
Location
Eastern Kansas
In a pinch... I've pressure cooked FROZEN racks of pork ribs about 40 minutes, then tossed them on the grill for another hour to finish them off with heavy smoke. Not my best work (but way better still than most Chili's or Applebee's racks in any case).

The pressure cooker has many times worked for those sudden parties that tend to "pop up" when you least expected them to ;) And we make a pot of pinto beans with Jolokia (ghosts) peppers about every two weeks (two hours start to finish). Feeds us for that entire time when managed properly across the long-term menu.

Pressure cooker is really a great tool for about any tough game (especially goose here). Mine is a stainless pull out pot so it can go to the fridge with a lid after cooling for larger stews and such. The rest of my utensils are 100% cast iron and I ONLY use real beef fat, pork fat, and bacon drippings (for potatoes and stews) and... BUTTER is a key (but lighter) ingredient in most sauces I build out to go with the meats here (especially during morel season where we'll go through a pound a week when entertaining).

We live in good times when I can have all these tools (like the pressure cooker) to prepare the amazing amount of game and wildcrafted foods I am able to take from our federal wildlife refuge that surrounds the town I live in. I hunt it, freeze a lot of it, and eat here in Kansas, year-round. I also get to hunt all the pig I want in Texas any time on my family's lands.

My wife and I buy little beef (but when we do, it's GOOD beef!)
 

HbDane

WKR
Joined
Sep 17, 2017
Messages
335
Cast iron dutch oven + dried beans and chili mix + venison + campfire indirect heat (low and slow) = happy campers/hunters
 
OP
Oregon Hunter

Oregon Hunter

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Joined
Aug 30, 2013
Messages
856
Location
Beaverton, Oregon
We’ve had an outstanding response from all of you on these “1 Thing You Learned” series. I just created a new forum thread about glassing smarter.

Head over to this link if you’d like to share one thing you learned about glassing, horror stories, or want to learn a secret for making the most out of your hard work in the field!
 
OP
Oregon Hunter

Oregon Hunter

WKR
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Joined
Aug 30, 2013
Messages
856
Location
Beaverton, Oregon
We’ve had an outstanding response from all of you on these “1 Thing You Learned” series. I just created a new forum thread about hard lessons learned about choosing scopes for hunting.

Head over to this link if you’d like to share one thing you learned about scopes, horror stories, or want to learn a secret for making the most out of your hard work in the field!

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Joined
Jan 18, 2022
Messages
69
One thing I learned? Plan in advance. Allowing game meat to thaw in the fridge a few days and release myoglobin took much of the gaminess out of my meat.
 
Joined
Mar 6, 2020
Messages
26
Pre-season! Let that salt work it’s way into the meat. A couple of hours on a rack seasoned does wonders. And as others have said, don’t pull straight out of the fridge and into the cast iron. Its a mistake I still make and I always regret it.
 
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