Thursday, November 24, 2011
Venison Jalapeno Poppers - Cooking Wild Meat
Serves 6
4 poppers per serving
135 calories
5.5g fat
2.5 g saturated fat
51 mg cholesterol
14.5 g protein
2.5g carbohydrate
1g sugar
675mg sodium; 30mg calcium.
Recipe
1/2 lb venison (top round or bottom round)
1/2 tspn salt
12 medium jalapeno peppers
12 bacon slices
1. Cut venison into 24 even strips. You do want to make sure the strips are a little longer than peppers.
2. In a bowl mix together the venison strips, salt and pepper. Stir until their is an even distribution of seasonings.
3. Remove the stems from peppers and slice each pepper in half lengthwise.
4. Optional if you don't like hot and spicy foods remove pepper seeds and membranes. If you desire hot and spicy don't remove.
5. Bacon, cut each slice in half.
Cooking Wild Meat - Assembly of the Jalapeno Poppers.
6. Take each pepper half and place a venison strip inside.
7. Wrap your halved bacon slices around each venison and pepper.
8. Secure with toothpick.
7. Light a charcoal grill and allow to warm (5 minutes).
8. Evenly distribute the poppers on the rack above the grill surface.
9. Cook 5 minutes with grill covered. (Cooking without the lid could cause the rendering bacon fat to flare up 10. Turn each popper, close grill, cook 5 minutes.
11. After this 5 minutes place poppers directly on grill, close grill lid (cook 3 minutes)
12. Turn and cook 3 more minutes
Total cook time is 16 minutes check frequently to make sure not burning
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Turtle Soup - Cooking Wild Meat
I remember the first time I ce aught a turtle. Actually, my dad caught it. I was about 5 years old and I was in the car with my dad driving to his friends house out in the boon docks. On the ride there, my dad spotted a turtle in a truck stop parking lot. Cooking wild meat was a hobby of my fathers and the friend he was visiting that dad. So of course my dad pulled into that parking lot to get that turtle. At first that turtle scared the crap out of me. I was only 5.
Since then I couldn't tell you how many turtles I have either bait or caught with my hands.
My family, friends and I have been making turtle soup for years here is how we do it:
1 1/2 pound turtle meat
3 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne,
7 cups water
1 butter stick
1/2 cup flour
2 cups of chopped onions
1/2 cup bell peppers, chopped
1/4 cup celery chopped
4 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon thyme
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1.5 cups chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 green onions, chopped
Since then I couldn't tell you how many turtles I have either bait or caught with my hands.
My family, friends and I have been making turtle soup for years here is how we do it:
Ingredients
1 1/2 pound turtle meat
3 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne,
7 cups water
1 butter stick
1/2 cup flour
2 cups of chopped onions
1/2 cup bell peppers, chopped
1/4 cup celery chopped
4 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon thyme
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1.5 cups chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 green onions, chopped
Direction
Turtle meat, salt, cayenne, water into large sauce pan
Bring to a boil.
Skim foam the foam as it cooks.
Once the foam starts lower the heat.
Simmer for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes transfer the meat to cutting board and save the juice in the pan.
Cut the meat into roughly 1/2 inch sections.
Next combine butter and flour into sauce pan turn the heat on medium, stir this constantly over 6-9 minutes.
To this paste add the onions, bell pepper, and celery.
Once these are added cook for another 3 minutes, stir constantly.
Add the bay leaves, thyme and garlic, cook for 2 more minutes, stir constantly.
Turn heat to high.
Add cut up turtle meat, tomatoes, lemon juice.
Cook for 6 to 8 minutes stirring.
Reduce heat to and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add parsley, green onions, and eggs
Simmer for 30 minutes.
return to cooking wild meat blog
Friday, November 18, 2011
Cooking Wild Meat - Deer Stew
Cooking wild meat and getting it to turn out delicious might be a little more tricky than tame meat. For years I have experimented with different ingredients. I like to call this one Burgundy Deer Stew. Yes, I am so sophisticated.
I have read recipes in normal cookbooks and have learned that the history of using burgundy wine to flavor beef is far and wide.
One day I thought, "since burgundy flavors beef so well, I should try it with wild meat.
1 and 1/2 pound of venison steak - cut that steak into chunks
1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
1 Cup Water
1 tsp. thyme leaves (dry)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
3/4 cup. Burgundy Wine
1 cup. beef broth
3 large garlic cloves (crushed)
1 large onion (chopped)
1 cup. frozen corn
1 cup of chopped carrots
1 cup celery chopped
3 potatoes - peel and chop into medium pieces
1 Tbsp. basil
1 tsp. celery seed
Cooking Wild Meat in your Crock Pot
First do all the cutting, peeling and crushing (garlic). Also get your Crock Pot out.
2. Using vegetable oil and skillet brown the meat and crushed garlic together. Once browned add the contents of the skillet to your Crock pot.
3. Add the remaining ingredients, stir contents well.
4. Cook for 2 hours with heat on high the heat on high.
5. Turn heat to low and continue to cook for 6 hours.
I have read recipes in normal cookbooks and have learned that the history of using burgundy wine to flavor beef is far and wide.
One day I thought, "since burgundy flavors beef so well, I should try it with wild meat.
1 and 1/2 pound of venison steak - cut that steak into chunks
1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
1 Cup Water
1 tsp. thyme leaves (dry)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
3/4 cup. Burgundy Wine
1 cup. beef broth
3 large garlic cloves (crushed)
1 large onion (chopped)
1 cup. frozen corn
1 cup of chopped carrots
1 cup celery chopped
3 potatoes - peel and chop into medium pieces
1 Tbsp. basil
1 tsp. celery seed
Cooking Wild Meat in your Crock Pot
First do all the cutting, peeling and crushing (garlic). Also get your Crock Pot out.
2. Using vegetable oil and skillet brown the meat and crushed garlic together. Once browned add the contents of the skillet to your Crock pot.
3. Add the remaining ingredients, stir contents well.
4. Cook for 2 hours with heat on high the heat on high.
5. Turn heat to low and continue to cook for 6 hours.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Buck Meat - Tenderizing Venison
One winter my sister's smart ass boyfriend gave my father a big bag of old buck meat. All I heard the rest of that winter and through the spring was him laughing. That summer at a cook out we fed him some of that meat with a generous helping of xlax in his in his deer patty. At first he was snickering, and with a big shit eating grin on his face saying and repeating, "MMMMMM that's some deer meat" not like that old buck meat. Well my father had a bigger grin saying, "Jake that was that old meat you gave me, with an extra helping of xlax in yours to make it nice and tender".
OK x-lax will not tenderize Buck Meat
What makes buck meat so tough that your jaw will ache after eating it? It's really a combination of factors:
1. Age. The older the tougher.
2. Nutrition. Deer farms feed their bucks specialized feed, the meat from these bucks are much more tender. If you are feeding a deer for any extended amount of time, do not feed human food, feed them apples, pumpkin, acorns, corn.
3. Rut. (late summer - early fall) during this time the males hormones are elevated and their muscles are growing. A buck harvest at this time will produce tough meat.
4. How long it took the buck to die. The longer it takes the tougher the meat will be. If you can stay on the positive side of these four points the better your chances are of harvesting a buck who's meat is decent.
But what if you got tough buck meat right now - two options.
1. The first option would be to grind the meat up. Forget about steaks and backstrap. If the meat processing industry could make delicious strips of meat from the meat of older animals they would. But they know this is not a option. So they grind the meat up to make lesser meats such as: Sausage, hamburger, salami, bologna etc.
2. If grinding the meat is absolutely not an option for you then I would suggest you look into vacuum tumbling. The tumbler allows a combination of forces: pressure, temperature, liquids (marinades) and mechanical motion to work on tenderizing the meat. Keep in mind, while vacuum tumbling may be a solution, this method wasn't necessarily invented to tenderize tough meat, it was more invented to make good meat better.
return to top of cooking wild meat
OK x-lax will not tenderize Buck Meat
What makes buck meat so tough that your jaw will ache after eating it? It's really a combination of factors:
1. Age. The older the tougher.
2. Nutrition. Deer farms feed their bucks specialized feed, the meat from these bucks are much more tender. If you are feeding a deer for any extended amount of time, do not feed human food, feed them apples, pumpkin, acorns, corn.
3. Rut. (late summer - early fall) during this time the males hormones are elevated and their muscles are growing. A buck harvest at this time will produce tough meat.
4. How long it took the buck to die. The longer it takes the tougher the meat will be. If you can stay on the positive side of these four points the better your chances are of harvesting a buck who's meat is decent.
But what if you got tough buck meat right now - two options.
1. The first option would be to grind the meat up. Forget about steaks and backstrap. If the meat processing industry could make delicious strips of meat from the meat of older animals they would. But they know this is not a option. So they grind the meat up to make lesser meats such as: Sausage, hamburger, salami, bologna etc.
2. If grinding the meat is absolutely not an option for you then I would suggest you look into vacuum tumbling. The tumbler allows a combination of forces: pressure, temperature, liquids (marinades) and mechanical motion to work on tenderizing the meat. Keep in mind, while vacuum tumbling may be a solution, this method wasn't necessarily invented to tenderize tough meat, it was more invented to make good meat better.
return to top of cooking wild meat
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Too many 5 Hour Energy shots - Drank with a straw
Three or four years ago I discovered something called 5-hour energy. I was hammering down shots long before I ever heard of it from a friend, on the net and long before seeing a t.v commercial for this product. When I first started using these shots my ears would turn red and my skin would tingle. The shot really worked well at first but now not so much and for as much as the little shot cost it just wasn't worth continuing to use.
When quit I found myself craving the shot. I personally think this product may be a little psychologically addicting. Its claimed 5-hour energy is all natural. I do think 5-hour is a much better alternative to those large energy drinks you get out of the cooler. But I still do not think 5-hour is completely healthy even though the commercial claims it is an all natural drink.
Yes, it contains 0 sugar and about as much caffeine in 1 cup of coffee. Sounds GREAT!!! But why don't they list the chemicals that are in the special energy blend? Remember this. I am not saying 5- hour contains trans fats I just want to cite an example. If a product contains less than a certain amount of trans fats the FDA doesn't require the manufacture to mention trans fats on food labels. So maybe also 5-hour energy also has chemicals in it at low enough levels that allow the manufacture not to disclosure their presence. Possible?
How to Supplement Energy - Alternatives
When quit I found myself craving the shot. I personally think this product may be a little psychologically addicting. Its claimed 5-hour energy is all natural. I do think 5-hour is a much better alternative to those large energy drinks you get out of the cooler. But I still do not think 5-hour is completely healthy even though the commercial claims it is an all natural drink.
Yes, it contains 0 sugar and about as much caffeine in 1 cup of coffee. Sounds GREAT!!! But why don't they list the chemicals that are in the special energy blend? Remember this. I am not saying 5- hour contains trans fats I just want to cite an example. If a product contains less than a certain amount of trans fats the FDA doesn't require the manufacture to mention trans fats on food labels. So maybe also 5-hour energy also has chemicals in it at low enough levels that allow the manufacture not to disclosure their presence. Possible?
How to Supplement Energy - Alternatives
- ginger elixirs
- Eating fruits
- chili peppers
- Asian sun tea
- Peppermint, jasmine scented aromatherapy
Fewer deer hunters predicted this year - Opening on a Tuesdays
 |
| Fewer hunters predicted this year |
I am sure many fathers and sons across the state of Michigan experienced this same type of disappointment and frustration.
Fewer deer hunters - from 698,000 in 2010 to 675,000 in 2011
The average person may not realize how the 16-day firearm deer season helps boost areas of the Michigan economy. Hunting licenses cost money, lodging cost money, food hunters eat cost money. The economy of the state of Michigan is already in rough enough shape. Why not use a little common sense and foresight. Hunters love opening day but people also have jobs they need to be at and the fathers who want to take their kids out are stuck with the decision, "do I let my kid skip school?".
So if there are 25,000 fewer hunting licenses being purchased how much will the state of Michigan lose relative to the 2010 season? If the hunting season opened over the weekend, I think a conservative estimate of how much one hunter would spend on a licenses, lodging, and food is right around $250. Now times $250 by 25,000 hunters, so the state of Michigan is losing millions.
Obviously, when the state puts opening day smack in the middle of the week that will only decrease the number of hunters that participate, that means less money put into our states struggling economy. And it means families are missing out on memories together.
If you are one of the lucky ones who will be hunting check out my hunting apps page. These are apps for hunters, using iphone or android. The "game call" app really impressed me
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Venison Stroganoff - Deer eating Heaven
This is a delicious healthy meal full of protein and quality carbs. The first time I skinned and butchered a deer on my own, this was the first meal my momma made me. During the late fall and through the winter, for years this was a regular Thursday night meal at our house. With your first mouthful of this thick and creamy venison stroganoff you will forget the cold winter night.
prep time is 15 min, cook time 30 min = total time to prepare 45 mins
Ingredients:
2 pounds of venison steak 1/2-inch thick, then cut into cubes.
2 cups of chopped mushrooms.
1 onion, chopped.
2 can of campbell's condensed mushroom soup.
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 bag (16 oz) egg noddles
1. Season the venison with salt and garlic. Saute the onion in a skillet. Once the onion has soften add the venison and continue to saute until browned. Then lower the heat and let simmer. Add the mushroom soup.
2. With your normal pot for cooking noddles, bring water to a boil. Once boiling, add the noddles, boil approximately for 10 minutes (I am sure you know how to boil noodles, duh, duh).
3. Drain noodles.
4. Add Venison mushroom soup mixture to the drained noodles and keep warm on stove before serving.
prep time is 15 min, cook time 30 min = total time to prepare 45 mins
Ingredients:
2 pounds of venison steak 1/2-inch thick, then cut into cubes.
2 cups of chopped mushrooms.
1 onion, chopped.
2 can of campbell's condensed mushroom soup.
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 bag (16 oz) egg noddles
1. Season the venison with salt and garlic. Saute the onion in a skillet. Once the onion has soften add the venison and continue to saute until browned. Then lower the heat and let simmer. Add the mushroom soup.
2. With your normal pot for cooking noddles, bring water to a boil. Once boiling, add the noddles, boil approximately for 10 minutes (I am sure you know how to boil noodles, duh, duh).
3. Drain noodles.
4. Add Venison mushroom soup mixture to the drained noodles and keep warm on stove before serving.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Bad Deer Season - Like my friends
The 2011 deer hunting season is here. Every season at least one of my friends has no luck bagging a deer. But I am always there to cheer them up. At first, I was very bad at cheering up my pitiful friends. I tried different things. This year I decided I should buy a hunting app for one of my friends.
Deer season always ends right around my nephews. Once for his birthday, I rented a gorilla suit and jumped around at his party. The kids loved it so much. I saw how happy they were seeing me in the costume so that made me think of my sad friend who didn't get a deer. Would he love it too?
At the time, he was living alone, he actually is a DNR officer. Around 2 A.M. I put the gorilla suit back on and went through his unlocked backdoor. Perfect he was sound-a-sleep in his bed :). I have often wondered if I would react how he reacted if someone jumped on me in a gorilla suit.
Gorilla suits are not the best thing to cheer up hunters with. But here is something a little more tame that might help.
2. Buy a steer and feed it only berries, peppermint, clover and grass.
3. On the day it will be butchered you need chase it for 2.5 hours to get the blood and adrenaline pumped into the meat.
4. Shoot the steer immediately after chasing and make sure it is a gut shot. This helps tenderize the meat.
5. Then you need to drag the dead steer through the grass and mud. You can tie his legs and hook him up to your rear bumper, get the steer as dirty as possible.
6. Find a buddy with a pick-up truck if you don't have your own. Put the deer in the bed and drive down a gravel road for at least 10 miles. Some people think this is to get the steer even dirtier but it so the steer can pick up a nice even country scent. If you do it on a rainy day that is even better.
8. Hang the steer the garage, you want to hang him low enough so the dog can lick and chew on him.
9. Finally, when you can no longer stand the smell of the carcass he is ready to be butchered.
If you follow these steps your entire family will believe what they are eating is venison. And the other great thing is you will never again have to put your crazy ass costume on again and walk 100 miles to your tree stand.
Deer season always ends right around my nephews. Once for his birthday, I rented a gorilla suit and jumped around at his party. The kids loved it so much. I saw how happy they were seeing me in the costume so that made me think of my sad friend who didn't get a deer. Would he love it too?
At the time, he was living alone, he actually is a DNR officer. Around 2 A.M. I put the gorilla suit back on and went through his unlocked backdoor. Perfect he was sound-a-sleep in his bed :). I have often wondered if I would react how he reacted if someone jumped on me in a gorilla suit.
Gorilla suits are not the best thing to cheer up hunters with. But here is something a little more tame that might help.
How to make beef taste like venison
1. Start one year before beforehand. So if you want to eat venison by Jan 1st 2013 you need to start this by Jan 1st 20122. Buy a steer and feed it only berries, peppermint, clover and grass.
3. On the day it will be butchered you need chase it for 2.5 hours to get the blood and adrenaline pumped into the meat.
4. Shoot the steer immediately after chasing and make sure it is a gut shot. This helps tenderize the meat.
5. Then you need to drag the dead steer through the grass and mud. You can tie his legs and hook him up to your rear bumper, get the steer as dirty as possible.
6. Find a buddy with a pick-up truck if you don't have your own. Put the deer in the bed and drive down a gravel road for at least 10 miles. Some people think this is to get the steer even dirtier but it so the steer can pick up a nice even country scent. If you do it on a rainy day that is even better.
8. Hang the steer the garage, you want to hang him low enough so the dog can lick and chew on him.
9. Finally, when you can no longer stand the smell of the carcass he is ready to be butchered.
If you follow these steps your entire family will believe what they are eating is venison. And the other great thing is you will never again have to put your crazy ass costume on again and walk 100 miles to your tree stand.
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