Wild Game Recipes for a Wild Christmas

CHRISTMAS AND WILD GAME are a perfect match.

A special time of year calls for special cuisine. In the Moore household we refuse to believe man should live on beef and chicken alone. We prefer whitetail, wild turkey, blue-winged teal, flounder, crappie and all kinds of wild flavors.

These are some ingredients we have used as well as some we got from our friends. We hope you enjoy these and they help special-up your Christmas season…

 

 

Fried Turkey

(Courtesy National Wild Turkey Federation)

A plump, juicy turkey may be the traditional Thanksgiving meal centerpiece, but why not celebrate the bird any time of year by deep-frying it to perfection.

Ingredients:

3 to 5 gallons peanut oil

1 whole wild turkey, cleaned

Seasonings of your choice (injectable and dry rubs work)

 

 

Directions:

Heat oil to 300 F to 350 F. Rub the turkey with seasonings and inject with further seasonings, if desired.

Hook a wire coat hanger around each of the drumsticks and carefully lower turkey into oil.

Cook for 3½ to 4½ minutes per pound or until a meat thermometer inserted into the white meat registers 180 F. Turkey tends to float when cooked through.

Remove the turkey from the oil and drain well.

Wrap in foil to keep warm. Let stand at least 20 minutes before carving. Serves 10, depending on the size of the bird.

 

…

Redfish On The Half Shell

(A Moore Family Favorite)

Ingredients:

1 fresh redfish

Onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper

1 12 ounce beer, strong

1/4 stick butter

1 Tbs Worcestershire

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tsp Caribbean jerk seasoning

 

 

Directions:

Fillet the fish leaving the skin and scales on. Lay the fillet skin side down. Sprinkle flesh side with onion power, fresh garlic, salt, and pepper, and rub in with your fingers.

Put the fish in the fridge for one to two hours to marinate.

Make the following sauce just before taking the fish out of the fridge:

In a medium saucepan, combine beer, butter, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, jerk seasoning, and a little pepper.

Stir over a medium flame until blended and butter is melted. Oil the skin side of the redfish, then place the fish skin side down on a hot grill.

Baste the flesh with the sauce every 10 minutes. Cook the fish 30 to 45 minutes over low to medium heat. The skin will curl up, keeping the sauce on the meat and making it very moist. Fish flakes easily when done.

Remove fish from the grill; most of the scales will stay on the grill.

 

…

Deer Stew With Red Wine

(Courtesy TF&G Hunting Editor Lou Marullo)

Ingredients:

2 lbs. cleaned deer thigh

1 large onion

2 tablespoons oil

4 teaspoons ground paprika

2 bay leaves

1 pinch ground rosemary

1 pinch ground sage

1 pinch ground parsley

1 pinch ground caraway seed

Salt and pepper to taste

½ bottle quality dry red wine

2 tablespoons blueberry jam

Directions:

Cut the meat into approximately 1×1-inch cubes and put them in a bowl of cold water.

Cut the onion into small ¼ inch pieces and sauté in the oil until the pieces turn clear.

Add the paprika and sauté it for a couple of minutes on low heat, with continuous stirring. This is the base of the stew.

Take the meat out of the water and add it to the base.

Sear it on a higher heat until the edges of the meat lightly brown.

Lower the heat and add the bay leaves, sage, caraway seed, rosemary and pepper. Do not add the salt and parsley yet.

Adding the salt early can cause the meat to be tough. The parsley is best added last, as it will lose its taste and essential oil if it is overcooked.

Cover the pan, but check and stir it very often while it is cooking.

When some of the liquid has reduced (about an hour later), add the red wine and cook the meat without the cover for 15 more minutes.

Taste the meat. If it is close to being done (The cooking time for game is similar to beef. The meat of older animals tends to require more time.) add the salt and the parsley and simmer it for a little while without the cover.

Serve the stew with jam and noodles. (If you wish, you can add the jam to the stew close to the end of the cooking process to thicken the stew).

 

…

Flounder Beignets

(Another Moore Family Favorite)

Ingredients:

3 pounds flounder

Hot sauce

3 cups flour

1-cup cornstarch

1 Tbs paprika

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 Tbs salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

 

 

Directions:

Marinate flounder in hot sauce for 1 hour or more.

Combine remaining ingredients to make breading. Roll flounder in breading and deep fry at 350F until fish pieces float.

Remove from deep fry and place on a paper towel.

Make a sauce by combining:

1-cup mayonnaise

¼ cup sour cream

1 Tbs Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

Place a leaf lettuce on a salad plate.

Spoon beignet sauce onto lettuce. Place flounder beignets on plate.

Garnish with chopped parsley, and serve.

…

Hot Italian Sausage

(Courtesy TFG Hunting Editor Lou Marullo)

Ingredients:

2 pounds Chopped Venison

3 Tbs salt

3½ Tbs of red pepper

4 Tbs of crushed or ground fennel seeds

 

 

Directions:

Depending on your own taste, you may want to increase the amount of fennel you use. If you like your hot sausage really hot, just add more red pepper.

Lou likes to use some garlic powder as well with both the hot and the sweet sausage. A little goes a long way.

Once you make the seasoning, put it in a zip-lock bag and shake it up. Then, spread some of the seasoning on the meat. Mix about a quarter of the seasoning into the meat. Use water to make it easier to mix.

Add more and more of the seasoning until it is used up while mixing it very well into the meat.

Lou prefers to keep it in bulk form and just make our own patties then freeze them in smaller packages. His brother, Frank, prefers some of his sausage in sausage casings. This is easy to make as well.

You need an attachment to your grinder that the casings can slide on. If you decide to use casings, it is easier if you soak them in water for about an hour first. Before you slide the casing onto the attachment, force some water through the casing, which makes it much easier to slide onto the attachment.

If you want to make some unforgettable breakfast sausage, I have a delicious recipe for that as well. Here is what you need:

Again, this is for every 10 pounds of meat. I use about 50 percent pork with the venison. You need to grind the meat first, using a medium or hamburger-sized blade on the grinder.

Once it is through the first grind, mix the seasoning in and grind it again. Keep mixing it all the time.

 

…

We hope you enjoy these recipes, which take standard wild game offerings to a new level. I must admit I personally have not tried every recipe here yet, but I do have my favorites, and with these delicious dishes, you will too.

Enjoy and feel free to send your favorite recipes to cmoore@fishgame.com. We would love to share them at fishgame.com.

 

—story by LISA MOORE

 

 

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