Cooking Wild Game

Canadian Wild game cooking

Roated Wild Duck

Tender Moose Steaks

Canadian Maple Barbecue sauce

Wild Boar Bacon

FRUITY VENISON STEW

Lemon Wild Blueberry Scones

The Benefits of Eating Wild Game

1.Many people grew up eating wild game meat. Now there is ample evidence of the healthful benefits of eating wild game. It is even becoming fashionable to do so as evidenced by the offerings of wild game in fine restaurants around the country.

2.In general, game meat is leaner than meat from domesticated animals. The fat on game meat may have a slightly stronger taste, so you should remove it before cooking. For maximum tenderness, cook slowly – either braise in liquid, or roast and baste frequently with olive oil or other polyunsaturated cooking oil.

3.The nutritional value and quality of these meats depend on:

'Type of animal - Deer, elk, moose, caribou, or antelope.

 Age of the animal - Younger animals are usually more tender.

 Diet of the animal - Animals with access to abundant food sources have more body fat so their meat is higher in fat and calories.

4.Some game meat is higher in dietary cholesterol than domestic meats, but the combination of more lean body tissue, generally fewer calories, less saturated fat and significantly higher percentage of cholesterol-reducing polyunsaturated fatty acids makes game a heart-healthy choice.

5.Game meat also has a significantly higher content of EPA (Eico Sapentaenoic Acid, a type of omega 3 fatty acid, which is a good type of oil, often referred to as fish oil) than domestic meat. EPA is thought to reduce the risk of developing atherosclerosis, one of the major causes of heart disease and stroke.

6.Wild game contains more than five times the amount of polyunsaturated fat per gram than is found in domestic livestock, About 4 percent of wild game fat is poly unsaturated, whereas domestic beef has an undetectable amount.

7.Elk And Bison are loaded with vitamins and minerals for the nutritionally minded.

 Bison is listed as one of the five best and most healthful foods for women due to its high iron and low fat content.

 Bison has less fat and less cholesterol than skinless chicken, and is low in other fats.

Elk meat is low in Sodium. It is a good source of Niacin, Vitamin B6, and Phosphorus. Also a very good source of Protein, Vitamin B12, and Zinc.

8 Replacement of a serving of beef with a serving of moose would have the positive effect of 30.9% more of the good polyunsaturated fat, 21.3% less monounsaturated fat, and 9.7% less of the bad saturated fat per serving.

 The replacement of a serving of beef with a serving of elk would gave the positive effect of 16.7% more of the good polyunsaturated fat, and 18.9% less monounsaturated fat.

 Replacing a serving of domestic duck with a wild mallard duck would have the positive benefit of 2.25% less fat, 4% more protein and 28 fewer calories per serving.

 Replacing a serving of lamb with a serving of buffalo would have the positive benefit of 3.8% less fat, and 29 fewer calories per serving.

 The Best Part Of Game Meat Is Eating It.

9.The virtues of game meat are especially important to people with specific health conditions, including heart disease or kidney failure.

Following are some recipes

Roated Wild Duck

Serves 4.

4 small ducks (teal, wood ducks, wigeon) or 2 to 4 larger ducks (or small geese)
Lemon or orange wedges
Salt
2 to 3 celery stalks
Black pepper

1. 1.Preheat oven to 210 C or higher. 0ften cook ducks at 225 C. and small ducks are best cooked at these high temperatures. Let the oven preheat a good 20 to 30 minutes, and check the temperature before cooking. Let the ducks rest at room temperature while the oven heats up.
2. 2.If the duck is reasonably fat, use a needle to pierce the skin where there is a lot of fat under it: The front of the breast, between the breast and legs, at the flanks, and all over the back of the bird. Be careful not to pierce the meat of the breast.Rub lemon over the bird and dust it well with a salt,
3. 3. Stuff the spent lemon or orange wedge inside the duck.
4. 4.Place a few celery stalks onto an oven-proof pan, arranging them so you can rest the ducks on top. This prevents the ducks from sitting in their own juices.Roast in the oven as follows: About 10 to 15 minutes for teal or other small ducks, 13 to 20 minutes for anything up to the size of a gadwall, 18 to 25 minutes for a mallard or canvasback, and 25 to 45 minutes for a small goose.
5. 5.The key here is an internal temperature of about 65 to 70 C at the deepest part of the breast meat, which is in the front third of the breast. Ducks really need to be cooked medium-rare to medium. An overcooked duck is a sad thing.
6. 6.Take the duck out, move it to a cutting board and tent it loosely with foil. Let small ducks rest at least 5 minutes. Large ducks need to rest closer to 10 minutes, and geese up to 15 minutes.
7. 7.If you want a simple pan sauce, remove the celery and stir a 25 gr flour into the drippings, stirring well. Let this cook on the stove until this roux is the colour of coffee-with-cream.
8. 8.Add maybe a few drops of Worcestershire sauce, some wine or brandy and the juice of a lemon. If the sauce is too thick, add a little water or stock. Whisk everything to combine and taste for salt. Turn off the heat, add minced parsley and a knob of butter. Swirl to combine and serve it hot.

Tender Moose Steaks

2 bay leaves
20 ml dried onion flakes

500 gr moose round steak
600 ml Canadian Maple Barbecue sauce ( recipe to follow)

1.Place a steamer insert into a saucepan, and fill with vegetable syock to just below the bottom of the steamer.
2 .Add the bay leaves and onion flakes to the stock. Cover, and bring the stock to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium low to maintain a simmer. Add the moose, recover, and steam until fork tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours depending on thickness, adding water to the pot as needed.

4.Pour the barbecue sauce into a large sauce pan over medium heat; once warm, add the moose and reduce heat to low; simmer 45 minutes.

Canadian Maple Barbecue sauce

Ingredients:

Makes approx. 6oo ml. BBQ sauce
300 ml. Ketchup
75 ml apple cider vinegar
25 ml coconut oil
2 ml. Molasses
200 ml maple syrup
15 ml onion powder
10 ml ground mustard
3 ml. sea salt
4 ml garlic granules

Method

1. In a medium saucepan mix together all ingredients. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer
2. Simmer for 20minutes (uncovered), stirring occasionally.
   3. Pour jar and refrigerate untill needed

Wild Boar Bacon

2 good sized wild boar bellies

Brine:

6 liter of water

500 ml sea salt

125 ml curing salt

50 ml whole peppercorns

50 ml garlic powder

75 ml onion powder

75 ml Worcestershire sauce

225 ml brown sugar

Mix brine ingredients and soak pork belly for 2 days then take the belly out and rinse under cool water.

Hang meat in clean area and dry with a fan for 1 hours until pelicle forms

Cold smoke for two hours using apple wood chips.

Freeze, slice thinly and enjoy!

For a really great experience try making some home-made caramel candies and top each caramel with a bit of this Wild Boar Bacon.

FRUITY VENISON STEW

1 kg venison, cut into 5 cm chunks

1–2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, sliced
125 ml red wine
3 cooking apples, each cut into 6 pieces
125 ml parsley
2 sprigs oregano
250 ml cherry tomatoes, halved
10 prunes
salt and pepper to taste
oil for cooking

Iingretients

1.Brown the meat on both sides evenly. Add the onions and garlic and fry for a minute or two. Next add the parsley and oregano, giving it a few stirs, and then the rest of the ingredients.

2.Bring to the boil, turn the heat down and allow to simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, until the meat is tender. Stir from time to time to make sure the apples, prunes and tomatos aren’t being trapped at the bottom. You may need to add a little water as well.

Lemon Wild Blueberry Scones

8-10 scones

Ingredients

• 500 ml whole wheat pastry flour, plus more for dusting
• 15 ml baking powder
• 2 mlsalt
• 50 ml sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 60 ml coconut oil, frozen
• zest of one lemon
• 110 ml plain Greek yogurt
• 180 ml milk, plus more for brushing
• 5 ml vanilla extract
• 250 ml Wild Blueberries

Method

1. 1. Heat oven to 200 C Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
2. 2.Combine whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.
3. Add the coconut oil and cut with a fork until the oil is in pea-sized pieces.
4. 3.In a separate bowl, combine the lemon zest, Greek yogurt, milk, and vanilla.
5. Add the wet ingr. to the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
6. 4.Stir in the frozen Wild Blueberries, then pat the dough out onto a floured surface into a cm thick circle.
7. 5.Cut the dough into 8 wedges or cut with cookie cutters. Place the scones on the prepared baking sheet, brush with a small amount of milk, and sprinkle lightly with sugar.
8. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the edges of the scones are browned and the centers spring back when touched.