Tips for Setting Up Trail Cameras

Published on by lynzmarshall@yahoo.com Category: Hunting

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“You can observe a lot by watching.” ~Yogi Berra

Christmas morning was a hard time for my parents. I was that kid who went to bed late because I couldn’t contain my anticipation enough to fall asleep, and once I did fall asleep it only lasted for a few hours. I was that kid up at 4 a.m. trying to sneak a peek at the tree without waking my parents. I was that kid checking my stocking in the dark because I couldn’t very well leave it be. I was a very excited kid Christmas morning. Checking my trail cameras brings back those feelings. I can feel my anticipation growing even as I first hang the camera. “What is going to be on it?” I am already wondering. I haven’t even made it back to the truck, and I am considering running back to see if anything has happened.

I would like to say I wait a month and head back out to check my cameras, but I rarely make it past two weeks. Sometimes it is only a week, and I am so excited to see the images I almost rip the back off the camera trying to remove the memory card. “What is going to be on it!” I am wondering even more excitedly than before. I am tickled to see a squirrel, excited to see elk and deer, and elated if there is a bear. I can’t even tell you how I reacted to a cougar. I will just say you would have thought by my reaction that I actually bumped into the cougar on the trail. It’s silly, but I love it.

Trail cameras are useful for a variety of reasons. First, they help locate game. Whether you are searching for bucks, elk, bears, or cougars, trail cameras give one a sneak peak into what is visiting the area. Second, you can learn the habits and routines of an animal, like: what pathways are they frequenting, what are they eating, or who are they hanging around with? Third, you start to learn the timing of the animals.  What time are they moving?  What time are they eating? Finally, you can learn which animals made it through the hunting season. Plain and simple, implementing a trail camera into your hunting preparations leads to more successful hunts.

While setting up a camera is relatively simple, here are a few tips for trail cameras that will better your results.

  • Before you head out, make sure to update any software for your camera.  This will save a headache once out in the field when discovering the camera required an update in order to work.  Also, make sure your memory card is empty, ready to accept images, and has enough space to hold a large number of images.  I typically use an 8GB card, but sometimes I will use a 16GB.  Oh, and batteries! Remember to grab extra batteries for your camera.  I always carry a new set of batteries out when I check the camera.  So, the checklist before heading out: software updated, memory card ready to go, and spare batteries!
  • When selecting a location for the camera, choose somewhere you can access discreetly.  For example, if you have a wallow you would like to watch, place the camera in a location where you can check it without having to cross the trails into or out of the wallow.  While there might not be game around when you hang the camera or are checking it, they know you have been there.
  • Choose an area you have seen game in or where there is evidence of activity.  If you have a particular buck you are stalking, by all means set the camera up in his territory.
  • Place the camera to the south of the area of you are targeting.  You want the lens of the camera to be pointing north.  Doing this will help to avoid glare from the sun in your pictures.  Also, and this sounds like a no-brainer but I do it all the time, be sure to hang the camera on a stable base.  If the tree you are using sways in the wind, your camera will be filled with 1,000 shots caused by the light breeze in the area for the first thirty minutes of sunrise.  That is never a good surprise to find after waiting two weeks to check your camera.
  • Hang the camera high in the tree and pointed at a 45 degree angle down the trail or onto the location you are watching.  While it seems like another no-brainer, it is an easy step to forget once you get out into the field and are placing cameras.  Hanging the camera high provides several benefits.  First, it is less likely to get messed with.  I don’t know how it happens, but I always end up with cows licking my camera.  Not elk cows, but moo cows.  Second, the flash from the camera, even the infrared ones, often will spook game.  Having the camera higher makes it less likely the game will be aware of the flash.  Third, the higher placement and wider angle will give you a better picture of the entire animal.  Nothing is more frustrating than half a deer or elk head.  Finally, animals are less likely to smell the scent of a camera if it is placed higher.  You could also spray the camera box with a little scent before you leave to help with smell.
  • Take a sample photo with the camera before you leave.  I always carry a small digital camera with me for this reason.  Snap a picture with the camera and view the results.  This will allow to ensure a few things.  First, you know the camera is working.  Second, you can check the angles and glare on the lens.  Third, you can look for obstructions, such as bushes.  You can also look at the background of your photo.  Is it distracting?
  • Deter thieves!  Nothing breaks the spirit more than a stolen camera, but it unfortunately is a risk you take when hanging game cameras.  First, hang the camera in discrete location.  Try to avoid heavily used trails.  Hang your camera higher up on a tree.  This will make it more difficult to spot.  You can use a security cable, but this will not deter someone determined to steal a camera.  It also might just result in the camera being broken.  Finally, there are cameras with security codes now.  So, if your camera does get stolen at least you know the thief won’t be able to use it, which might give you a little bit of satisfaction.
  • Bait?  Many people I know use salt licks, corn, or attractants for deer and elk.  Bait barrels with meat in them are common practice for bears.  Check your local laws to see what is legal.  If you are able to use bait, you will want to set the camera in June or possibly earlier to get animals returning to the same spot, but again you will have to check the regulations in your area.

Do you have trail camera tips?  I would love to hear them!

Happy Hunting!

 

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Guinness Elk Stew: The Luck of the Irish

Published on by lynzmarshall@yahoo.com Category: Elk Recipes

GreenBeer “There is a charm in making a stew, to the unaccustomed cook, from the excitement of wondering what the result will be, and whether any flavour save that of onions will survive the competition in the mixture.” ~ Annie Besant

Many take the term “luck of the Irish” to mean a wish of good fortune, and while the term alludes to this, the origin of the term is often mistaken. I find myself, and I am sure I am not the only one, thinking of the term to originate from the Irish culture. It however, in fact, does not. Instead, the term is an American born phrase. According to author Edward T. O’Donnell, a professor with Holy Cross College, the term actually has an American origin. “During the gold and silver rush years in the second half of the 19th century, a number of the most famous and successful miners were of Irish and Irish American birth. Over time this association of the Irish with mining fortunes led to the expression ‘luck of the Irish.’ Of course, it carried with it a certain tone of derision, as if to say, only by sheer luck, as opposed to brains, could these fools succeed,” O’Donnell explains.

A cultural and religious based celebration, Saint Patrick’s Day, March 17th, is observed around the world and is associated with the shamrock, leprechauns, adorning oneself in green, corned beef, cabbage, festivals and parades, and drinking green beer. For a day, the Irish are celebrated. Like the term “luck of the Irish” itself, some of these celebrations and customs are historically accurate and some are constructed from a vast collection of myths and facts mingled together over time. Untangling the web of myths and legends to truly define what is Irish and what is not, or what is truly a Saint Patrick’s Day tradition and what is not would be a difficult and most likely impossible task. One thing is for certain though, embracing the magic and excitement of the day can result in a great meal, like this Guinness Elk Stew!

Traditional Irish stew is created in a slow steaming pot filled with onions and root vegetables, such as carrots, potatoes, parsnips, and turnips. Barley is also sometimes added. The meat is mutton. American twists on the dish trade out the mutton for beef, and in this stew I have traded out the beef for elk. Guinness beef stew utilizes Guinness beer, an Irish stout that has been brewed in Dublin since 1795, for the broth base. The Guinness adds a malty, roasted flavor to the stew and also aides in tenderizing the elk.

GuinessStockI have never made Guinness Stew before, and the stew needs to cook for a couple of hours in order to really develop the flavor. I actually found this recipe on another blog: SeriousEats.com and made some adjustments. This recipe starts with an odd twist I have never tried before and that is adding congealed chicken stock. In a small bowl, add a cup of chicken stock. Sprinkle a packet of unflavored gelatin over the top of the stock and allow it to sit. The stock will start to absorb the stock. I waited a few minutes before sprinkling the remaining three packets over the stock. At the end, I whisked the entire mixture and it formed into little gooey lumps. Set aside this bowl of weird chicken-lumps and also preheat the oven to 275.

GuinessMeatIn a large dutch oven, heat two tablespoons of oil. Leave the elk in steak size and season generously with salt and pepper. I used a tougher cut of meat for this stew because the slow cooking will allow time for the meat to become tender, and I save my more tender cuts for meals where slow cooking isn’t involved. Lay the steaks into the hot oil and allow to brown on each side for three or so minutes. I did mine in several batches because you are trying to seal the flavor of the meat and you want the heat of the oil to remain high throughout the cooking process. Set the meat aside to rest before you cut it into stew size chunks.

GuinessVegetablesLower the heat just a bit, and using the fat from browning your meat, quickly sear four onions, five carrots, and four cloves of garlic. I just rough chopped these vegetables, as they are not for eating and instead for adding flavor to the stew base. Take about four or five minutes to lightly brown the vegetables. Add the chicken stock gelatin to the dutch oven along with a quarter cup of brewed coffee, fish sauce, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan and pull up all that flavor from browning the meat. Also, add the two cans of Guinness beer and the bundle of fresh parsley, thyme, and bay leaves. Now, you could use whatever beer you have on hand for this stew, but then you must announce that you are making Beer Elk Stew and not Guinness Elk Stew, that’s a rule! Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.GuinessBeer

Once the meat has cooled enough to handle, cut the steaks into bite sized pieces and toss them with a tablespoon or two of flour. Take the time to make sure you have evenly coated the meat pieces and don’t have big chunks of flour hanging out in the bowl. Pour the elk meat and any juices in the bowl into the dutch oven, place the lid just partially on the top of the pot, and transfer to the oven. Allow to cook for one hour. Give everything a stir every twenty minutes or so.

GuinessPotatoesAfter an hour of cooking, it is time to add the potatoes. You can use whatever potato you would like: russett, red, yellow, white, or petite. I like to use the fingerling potatoes when I make stews. They add to the rustic vibe of stew and you also don’t have to cut them up. They are already bite-size! Add the potatoes and allow the stew to continue cooking an additional thirty minutes.

While the potatoes are softening, dice up some more carrots and onions. You could also do parsnips or turnips too. Once the thirty minutes are up from when the potatoes were added, pull the pot from the oven and remove the large chunks of onions, carrots, and the bundle of parsley. Skim off any accumulated fat from the top of the stew, although elk meat is so lean that you might not have any. I did not.

GuinessDicedVegetablesPour in the diced carrots and onions, and return the pot to the oven for 45 more minutes. Leave the lid partially cracked.

Serve yourself a steaming bowl of Guinness Elk Stew with a fresh poured green beer and a slice of Irish soda bread, the perfect meal for Saint Patrick’s Day or any other night of the week!

Happy Hunting!

GuinessStewFinal

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Guinness Elk Stew

Cook Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Guinness Elk Stew

Ingredients

  • 4 packets unflavored gelatin
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 3 pounds elk meat, left in steak slabs
  • 2 tablespoons high heat oil, such as vegetable
  • Four onions, halved
  • 5 carrots, roughly cut in large chunks
  • 4 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 1/4 cup brewed coffee
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 table spoon soy sauce
  • 2 16 ounce Guinness beers
  • Bundle of parsley, thyme, and bay leaves
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 to 2 pounds fingerling potatoes
  • 3 carrots, small diced
  • 1 onion, small diced

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 275 and place the cup of chicken stock in a bowl. Pour one packet of gelatin over the stock. Allow the gelatin to dissolve in the stock before adding the remaining three packets. At the end of four packets, stir the gelatin. It should form into small congealed balls. Set aside.
  2. In a heavy bottom pot or dutch oven, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the steak slabs in small batches, so the temperature of the oil remains high. Brown each side for three to four minutes and then flip. Set meat aside to rest.
  3. Leaving the drippings in the pot, add the onions, carrots, and garlic. Brown for four minutes. If needed, reduced the heat to medium so the garlic does not burn.
  4. Add the coffee, fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce to the pot. Scrape the bottom to remove any drippings from the pot bottom. Add the Guinness beer and bring to a boil. Place bundle of parsley, thyme, and bay leaves into pot. Reduce the pot to a simmer.
  5. Cut the meat into bite size piece. Place in bowl and coat with flour, ensuring even covering. Add meat to pot, place lid partially over, and place in oven. Allow to cook for one hour, stirring every twenty minutes or so.
  6. Add potatoes, cook an additional 30 minutes.
  7. Add diced carrots and onions, could also add parsnips or turnips too. Cook additional 45 minutes.
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Pheasant Marsala Meatballs

Published on by lynzmarshall@yahoo.com Category: Wild Game Recipes

“I love my old bird dog. I like to watch him run.” ~ Crossin Dixon SisiJumpingSmall

“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” everyone has heard the saying. Normally I tend to agree. I have a thirteen-year-old yellow lab and she has no desire to even perform her old tricks, much less learn any new ones! I do have an exception to the rule though. Sienna is my seven-year-old chocolate lab. She is a typical lab: likes to eat no matter the time of day or if she just finished eating, hyper, puppy-like attitude complete with chewing on random objects. Once she chewed the end off a highlighter and pulled the marker out. She proceeded to draw on the bedspread. My niece was blamed, until the empty highlighter casing was found with suspicious chew marks.  Potty trained is an inconsistent term for her even though she appears to know better, and birds are an obsession. Now, while birds are an obsession, actually participating in a bird hunt as a contributing party member was not a strong point for Sienna. She contributed mostly headache.

Sienna is a very obedient animal; however, while she aims to please, she is not the brightest. She spends her time trying to figure out what you want from her, which results in her usually sitting at, or more accurately on, your feet, staring at you as you trip over her, waiting for a command that she most likely does not understand. So, while bird hunting, Sienna spends her time on your feet and staring. I have tried getting her off my feet with, “Go get the bird!” Her ears perk a little and her head will drop to the side, almost posing a question. Sometimes she will even throw out an enthusiastic bark. But she immediately returns to sitting and staring in confusion. Definitely not a bird dog.

Sienna’s time on hunts for the last six years has been spent trudging along on the heels of anyone who hasn’t been annoyed by how closely she follows. She occasionally sniffs bushes, but I think it has mostly been because she seems to like sweet smells. She occasionally perks her ears when a gun is fired. Every once in awhile she will watch a bird fall from the sky, rush to its location, give if a good sniff, and come trotting back to your heels, tongue dragging but not much else. Definitely not a bird dog.

PheasantMeatGrinderAfter six entirely worthless bird hunting seasons, Sienna the seven-year-old lab, which is the age veterinarians recommend switching your dog to geriatric dog food, decided to learn a new trick. She decided to become a bird dog. I don’t know why, and I am not sure how she learned it, but she did it. Opening morning of the pheasant season, Sienna hoped out of her kennel, put her nose to the ground, and actually jumped a bird. No one shot it of course because that had never happened before and no one was prepared. She spent the rest of the day tracking down roosters, jumping, and even retrieving them (that’s her in the picture). I still can’t explain it, except for to say never write off an old dog for a new trick.

As for the recipe, I have not worked a ton with pheasant, but I get really excited every time I get the opportunity. Pheasant populations in Utah have been very low for quite a few years, but have been making a strong comeback for the past two years. Typically, I batter the breasts in a salty cracker and deep fry it, kind of a like a twist on fried chicken. After having such an abundant harvest this season, I have really been experimenting with some new recipes.

This recipe is a twist on chicken marsala, which is an Italian-based dish of chicken pieces covered in a Marsala wine and mushroom sauce. Instead of using chicken cutlets, I made up some ground pheasant meatballs and served them in a Marsala wine sauce. To start, turn on the oven broiler and put the pheasant, fat included although there probably won’t be much, through a meat grinder. I purchased an inexpensive meat grinder last year, and it has been worth every penny.  I use it all the time to make my own elk burger, breakfast sausage, and ground turkey and now pheasant. I used the pheasant breasts for this recipe, but you could use the thigh meat as well. Anyway, after the pheasant has run through the processor it is time to create the meatballs.

Ingredients for the pheasant marsala meatballs include panko bread crumbs, mushrooms, cheese, an egg, marsala wine, fresh parsley, shallots, olive oil, milk, chicken stock, nutmeg.
Ingredients for the pheasant marsala meatballs include panko bread crumbs, mushrooms, cheese, an egg, marsala wine, fresh parsley, shallots, olive oil, milk, chicken stock, nutmeg.

In a large bowl, add the pheasant, panko bread crumbs, cheese, parsley, ground nutmeg, salt, pepper, milk, and egg. Using your hands, really work everything together to ensure that every meatball will have a taste of each ingredient. In case you don’t have panko bread crumbs, you can always use Italian or plain bread crumbs. You could also just tear up some old bread and work that in as well. The crumbs are just there to give some substance to the meat mixture. Also, if you don’t have pecorino cheese, or you don’t want to spend the money on it because it is more expensive than some of the other cheeses available, you can add parmesan or Romano. This recipe would also work well with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Before I continue, I have to make a comment about these meatballs. Normally I don’t think about raw meat as I am mixing it. I kind of just put my hands in, mash things around, and use the time to day dream. However, this time the aromas from the mixture caught my attention. I will admit, I usually skip on adding parsley to things. I don’t think it has much flavor, and have always considered it a garnishment rather than an actual ingredient. I think this recipe changed my mind. The parsley mixed with the hint of nutmeg and the cheese smelled really fresh and actually got me even more excited for dinner. Just an observation, and I would be curious if anyone else experiences this when they work with fresh parsley?

PheasantMeatballs Anyway, Roll the meat into balls about the size of your palm. Place them on a baking sheet coated with a little bit of oil. For easier clean-up, I lined my sheet with aluminum foil too. Put the meatballs under the broiler for five minutes. Set yourself a timer for these meatballs! Pheasant, like most wild game, is a very lean meat. It is much leaner than chicken or turkey you buy at the store. These meatballs will dry out much quicker than store bought meat, and then you will be sad because you are eating a dry meatball. Nobody likes a dry meatball! So, set the timer for five minutes and pull the tray out. At this point, don’t worry about if the meatballs are cooked all the way through because they will actually finish cooking in the marsala sauce.

PheansantMushroomsWhile your meatballs are browning, place the mushrooms in a preheated pan with some olive oil. Allow the mushrooms to brown for about five minutes. I used cremini mushrooms this time, but I think next time I will use baby portabellas. The creminis were perfectly fine in this sauce, I just happen to prefer baby portabellas to all other mushrooms and I only mentioned it to show that you can substitute different kinds of mushrooms for the this sauce. After the mushrooms have browned, add the minced shallot and cook an additional two to three minutes.

While browning the mushrooms, the burner should be on a medium-high heat. At this point, drop the heat down a bit to around medium and sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms. Pour in the remaining olive oil and start whisking the flour around the pan. Slowly add the marsala wine and continue whisking until you have a very smooth almost paste in the pan. This paste will act as the thickening agent for the sauce. Cook the flour and wine mixture for a minute or two to remove the flour taste, and then start adding the chicken broth. Continue whisking the entire time. I always get a bit scared when I try to thicken sauces. I think this fear comes from cream sauces, because if you do not continue stirring or if the heat is wrong the sauce will break and your cream will separate into chunky gross things and thin liquid that resembles the sauce you were trying to accomplish. Stock based sauces like this one are a little bit easier. The trick is to just keep stirring, and not freak out, as I tend to do.

PheasantMushroomSauce PheasantMeatballsinSauceLet the sauce simmer for about five minutes. Stir it occasionally, if for no other reason than to bask in your triumph as the sauce continues thicken as it simmers. After about five minutes, drop your meatballs into the sauce and allow the entire glorious concoction to continue simmering for another five minutes. This will finish the meatballs to cooked perfection and allow the flavors to meld together.

To serve, put the meatballs and mushrooms in a bowl and scoop out all of the sauce to cover everything. Garnish (there that is again!) with fresh chopped parsley and most cheese. The result is a very earthy, rich, and slightly sweet dish. Pheasant is a very mild flavored meat and pairs very nicely with the thick, slightly sweet marsala sauce. The mushrooms add the earthy tones and are enhanced by the sweet and salty touches of the cheese. I definitely licked my bowl clean!

PheasantMeatballsFinalPlateFor sides, I made a very simple arugula salad. Any kind of vegetable would work, such as sauteed asparagus, brussels sprouts, or a steamed leafy green. Bread for sopping up sauce would definitely help with licking the bowl clean. I think this would also be great served over rice, egg noodles, or mashed potatoes.

Before I sign off, this recipe would not have been possible without the work of a little chocolate lab. Don’t worry, I shared a meatball with her.

Happy Hunting!

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Pheasant Marsala Meatballs

4

Pheasant Marsala Meatballs

Ingredients

    For the Meatballs
  • One pound ground pheasant
  • One cup panko bread crumbs
  • Half cup shredded cheese, pecorino, mozzarella, parmesan, Romano (Your choice)
  • Quarter cup fresh chopped parsley
  • One teaspoon nutmeg
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Two tablespoons milk
  • One egg, beaten
    For Marsala Sauce
  • One third cup Marsala wine
  • Three tablespoons olive oil
  • Eight ounces mushrooms, cremini, portabella, shitake (Your choice)
  • One large shallot, minced
  • One teaspoon flour
  • One and a half cups chicken broth

Instructions

    For Meatballs
  1. Preheat the broiler.
  2. Mix together the pound of ground pheasant, panko bread crumbs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper, nutmeg, milk and egg. Use your hands to incorporate everything really well.
  3. Roll the meat mixture into balls about the size of the palm of your hand, or around a tablespoon size. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for five minutes. Set aside to cool.
    For the Sauce
  1. Using two tablespoons of the olive oil in a preheated pan, cook the mushrooms for five minutes and until lightly browned.
  2. Add the shallots and cook an additional two to three minutes.
  3. Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms and add remaining olive oil. Whisk together, creating a thin buttery paste. Add the marsala wine and whisk. Cook for two or three minutes.
  4. Slowly add the chicken broth to the pan, stirring continuously to thicken sauce. Bring to light boil and then let simmer for five minutes
  5. Add meatballs and simmer for additional five minutes.
  6. Serve with fresh chopped parsley and extra shredded cheese.
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Pronghorn Wellington: Fancy Smancy!

Published on by lynzmarshall@yahoo.com Category: Pronghorn Recipes, Wild Game Recipes

“Too many people just eat to consume calories. Try dining for a change.” ~ John Walters FinalPlateWellington

There is a restaurant here that serves American Waygu Beef, considered the “butter knife beef” because it is so tender and moist that in theory you can cut it with nothing more than a butter knife. I have been there once. I did order the Waygu, and it lived up to its name. I was impressed, and I felt ever-so fancy dining in the candlelit rustic style restaurant. It was a fancy night, with the prime selection of meats, beautiful bottles of full-bodied red wine poured into large, globe wine glasses, and rich, chocolate desserts to close the meal. It was one of those times you sit back in the chair, close your eyes, and simply sigh at how a meal could possibly be so wonderful. And then the bill came. Ouch.

Taking someone out for a special occasion dinner is great, but man can it hurt the old pocketbook. I mean, some meals can put you back an entire grocery shopping bills worth. One of my favorite things about cooking with wild game is I have developed a desire to push the limits and stereotypes of what wild game can do. I am a huge fan of creating soups and chilis out of my game. The flavors are so complex, rustic, and savory, but thinking beyond that, for me, means really thinking about the flavor of the meat and how to pull that flavor out without masking it behind the many ingredients of a soup or chili.

Growing up, wild game at my house was served as a breakfast meat. And let’s be honest, there is little that is fancy about breakfast meat. Many people process their wild game for sausages or hamburger meat, which don’t get me wrong are AMAZING, but you can take things so much further with a little imagination and research. To start thinking out of the box, I looked towards creating an experience for my diners with the wild game as the highlight. I thought about the evening at the steakhouse with the Waygu and the fine wine, and instantly I wanted to recreate the experience at home. I thought about a “fancy smancy” meal that I could pull off, because I am not a fine dining cook by any means, and beef Wellington came to mind. Beef Wellington is not something you just whip up any night of the week, I mean just the name says “special occasion.” Sounds fancy, right? And what sounds more fancy than beef wellington? Pronghorn Wellington!

Pronghorn, or it is also commonly called antelope, typically inhabit wide open terrain. They are an incredibly fast animal and noticeable because of their burnt orange hide with large white rumps and stripes across their chest. I harvested my first buck last fall. I had heard horror stories about the meat having a pungent odor that carried over into the flavor of the meat. Many people told me that caring for the meat properly would eliminate this problem. The tips I received were to immediately remove the hide, taking care to not let the fur touch the meat, and then to place the meat directly on ice. During my hunt, I kept a cooler full of ice for this purpose.

I do not notice any type of odor or odd flavor with my pronghorn. The meat is flavorful and some of the most tender I have ever eaten. Pronghorn is a beautiful, rich red color. It is a much darker ruby color than I have found in elk or deer. And I will say it again, it is oh-so tender. Amazingly tender. A thick cut slice of pronghorn is a perfect meat for this elegant Wellington style dinner. If you do not have pronghorn, this recipe would also be amazing with deer or elk. I haven’t ever had it before, but I am sure you could also try moose.

To start, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Also, heat a heavy bottomed skillet, cast iron if you have it, over medium-high heat.

AntelopeCuts Before I cook meat like pronghorn, elk, or deer, I let the meat rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes, but preferable thirty. Allowing the meat to rest will ensure more even cooking. I used the backstrap from my pronghorn for this recipe because I like how the meat easily cuts into individual, thick-cut steaks. Cut the meat about an inch and half to two inches thick and season with salt and pepper. Add some olive oil to your heated pan and gently place the steaks. Once you have set the meat down, do not attempt to move it for a few minutes or you will end up with ripped meat because it is so tender. Cook the steaks for about three minutes, and then flip and repeat. Pull the steaks from the pan and allow them to sit for a few minutes.

Next, prepare the puff pastry shell for the Wellington. Puff pastry is a very light, flaky dough. You will notice when working with it that is several paper thin layers pressed together. The dough is very buttery and the space between these layers puff up from the steam created by the boiling butter during baking. The results is a very light, crusty pastry. Making puff pastry is a very labor intensive duty and not something a beginner baker can easily pull off. I just buy the frozen stuff at the super market. I would like to stress that the dough is frozen, because I often forget to set it out to thaw before I get started and then end up waiting on frozen dough.

Sprinkle a light layer of flour over the top of the thawed puff pastry dough and use a rolling pin to thin the dough a bit. No need to get wild here. Just thin the dough out enough so you can wrap it easily around the steaks. Cut the dough into four equal squares. In the center of each square, place a little pile of arugula and some of the gorgonzola cheese crumbles. Place the beautifully seared pronghorn steak on top of the arugula nest and fold the pastry dough around each little bundle. Pinch the edges of the dough together and brush the entire package with an egg wash.

PuffPastryWellington WrappedWellington EggWashWellington Place the Wellingtons seams down on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Cut a small vent on the top of each pastry bundle and bake for 12 minutes. The puff pastry dough should look golden brown and flaky. Allow the bundles to rest for a few minutes and then serve ’em up! I like to do a side of broccoli with this meal. Roasted red potatoes would also be nice. Another suggestion is simply slices of beefsteak tomatoes lightly seasoned with salt, pepper, and a touch of olive oil.

One of my favorite things about this recipe is it creates a perfectly cooked slice of meat. The sear you first put on the meat creates a savory, slight crust on the meat, and finishing the meat in the oven allows for a perfect medium-rare steak. Pronghorn, like elk or deer, is best served on the rare side. Over cooking the meat results in a much tougher, gamier flavor, which most people dislike.

Simply put, this meal is elegant. Pair the Wellington with a nice glass of red wine, such as a cabernet or pinot noir, light a few candles, finish the meal with a decadent chocolate dessert, and then sit back, close your eyes, and simply sigh at how wonderful this meal was. And I promise, that moment won’t be ruined by a horrendous bill!

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Pronghorn Wellington

4

Pronghorn Wellington

Ingredients

  • 4 Pronghorn Steaks, one and half to two inches thick
  • Two Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • One Sheet Frozen Puff Pastry
  • One Cup Arugula
  • 8 Ounces Gorgonzola Crumbles
  • Egg Wash

Instructions

  1. Allow pronghorn steaks to rest while the oven preheats to 425 and a large heavy bottomed skillet preheats on the stove top.
  2. Once the skillet is preheated, add the olive oil. Season the pronghorn steaks with salt and pepper then gently place in heated oil. Do not disturb the meat once settled, and cook for three minutes per side. Pull from the heat and allow to rest on a plate.
  3. Be sure to thaw the puff pastry dough before working with it. Sprinkle the pastry dough surface lightly with flour and roll the dough out enough to wrap around each steak. Cut into four equal squares.
  4. In the center of each square, place a pile of arugula and gorgonzola crumbles. Set the steak on top of the arugula nest and wrap the dough completely around the steak. Pinch at the seams. Brush the entire bundle with an egg wash.
  5. Place the bundles on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cut a small vent on the top of each. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes. Enjoy!
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Duck Skewers and Peanut Thai Dipping Sauce

Published on by lynzmarshall@yahoo.com Category: Wild Game Recipes

MallardLakePowellSmaller “If it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, it could be a really ugly swan” ~ Timmothy Radman

For me, duck hunting has been one of the most difficult types of hunt to wrap my head around. As a beginner, I learn about the tactics needed to find and pursue animals and also the habits of the animals, and then I apply that knowledge to my hunts. Sometimes the tactics work and I am successful, other times they don’t and I fail. I learn and adjust from both situations. I start to build comfort in the knowledge I am acquiring as I progress. It is the same process used to become successful at anything. Duck hunting still just feels like a mess to me.

I have tried everything when it comes to duck hunting. I have watched the videos, read the articles, watched the ducks! And yet I still find myself standing on the edge of a pond, the ducks socially meandering through the reeds without even acknowledging my presence, and when I make even the slightest motion or even thought of motion in their direction off they go in the opposite direction. I’ve tried sitting and waiting in the bushes, hoping they will eventually make the mistake of landing on the pond I am watching. I have tried spotting them from a mile away and actually crawling on my belly, shot gun dragging beside me, to them. I’ve tried jumping out of the bushes in a surprise attack, which always results in me popping up to an empty pond with no idea where the ducks disappeared to. And don’t even get me started on trying to use my bird dogs. That is probably the biggest disaster of all.

All I can say is I am not much of a duck hunter, yet! But I somehow miraculously obtained these three ducks this past season. I can’t offer much up on how to get one, but I can share with you an amazingly simple and delicious recipe that will make even the worst duck hunter, such as myself, brave another cold winter morning in hopes of somehow bagging some birds!

DuckMarinade I have had duck prepared several ways. Some were okay, some were amazing, and some I wanted to act like a small child and insist I needed to get the duck out of my mouth or I was going to hurl, childish fake puking sounds included! I rarely order duck in restaurants, and I think that is mainly because the ducks are farm raised and tend to have a lot of fat on them, which in my opinion makes the meat too greasy. Unfortunately, I think the restaurant and store offerings for duck have created a stigma for duck meat. Wild duck is not like a corn-fed, farm-raised duck. The flavor and texture of the wild duck meat is very different from what you can buy at the local grocery store. I am not saying that store bought duck is horrible. I am just saying that this is a very different bird you are working with and if you find yourself shying away because of store bought duck, you are making a mistake! I like this duck skewer recipe because I think it is a great way to ease in to eating duck, especially for the picky eaters who insist they do not like the flavor of duck. The recipe is very simple to execute, takes very little preparation or time, and the flavors are simple but very delicious.

So, to start things off, mix up the meat marinade. As with all marinades, the longer you let the meat sit in it the better. For this recipe, I suggest letting it sit over night, but I will be the first to admit that I often make this dinner when I need something quick, which does not match with creating a meal with a mandatory overnight marinade. If you are a planner, let the meat sit overnight in the fridge and really soak up the goodness. If you are not a planner, guilty as charged here, then let it sit for an hour. Trust me, it will still be amazing! The marinade is quite simple. Mince up a few cloves of garlic, I tend to do about three or four, depending on the size. Next, mince up about an inch to two inches of fresh ginger. Add those to a cup of soy sauce and a half cup of red wine, your choice on the wine here. Squeeze a fresh lime into the bowl, give everything a good whisk, and you are ready to rock and roll. As with any marinade, which is part of what makes them so great, you can add whatever other flavors you are craving. Want a little heat? Add a few teaspoons of red pepper flakes. Do you crave a little bit of sweetness? Drop in a tablespoon of honey or a little brown sugar. You have a blank canvas to work with here and marinades are a great opportunity to experiment a little outside of your comfort zone.

DuckMeat Next, slice the duck breasts into about an inch and half wide blocks. You want them thin, but they have to be thick enough so you can thread them onto the skewers and they won’t just rip and fall off. Remove any excess fat, if there even is any. To marinade the slices, you can either drop them in the bowl you mixed the marinade in or pour everything into a plastic Ziploc bag. I tend to go the Ziploc bag route because whenever I don’t it never fails that someone spills my bowl. I also like the bag because I can give the meat a quick massage every now and then to work the flavors into the meat.

While the duck gets all delicious in its marinade, start mixing up the sauces. So, for sauce I am going to make things really simple here. Step one: go to the grocery store and purchase a jar of hoisin or plum sauce, or if you are feeling adventurous get both. Step two: open hoisin sauce. Step three: pour into bowl. And that is sauce one. Pretty simple, right?

SauteePanSauce two is also simple, but not quite as simple as the first one. In a small sauce pan or sautee pan add two tablespoons of olive oil. Allow the oil to heat up a bit and drop in two minced cloves of garlic and a minced hot pepper. This sauce is designed to allow some play with the heat. The first time I made this, I used a fresno chili pepper, which didn’t really add much punch. The next time, I dropped in a Serrano chili pepper, which kicked up the heat quite a bit. So, if you are someone who likes it so hot you can’t feel your mouth afterwards then add a habanero. If you are less adventurous in the heat world, add a fresno. You can really shape the flavor of the sauce however you would like, which makes it a great little sauce. I can’t ever remember which peppers are hot and the order of the heat scale, so here is a link that I often reference when cooking: Chili Pepper Heat Scale.

Cook the garlic and pepper for a minute or two. Once the garlic is heated through, add a quarter cup of soy sauce, two tablespoons of water, the juice of half a lime, a tablespoon of brown sugar, and a third of a cup of peanut butter. I like to use the crunchy peanut butter, but if all you have sitting around is creamy that will work as well. Bring the mixture to a brief boil and then turn the heat down a bit and allow the mixture to thicken. You can play with the thickness a bit if you want here by adding more peanut butter to make it thicker or more water to thin it out. Pretty simple little sauce, right?

SkewersFor the duck, thread the marinated slices onto a skewer. If you are using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them for a while in some cold water so they don’t catch fire on the barbeque grill. On the grill, create an area of indirect heat for the duck. Duck meat is best when it is not overcooked, so you want to slowly cook it over an indirect heat source. This can be created by piling the charcoal briquettes on one side of grill, allowing for a very hot area, and then leaving a very thin layer of briquettes under the other half. Cook the duck until it is just pink in the middle, which can take up to ten minutes if your heat is low enough. I find it best to actually stay by the grill while the duck cooks so I can check it often.

And that’s all there is to this simple delicious duck meal. The skewers make a great appetizer, but are also filling enough to be a meal of their own. They would pair great with a side of rice or roasted red potatoes. Give these skewers a try!
FinalDuckPlate 

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Duck Skewers and Peanut Thai Dipping Sauce

Duck Skewers and Peanut Thai Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

    For the Marinade
  • One cup soy sauce
  • Half cup red wine
  • 3 to 4 cloves minced garlic
  • 2 inch piece minced fresh ginger
  • Juice of one lime
  • 4 duck breasts, sliced into 3 inch strips
    For the Dipping Sauce
  • Two tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 to 3 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 hot chili, minced
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • Quarter cup soy sauce
  • Juice of half a lime
  • Third of a cup peanut butter

Instructions

    For the Marinade
  1. Combine the soy sauce, red wine, lime juice, minced garlic, and minced ginger in a large bowl. Whisk together thoroughly. Drop in slices of duck breast. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Thread marinated duck breasts on skewers and cook over indirect heat on barbeque grill. Cook until meat is just turning pink.
    For the Dipping Sauce
  1. In a sautee pan, add two tablespoons oil, minced garlic, and minced chili pepper. Allow to cook for two minutes. Add in brown sugar, water, soy sauce, lime juice, and peanut butter. Bring to a boil then reduce heat. Cook until thickened. Serve sauce with duck skewers.
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Venison Bourguignon: A Twist on a Julia Child’s Original

Published on by lynzmarshall@yahoo.com Category: Deer Recipes, Wild Game Recipes

VenisonBourguignon“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.” ~Julia Child

You know what Meryl Streep movie I love? Julie & Julia! You know the movie, right? Meryl Streep plates up an amazing performance as the queen of cooking, Julia Child. And Amy Adams is Julie Powell, a struggling New York writer who challenges herself to complete a 365-day cook-off covering every recipe in Julia Child’s famous cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking? If you are a blogger, I am sure you know the movie because it centers around the idea of using blogging to create self-growth and potentially a little income. Right?

Anyway, who can forget the scene where Julie Powell cooks boeuf bourguignon. Editor Judith Jones, credited for greatly assisting in the publication of Julia Child’s cookbook, is scheduled to be Julie Powell’s guest for the evening. Powell decides she will cook the exact same dish Jones’ first cooked when she was testing out the cookbook, boeuf bourguignon. As Powell narrates the story of Jones and Child meeting, we watch her order beautiful beef cuts from her local butcher and lightly brown them in a silver pan. Powell fills a heavy ceramic dutch oven with brightly colored vegetables and pours a bottle of red wine over the meat and vegetables. The dutch oven sizzles and steams. Every time I watch that scene, I immediately want to make boeuf bourguignon. The colors and the sounds and textures just make me so hungry! I can’t be the first person who watched that movie and then tried making boeuf bourguignon. I know for a fact I am not, because my brother-in-law did just that.

Powell’s bourguignon actually ends in disaster. She falls asleep on the couch and misses her alarm. The dish is charred black and completely inedible. And to top everything off, Judith Jones cancels her meeting with Powell. It is a tragic end for Powell’s bourguignon. However, when I decided to make bourguignon I used venison, and the result was anything but tragic!

BourguignonBaseIf you want the most flavor possible from this dish, and trust me you do, the meat needs to marinade over night in a bath of vegetables and red wine. First, cut your venison into bite size chunks. Since the meat shrinks down a bit during the cooking process, I tend to make my bites oversized. Add your meat cuts to a large bowl with a large quartered onion, a few stalks of celery and carrots, chopped into fairly large pieces, whole cloves of garlic smashed, and a couple bay leaves. Pour in an entire bottle of red wine. You can use whatever type of red wine you would like, but I like the light-bodied somewhat fruity and floral pinot noir. Cover the bowl and let it sit overnight in the fridge. When you are ready to start cooking, pull out your meat and strain the wine marinade through a fine mesh sieve, reserving the liquid because you will add it back into the dish, and discard the vegetables.

DutchOvenBourguignonDust the meat with flour, just a light coating, and start heating a heavy bottomed ceramic dutch oven. You want the pot to be decent sized because this will be the only dish used for the entire meal. In the dutch oven, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil and start frying the meat. You might have to do a couple batches. You don’t want to overcrowd the pot. You want the meat to develop a nice light brown coating and if you do too many pieces of meat at one time the oil will drop in temperature. You will end up with steamed meat instead of browned. The meat only needs to cook for a few minutes per side.

VegetablesbourguignonNext, dice up a few slices of bacon and cook them in the dutch oven. There is no need to drain the drippings from browned meat. It only adds more flavor to the dish. Once the bacon is crispy, drop in carrots, celery, and pearl onions. Season with salt and pepper and allow the vegetables to soften for about 8 to 10 minutes. Add in some minced garlic and tomato paste. Cook for an additional two or three minutes.

Remember that wine marinade you reserved? It is time to add it back to the pot. Pour in about two cups of the reserved wine. Add in the browned venison and bring the pot to a very light boil, almost more of a simmer. Allow the liquid to reduce by half and then add in your beef stock, a few bay leaves, and some fresh thyme. Bring the pot back to a boil before you cover it and toss that baby in a 350 degree oven.

Set your timer for two hours, and try not to fall asleep like Julie Powell did. At the two hour mark, add in your diced potatoes and mushrooms. Cook for an additional thirty minutes.

The process is definitely a long one, but this meal is worth the wait and the effort. The flavors are very deep and rich, and even with all that depth of flavor the venison is still able to shine as the star of the show. Well, in the words of Julia Child: “Bon appetit!”

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Venison Bourguignon: A Twist on a Julia Child’s Original

Prep Time: 12 hours

Cook Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Category: Deer Recipes, Wild Game Recipes

Venison Bourguignon: A Twist on a Julia Child’s Original

Ingredients

    For Marinade
  • 4 pounds venison
  • 1 large onion, quartered
  • 2-3 stalks celery, large chopped
  • 2-3 carrots, large chopped
  • 5 bay leaves
  • 5 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 bottle red wine, I used pinot noir
    For Bourguignon
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 8 to 10 slices bacon, diced
  • 3-4 stalks celery, diced
  • 3-4 carrots, diced
  • 2 cups pearl onions
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 4 cups beef stock
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons thyme, minced
  • 1 pound fingerling or red potatoes, diced
  • 2 cups cremini or shitake mushrooms
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. The night before, in a large bowl add venison, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and bay leaves. Pour in the entire bottle of wine. Cover and refrigerate over night.
  2. When ready to start cooking, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  3. Remove the venison from the marinade. Pat dry and dust with flour. With remaining marinade, pour through a fine mesh sieve. Reserve the wine liquid and discard the vegetables. You will need the wine to add back into the pot.
  4. Heat the olive oil in a large ceramic dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the venison in small batches, being sure to not overcrowd the pan. Brown the meat on each side for two to three minutes. This could require four or five batches. Set the meat aside.
  5. Add the diced bacon to the pot and crisp. Once bacon is ready, drop in the carrots, celery, pearl onions. Season with salt and pepper. Allow the vegetables to soften for 8 to 10 minutes.
  6. Add the garlic and tomato paste, stir, and cook additional three minutes.
  7. Return the venison to the pot and pour in cups of the reserved wine marinade. Bring to a light boil and reduce the liquid by half.
  8. Once reduced, add the beef stock, thyme, and bay leaves. Bring the pot to a boil and place the lid. Pot the entire pot in the preheated oven for two hours. Check occasionally to ensure there is enough liquid in the pot.
  9. After two hours, add the potatoes and mushrooms. Allow to cook an additional 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves and enjoy!
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Fish Cakes from Striped Bass!!!

Published on by lynzmarshall@yahoo.com Category: Fish Recipes

FishCake“I only make movies to finance my fishing.” ~ Lee Marvin

Growing up, fish was never my favorite food. I think it was because most of my experience with fish revolved around either the fish stick or frozen cod. Sometimes after a summer camping trip with my parents, my mom would bake the trout we caught. I don’t remember eating much of the trout, and instead see myself using my fork to push flakes of fish around the plate until my mom said I could leave the table. My how times have changed.

Since I really started fishing, I have learned I love fish! I love all kinds of fish too: salmon, trout, large and small mouth bass, walleye, striped bass, yellow fin tuna…the list could go on and on. I even find myself ordering fish at restaurants, which is something I used to consider as a waste of a good meal. What has caused this change of heart? Preparing my fresh catches at home. The more I experiment, the more I am becoming a fish addict.

I have blogged about striped bass in the past. The striped bass, which are abundant in Lake Powell, I usually prepare as fish tacos. The sweet and flaky meat of the bass makes for great tacos. So, after a successful weekend fishing trip to Lake Powell that resulted in a dozen beautiful striped bass, I was craving those fish tacos and I was determined to have them.

Once I started cooking, I realized I was limiting myself. Here on my counter lay more fillets than I can eat in one sitting. Why not spice things up a bit and try something new? So, I did: fish cakes.

Fish cakes are basically what you are imagining: little crunchy pancake-sized patties of fish. You know, just like a crab cake, but with fish. So, yeah, a fish cake!

I had not planned on making something other than the fish tacos for dinner, so I made these cakes with supplies from my cupboard and fridge. The recipe is a bit improvised, but I think that is a very convenient thing about something like fish cakes. You can make them to suit your personal tastes all while emptying out leftovers from the fridge. Perfect!

So, let’s get started on this quick and easy fish cake before I start drooling talking on my keyboard about them.

First, throw a sweet potato in the microwave, and don’t forget to pierce it with a fork! I let my potato go for about five minutes, or until it was soft to the touch. I know a sweet potato sounds weird for a fish cake, but it will bring a little substance to the cake so it doesn’t completely fall apart when you go to fry them up.

IMG_2541
IMG_2544
While the potato is cooking, remove the fish from the skin and cut it into chunks. I used about four fillets, which were all pretty decent sized and came from fish that weighed around 3 to 4 pounds. Place a few chunks of fish at a time into a steam basket. I don’t actually own a steam basket, so filled a large pot with about two inches of water and placed a metal colander inside it. I dropped several chunks of fish in the colander and placed a lid over the top. This worked great! And the fish were thoroughly steamed in about five minutes. You can tell the fish is ready because it will turn this beautiful pearl white color and the pieces will start to look flaky

IMG_2539So, now that the fish and sweet potatoes are cooked, it is time to start building the cakes. Flake the fish into a large bowl. Add the flesh of the sweet potato in there as well. Now, this is where things can get fancy to your own liking. I diced up some red bell pepper because I love the sweetness of the pepper and the pop of color that it adds. I also dropped in minced ginger, which adds a surprising little kick to each bite, and diced celery and green onions. You could get real creative here and add all different kinds of stuff, like bacon, corn, peas, jalapeno, carrots, and the list goes on!

With all the flavors layered in the bowl, it is time to add some glue to help hold it all together. I added a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, because I love the tang and slight sweetness of Dijon, but you could also add plain yellow mustard or a spicy mustard. Also, add a tablespoon of mayonnaise or miracle whip. You could even do plain Green yogurt, if that is what you have on hand, as all you are looking for is some type of binding agent. Now, you can mix this all together with a spoon, but I found it easier to just get my hands in there are really incorporate everything together.

It is now time to batter and fry! I set up a battering station, just to help keep things organized. So, in a shallow dish add about a half cup of flour. This will help the egg to bind to the cakes. In the next shallow dish, whip an egg with a splash of water. Finally, in the last dish add a cup of panko crumbs. Panko crumbs are an Asian version of bread crumbs. They are crunchier than traditional Italian style bread crumbs and are a great alternative if you are wanting some extra crunch. In a deep sided pan, add about an inch of oil. You want an oil that can handle a higher temperature so it won’t burn the oil but where you will get a good fry on your cakes. I used canola oil, because it was all I had at home at the time, but the more common oil choice would be vegetable.

Form your fish cakes to a disc about the size of your palm. They will be delicate, so you have to handle them gentle while battering. Dust the cake in flour, dip it in the egg mixture, and finally coat the cake with the panko. Drop the cake immediately in the oil and allow to fry for three to four minutes per side. You can fit about four cakes, depending on the size of your pan, but you don’t want to overcrowd the pan or you oil temperature will drop too much and the cakes won’t get quite as crunchy and golden brown.IMG_2547

For my cakes, I created a tarragon dipping sauce to serve along side. The mixed a tablespoon of fresh minced tarragon, a half cup of Greek yogurt, a half cup of mayonnaise, and a squeeze of lemon juice. The tarragon flavor pairs wonderfully with light, fresh striped bass. These cakes are crunchy, satisfying, and just a bit sweet! So good and easy to whip up any night of the week and a great way to prepare fresh caught fish!

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Fish Cakes from Striped Bass!!!

Category: Fish Recipes

Fish Cakes from Striped Bass!!!

Ingredients

    For Cakes:
  • Four Striped Bass Fish Filets (About a pound and a half to two pounds)
  • Medium sized Sweet Potato
  • Two Scallions, diced
  • One Red Bell Pepper, diced
  • Two inch piece Ginger, grated
  • Two Stalks Celery, diced
  • One Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
  • One Tablespoon Mayonnaise
  • Salt and Pepper to Taste
    For Batter:
  • One Cup Flour
  • One Egg
  • One Cup Panko
  • Vegetable or Canola Oil
    For Sauce:
  • One Tablespoon Minced Tarragon
  • Half Cup Mayonnaise
  • Half Cup Greek Yogurt
  • Teaspoon Lemon Juice

Instructions

  1. Microwave Sweet Potato on High for about five minutes, be sure to pierce the potatoes with a fork.
  2. Place fish filets in steam basket and cook until fish is white and flaky, about five minutes.
  3. Flake fish into medium size bowl. Add mashed sweet potato, diced red bell pepper, celery, ginger, and scallion. Mix in mayonnaise and Dijon mustard. Incorporate all ingredients together.
  4. Create battering and frying station by placing flour, egg, and panko bread crumbs in shallow dishes.
  5. Press fish cakes into palm sized discs. Dip cake in flour, egg, and panko. Drop into pre-heated deep sided pan with oil. Cook for four to five minutes per side, until golden brown and crusty!
  6. For sauce, mix all ingredients together. Serve on top of cake!
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Vietnamese Elk Pho!!!

Published on by lynzmarshall@yahoo.com Category: Elk Recipes

BowlElkPho“Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.” ~ Ludwig van Beethoven

Vietnamese Pho.  I can’t figure out if it is pronounced fuh, foe, foo.  I swear, I say it one way and get corrected to another.  I say it the other way, and get corrected back.  My mind starts boggling into fee-fi-fo-fum.  So, I am not even going to go there.  Instead, I am going to share a delicious Vietnamese pho soup recipe with elk meat as the star of the show.

Whenever I visit a city, my main focus is eating.  I search out new food genres and indulge in a vacation of taste bud treats.  This past winter, I toured the streets of Denver, Colorado, visiting art galleries, book stores, food trucks, coffee shops, and even the United States Mint.  The most distinct experience was definitely Vietnamese food.  On the west side of Denver, there is a business district known as Little Saigon.  The area is filled with Vietnamese restaurants and shopping, and also Vietnamese people.  Not only was the food very unique and foreign to me, but the culture is so strong in the area you do not feel like you are moments away from downtown Denver. Here is where I experienced pho.

Pho is a broth based Vietnamese soup, which is traditionally made from beef bones but chicken can also be found.  The hot, steaming bowl of broth and rice noodles is actually used to cook the thinly sliced pieces of meat, and then the entire bowl is personally flavored by the diner using a huge variety of garnishments.  Traditional Vietnamese garnishments include green onions, sliced chili peppers, culantro, bean sprouts, spicy Thai basil, and limes.  Other condiments can also include hoisin, soy sauce, sriracha, and fish sauce.

My first experience with pho was a little, mmmm, I guess you could say stressful.  The menu is actually quite large and somehow everything looked the same but different at the same time.  The waiters spoke excellent English, but their accents were so thick.  I felt silly, but I could barely understand anyone for some reason, probably from my anxieties of dealing with a new experience that were causing my mind to almost race.  I ordered a bowl of Tai Sach, which was a rice noodle soup with rare steak and tripe.  I thought trying to say the name was going to be the difficult part; however, when the waiter emerged carrying a huge plate overflowing with bean sprouts, basil, and limes, I was very confused.  I couldn’t figure out if the plate was some giant salad I was supposed to eat before the soup, if he had brought the wrong thing out, or if this was indeed some weird version of noodle soup.  My face blushing red, I simply thanked the waiter and stared, my hands folded in my lap, at the mound of greenery before me.  I tried to glance at other diners in hopes of finding direction with my meal, but the restaurant was mostly empty.  So instead I sat and waited.  I didn’t know what I was waiting for or for how long I would wait, but I just quietly sat and waited.

After a few minutes, the waiter returned with a giant bowl in his hands.  Aw, this must be the soup, I thought.  He presented the steaming bowl of broth, meat, and noodles and then quickly retreated.  The bowl was so big.  I remembered ordering a medium, but this bowl looked large enough to be a pot of soup for several people.  Even more confused, I tasted the soup.  Meh.  It was alright.  The broth was good, but very simple and solely a beef flavor.  Well, that was that.

The waiter, obviously sensing my confusion with the entire experience, appeared by my side and pointed to the “salad.”  He gestured towards the soup, and told me to mix the items on the plate with my noodle soup.  Suddenly everything clicked.  I dropped a handful of green onions and sliced peppers in to the bowl.  I ripped basil and sprinkled it over the top.  I squeezed the limes and watched as the juice swirled with the oils in the broth.  I drizzled hoisin and dashed in a bit of fish sauce.  It was amazing!  The meat was so tender and flavorful from the broth, and the herbs and citrus played with flavors in a way I had never experienced before.  It was fun too.

When I got home, I looked at the elk meat in my freezer, and decided I wanted to try my own version of pho. It definitely is different from the soup I had in Denver for several reasons.  Elk has a very distinct flavor of its own, and is not really the same as beef.  Also, it is hard in the desert to find things like culantro and Thai basil.  But I made do, and it was delicious.

RoastedBonesOnionBrothIngredientsPhoThe key to a good pho is in the broth. You could go to the store and buy a couple cans of broth for your soup, but the whole fun of this soup is making the broth yourself. This time, I made my broth using beef bones, but next time I am going to try it with the actual bones from the elk. I will let you know how that goes when I do it. But for now, the beef broth.

First, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. On a large baking sheet, place the beef bones and a large yellow onion cut in half. Roast the bones for about an hour, allowing the flavors to really develop on your bone. The onion needs to pulled out after about 45 minutes after it becomes soft and charred. You can also slice the ginger into one inch thick pieces and lay it on the pan, but it only needs about ten minutes or so before it becomes golden brown, so watch it closely.

CrockpotBeefBrothGet out the large crock pot, and I mean large because the bones are going to go in so you need the space! Drop in the roasted bones, charred onion, ginger slices, salt, coriander, fish sauce, and star anise in the pot. In case you haven’t worked with star anise before, which up until now I had never used it but had seen it on the shelves at the store, it is pretty easy to find. It is located with all the other spices, but it is a bit more expensive than some of your other basic spices. You just add the entire star to the pot and then remove it after you’re finished cooking. Pretty simple.

Fill the pot with water, which depending on your crock pot size, should be about four quarts. Set the pot to low and allow to simmer for six to ten hours. The longer it can simmer the better the flavors will develop in the broth. This is a great meal to start before you head to work and then dinner is ready when you get home.

Rice noodles, which are like pasta noodles but instead of being constructed from flour and eggs, like traditional Italian style pasta noodles, they are made from rice. You can find them in the Asian foods section of most grocery stores. The town I live in has very limited ethnic cuisine choices, but even they carry rice noodles so I think they are usually easy to find. The noodles are available in a fresh version and a dried version. Either one is fine, but the local store here only carries a dried version. They also are available in a variety of sizes. For this recipe, I used a medium sized noodle.

RiceNoodlesPlace the noodles in a large bowl of cold water and allow them soak for an hour. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and drop the soaked noodles in. This is a very quick boil! Only leave the noodles in the water for about a minute and then pull them out.

ElkSlicesFinally, it is time to slice your meat. For this to work, the slices need to be very, very thin. It helps to throw the meat slice in the freezer for about fifteen to twenty minutes. This way you can get a better grip on the meat while you work with it, and it won’t slide around under your knife. I used the infraspinatus, often referred to as a flank steak, which I find to be a very under-utilized cut of meat. I think a lot of people think of the flat iron as a throw away steak, but it is actually the second most tender cut off the animal after the tenderloin. I think it worked perfect for this recipe because it is tender, which is always great, but has just a little bit of toughness that helps hold it together.

After the broth is finished simmering, pour it through a fine sieve and remove the bones, onion slices, ginger, and star anise. You also might want to soup off some of the excess fat from the top of the broth. I then moved the broth to a stock pot on the stove and added a little heat to it. You want the broth to be hot when you first add it to your bowl so it will lightly cook your meat slices.

Garnishments

All that is left now is to assemble your bowl! As in the Vietnamese restaurant I visited, I used a huge bowl! I filled the bowl with a huge ladle of the hot broth, dropped in a handful of rice noodles, and several slices of elk. At the table, I assembled a large cutting board filled with the garnishments and condiments people might want to add to their elk pho. Some possible garnishments include Thai basil, culantro, hot pepper slices, bean sprouts, dandelion greens, green onions, lime slices, cilantro, and mint. I had to use Italian basil because Thai was not available in our store, but it was still great! For condiments, I had hoisin, sriracha, chili paste, soy sauce, and fish sauce.

Pho is so delicious and is great for a dinner party. Everyone can make their soup unique by adding the garnishments and developing the flavors they enjoy most. Some bowls will end up spicy, and some can be super sweet. It all depends on the person. I highly recommend trying this recipe with your next elk, because the meat blends so well with the flavor possibilities.

Happy Hunting!

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Vietnamese Elk Pho!!!

Category: Elk Recipes

Vietnamese Elk Pho!!!

Ingredients

    For Broth
  • Four pounds beef soup bones
  • One large yellow onion
  • Six inch piece fresh ginger
  • One tablespoon salt
  • Two teaspoons coriander
  • Four star anise pods
  • Three tablespoons fish sauce
  • Four quarts water
  • Eight ounce package dried rice noodles, medium size
  • One and half to two pounds flat iron elk steak
    Garnishment Suggestions
  • Thai or Italian Basil
  • Cilantro or Culantro, if you can find it
  • Lime wedges
  • Dandelion greens
  • Green onions
  • Bean sprouts
  • Jalapeno slices
  • Fresh mint leaves
    Condiment Suggestions
  • Hoisin sauce
  • Fish sauce
  • Chili paste
  • Sriracha
  • Soy sauce

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Place soup bones, onion sliced in half, and ginger slices on large baking sheet. Bake the bones for one hour, onion for 45 minutes, and ginger slices for 15 to 20 minutes.
  3. In a large crockpot, place roasted beef bones, onion, ginger slices, fish sauce, star anise, salt, and coriander. Cover with four quarts water and set to low simmer. Allow to simmer for six to ten hours.
  4. Once broth is finished simmering, run through a fine mesh sieve to remove bones, onion, ginger, and star anise. Spoon off any excess floating fat from the broth.
  5. Place rice noodles in bowl of water and allow to soak for one hour.
  6. Add noodles to pot of boiling water and boil for one minute.
  7. Thinly slice elk steak.
  8. Heat beef broth in large stock pot until thoroughly warmed.
  9. Fill bowls with hot beef broth, rice noodles, and elk steak slices.
  10. Flavor the bowls with garnishment and condiments, as desired.
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Elk Meatloaf – Stuffed Italian Style!!!!

Published on by lynzmarshall@yahoo.com Category: Elk Recipes

FinalPlateMeatloaf~Enjoy this guest blog from avid sportsman Brandon Bartosh.~

“My dinner is still in the woods.” ~Author Unknown

Last night we ate the most amazing meatloaf, and it was elk. While this may not seem a big deal, having an epiphany for dessert was.
Let me explain. I am from South Texas, and in South Texas the catfish fry is the stuff of legend. I loved the annual catfish fry. I anticipated the annual fry held at my uncle’s ranch with fish freshly caught on a trotline the night before using live bluegill or goldfish, homemade tartar sauce, hush puppies, and my uncle’s pet whitetail eating out of everyone’s hand. I still dream of those days and it makes my heart smile.

I caught a rather large catfish about ten years ago and had the same epiphany I had last night, but for a different set of reasons and a different species of flavor. The catfish epiphany was much more distinct, and kind of greasy. I filleted the fish, removed all of the fat, soaked it in egg and milk, dipped it in the family’s famous top-secret cornmeal batter, and dropped it in the lard fryer for seven and a half minutes while my mother whipped up the tartar sauce. I literally drooled on my shirt before I bit in….but all I could taste was my heart breaking, or more specifically my stomach’s heart breaking. In that distinct moment, I realized catfish is not very good.

It turns out, between the intervening years in college and starting my first job, I had neglected catfish. In that period of neglect, I had experienced salmon lightly coated in worcestershire, salted and peppered, then grilled to a flaky perfection. Worse yet, I had indulged in seared ahi, freshly caught off the Kona coast of the Big Island of Hawaii under a perfect sunset, and I was sipping wine with my new bride while the Pacific waves crested and fell below our feet, inviting the deafening solitude of a crowded restaurant to our newly found love. I had fallen out of love with the gluttonous pleasure days of my youth and into love with the refined perfection of the sound of a breaking wave, holding my lover’s hand in a moment without fault. As with the maturation of experience, so go the taste buds.

Catfish really isn’t a good fish. The texture is right, but the flavor is all wrong, hence the batter, oil, and tartar sauce. On the other hand, the light umami flavor of seared ahi only requires a light coating of salt and pepper. The evidence is pure and unmistakable. Catfish is not good and is far worse for your health.

So the epiphany was this: beef is the catfish, or possibly carp, in the realm of red meat. The fat, the texture, the smell.  They all lack the perfection of wild game.  While the constant barrage of seasonings had me thoroughly convinced I liked, and actually preferred beef, the evidence of recent years’ meals suggest the aforementioned statement is undeniable. Elk is best served rare with a light coating of salt and pepper. Beef is best served soaked in marinade and grilled until all fat has been rendered to a liquid. And don’t forget to use the steak sauce.

So here I sit after one too many beers with a sense of foreboding about my future in the grocery store, the butcher’s shop, or my now ex-favorite restaurants. My stomach turns and I can feel his heart break. There just isn’t enough opportunity in the world to keep him happy. And beside, my knees simple won’t be able to keep up if I make it to my golden years. So, all I can do is savor the meal served in this time and in this moment. I hope you can too. Here is the recipe.

BreadCrumbsPreheat the oven to 350 degrees. Tear up six slices, or almost half a loaf, of Italian bread into bite size pieces. Place the bread in a medium size bowl and cover with three-quarters of a cup of whole milk. If you are out of whole milk, any other percentage, or even skim, will work. Let the bread soak up all the milk.

While the bread is working on the milk, pull out a large bowl. Drop in two pounds of ground elk meat. When we grind our elk meat, we do a ratio of 10 percent bacon ends and pieces to 90 percent elk meat. This eliminates the need to add beef fat to the lean meat of elk, and also adds light pork flavor to the elk, which is nice in burgers and this meatloaf. If your elk meat is entirely lean, you could also just add a pound and a half of ground elk and a half pound of ground pork. One of the beautiful things about meatloaf is its flexibility, and even just the ratios you create with the meat can modify your loaf in wonderful ways.

IngredientsinBowlTo the ground elk, add two tablespoons of fennel seeds. The seeds will soften up while baking, but I still used a carving knife to crush them up a bit. Next, drop in 1 diced medium yellow onion, six cloves of minced garlic, a cup of minced fresh parsley, a teaspoon of oregano, a half cup of tomato juice, and salt and pepper. Drop in three whole eggs, and with your hands give everything a rough mix. Drop in the milk soaked bread crumbs, and thoroughly mix all the ingredients. The milk from the breadcrumbs will add a lot of liquid to your mixture. I use store-bought Italian breadcrumbs to bring everything to the consistency I desire. I added a half a cup at a time, until the loaf held together nicely. You don’t want it too dry, but at first the entire thing resembles meat soup, which is not what you want. Just add the breadcrumbs slowly, and keep mixing, until it holds together.

PressedMeatloaf LayeringMeatloafOnce everything is mixed together, spread out a large piece of parchment paper on the counter top. Drop the entire bowl onto the center of the paper, and start pressing the mixture out. Work the meat into a large, flat rectangle that is about an inch and half to two inches thick. Start layering the pressed meat with slices of fresh mozzarella cheese, trust me you want the fresh stuff that comes stored in water. It will change your life! So good. Anyway, also add whole fresh basil leaves and sun-dried tomatoes. Think of this as if you are covering pizza dough, and leave about the same amount of border as you would crust space on the pizza.

RollingMeatloafWhen the meat is completely covered, it is time to start rolling. This can seem intimidating because the meat isn’t very sturdy, and things feel like they are completely falling part as you start to roll. Just keep rolling. It will all fall together. Use the parchment paper to help you roll the meat into a large log. Once you have rolled the entire log, drop it on a large baking sheet, and use your hands for a final press. Tent the loaf with a piece of aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

While your meatloaf is baking, it is time to start on your topping. One of the best parts of meatloaf is the sticky ketchup most people bake onto the outside of the loaf. Since this is an Italian style meatloaf, ketchup just didn’t sound right. But the loaf needed a sweet, sticky topping or it just wouldn’t be meatloaf. So, this sauce was born, and it is AMAZING! And simple. On their own tray, pop a pint of cherry tomatoes in with the meatloaf. Allow to roast for about twenty minutes. Once the skin starts popping on the tomatoes, remove them from the oven and drop them into a small saucepan on the stove. Add a 12 ounce can of crushed tomatoes, two tablespoons of honey, a tablespoon of Worcestershire, and a tablespoon of Dijon mustard. Turn the burner to a low heat and allow the sauce to simmer until it thickens.

CookedLoafAt the 40 minute mark, pull the aluminum foil off the meatloaf and add a layer of shaved parmesan cheese and the tomato sauce you just made to the top of the meatloaf. Stick that baby back in the oven for 30 more minutes. You will know the meatloaf is ready when the cheese is melted and gooey on top and the edges of the meatloaf are just barely starting to turn golden brown. You can also measure the internal temperature with meat thermometer and it should read 160 degrees.

Serve up a thick slice of the loaf with roasted baby red potatoes simply dressed in olive oil, salt and pepper and crisp, steamed green beans. So delicious, your stomach’s heart will melt.

Happy Hunting!

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Elk Meatloaf – Stuffed Italian Style!!!!

Cook Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Category: Elk Recipes

10 Servings

Elk Meatloaf – Stuffed Italian Style!!!!

Ingredients

    Elk Meatloaf
  • Two pounds ground elk and bacon ends
  • Loaf or six slices Italian bread
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • Two tablespoons crushed fennel seeds
  • One medium yellow onion diced
  • Six cloves garlic, minced
  • One cup minced fresh parsley
  • Teaspoon dried oregano
  • Half cup tomato juice
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • Three cups dried Italian breadcrumbs, added as needed
  • Three whole eggs
  • One pound fresh mozzarella, sliced
  • Bunch fresh basil
  • Six ounces sun-dried tomatoes
  • Cup parmesan cheese
    Sweet Tomato Topping
  • Pint cherry tomatoes
  • 12 ounce can crushed tomatoes, preferably roasted
  • Two tablespoons honey
  • One tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • One tablespoon Dijon mustard

Instructions

    For Meatloaf
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In medium bowl, soak torn up pieces of Italian bread in the whole milk.
  3. While bread is soaking, add ground elk, fennel seeds, onion, garlic, parsley, oregano, tomato juice and salt and pepper to large bowl.
  4. Add milk soaked bread crumbs and give everything a rough combine.
  5. Add three eggs and thoroughly mix the meatloaf. The mixture will be quite wet from the liquid in the milk soaked bread, so add by dried Italian breadcrumbs by the half cup until the mixture is at a consistency where it holds together but is still moist.
  6. Spread a piece of parchment paper on the counter and drop the mixture in the center. Press the meat in a large rectangle to an inch and a half to two inches thick.
  7. Top the pressed meat mixture with slices of fresh mozzarella, fresh basil leaves, and sun-dried tomatoes. Leave an inch border around the entire rectangle.
  8. Use the parchment paper to assist rolling the rectangle into a large log. Drop the log on a baking sheet and tent with aluminum foil.
  9. Place in preheated oven for 40 minutes.
  10. Remove foil tent and top with parmesan cheese and sweet tomato topping. Return to oven and bake additional 30 to 40 minutes, until the cheese is melted, the edges start to brown, and the center reads 160 degrees.
    For Sweet Tomato Topping
  1. Roast the pint of cherry tomatoes in oven with meatloaf for 20 minutes.
  2. Place roasted cherry tomatoes, can of crushed tomatoes, honey, Worcestershire sauce, and Dijon mustard in small sauce pan. Simmer over low heat until reduced, about 15 minutes.
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Humpy Fishing in the San Juan Islands

Published on by lynzmarshall@yahoo.com Category: Fishing, Uncategorized

Seaweed “The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope.” ~John Buchan

No story is more circular than that of the salmon. Salmon begin their life in the freshwater streams that flow from high, crisp mountain tops to the vast ocean. After emerging from their tiny sacs, some will spend a year or more journeying the course of the fresh water towards the ocean, using the shadows of foliage, boulders, and logs to hide from the numerous predators they encounter along the way. Their bodies mature from one that thrives in freshwater to an ocean worthy, fully-scaled body. Once their evolution is complete, the salmon emerge into the ocean.  Depending on the species, they live at sea anywhere from eighteen months to over eight years. No one is sure how or why, but after their stint at sea, the salmon suddenly become homeward bound, returning to their natal stream. Their sleek, silver frames transform and the males develop vibrant colors and grotesquely hooked jaws. Upon returning to their birthing grounds, the females build small gravel nests while the males engage in battles, hoping to win the opportunity to mate with females. Once the new fertilized eggs have been laid, the salmon die. Their bodies feed and nourish the stream bed sheltering their next generation of offspring. The cycle begins again.

I love the story of the salmon. Their life cycle truly reflects that life is short, but that there is a purpose for everything we do during and at the end of our life. While we were fishing in the San Juan Islands this summer, I was able to see pink salmon, locally referred to as humpies, in the different phases of their maturation. Some of the fish we pulled from the ocean were small and covered in silver scales. Their shape was very linear and clean, and their jaws were small. Others were building into their final fight bodies, with their backs swelling into large humps and bottom jaw curling up almost over their snout.

Unlike some of the other salmon types, the humpies have a very short life cycle. Upon emerging from their egg sac, they immediately work towards the sea and spend very little time in freshwater. They mature in the ocean for a short eighteen months and then make the long, final trek back up their natal stream. In the islands, this means the humpies make a “run” every other year. You can still catch some humpies during the even numbered years, but the odd numbered years are when the fish are hitting hard and often.

buzzbombhot_pink_1789_generalDirectly before the pink salmon return to streams, they quit eating. This may not seem like an important detail, and I guess when talking about fishing it isn’t really important but it is interesting. I point out that the humpies quit eating because it begs the question: “Then how do you catch one?” When fishing, we tend to think about what would be appetizing to the fish. What is just going to get his belly rumbling. But the humpies aren’t eating, so nothing should be appetizing to them, right? Right. However, they are in a very aggressive state, and they are looking to fight. So, when fishing for humpies, you want to use a bright pink lure because apparently they despise pink lures and instantly want to attack it, or so the tale goes. My recommendation is the pink buzz bomb.

The man at the store directed me on the best kind of line, a monofilament with 8 pound test, barbless hooks, which are required when fishing in the San Juan Islands, and the pink bomb. He said, “If nothing else, grab a handful of pink bombs and the humpies will hit all day.” I grabbed two from the shelf and was on my way.

I went fishing for salmon in a lake boat. Normally I would never recommend taking a Sea Ray lake boat out on the ocean, but the San Juan Islands are protected from the open ocean, and while the currents can get nasty and you have to watch the wind kicking up, it is very similar to jetting around on a lake, a very large lake, but a lake nonetheless. While waiting for the down riggers to get set-up, I threaded on my pink buzz bomb and lazily casted from the side of the boat. Within a few minutes I had a bite! And within another few, I pulled in a humpy! He was small, but he was a humpy! We trolled the rest of the day with both down riggers out and with hand-held poles. Both set-ups were successful, but I have to admit, the down rigger brought in a bit bigger fish. It also brought in a beautiful ocean rock fish, which we released since you are not able to keep them.

RockFish HumpieinNet

The daddy fish of the day was a nice seven pound humpy that was starting to mature for heading to freshwater. His jaw was starting to curl and his back was swelling into a noticeable hump. Coming from an area where the big fish is considered two or three pounds, this was a treat to reel in. The humpies put up a great fight all the way to boat, and the play you get using light tackle makes the fight that much more exciting. BigHumpieinNet

Well, I better get started on smoking some salmon now! It is calling my name!
Happy Fishing!

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