Course: Main Dish

Venison Pastrami (wet cured)

A bit more work than corned venison, but the result is simply spectacular in flavor and texture. Corned is no slouch, but side by side? I’m on “Team Pastrami”.

Venison Lasagna

Lasagna takes some work – but 2 is not much more hassle than 1. It freezes very well, so I always double up.

Venison Spaghetti Sauce

This is a meaty Italian-style pasta sauce suitable for spaghetti, lasagna, ravioli, whatever. It features what I call an “Equalizer” technique I accidentally invented accident years ago.

Wild Turkey Schnitzel

Nearly any boneless meat can be made “Schnitzel” style.  We use wild turkey breast as an example here, but many other meats work fine.   It’s just a generic term meaning a boneless cut of meat (normally without much connective tissue) pounded to make thin and Read More …

Venison Chili

The secret to good chili is the right mix of chiles! (who knew?)

Corned Venison

Corned venison is as simple as it is delicious. We’ve all met people who claim not to like venison. I’ve never seen anyone fail to light up with their first bite of corned venison. Many cuts work well, but a boneless roast from the hindquarter Read More …

Dove Kabobs

Meat and veggies on a stick over a grill. What’s not to love? Boneless dove breasts are delicious and the perfect size. But this recipe includes a game changing trick (see what I did there?) that works with any kabob-based culinary adventure.

Venison Parmesan

This is a standard recipe meant for chicken breast or veal, both naturally quite tender. Venison or any tough cut should be tenderized first unless you have an exceptionally tender cut.

Venison Country Style, with Gravy

This is a great way to show off tougher venison steaks, like rounds. Even a tough old buck that chews like a superball will be fork tender and delicious. It also works for steaks with lots of connective tissue, like sirloin or shoulder. It’s serious Read More …

Wild Mushroom Soup

Venison stock is the perfect base for this simple but fantastic traditional recipe.

Braised Wild Turkey

This coaxes even a tough old gobbler into something tender, moist and flavorful. This works best with legs and thighs, but also very well with breast.

Venison Sausage with Wine

This elegant sausage highlights and complements the flavor of venison with juniper berries, rosemary, wine and brandy. Many venison sausage recipes almost seem to apologize for the venison — either masking it with heavy spices or shoehorning it into recipes designed around other meats.

Wild Turkey Bratwurst

This is a great generic bratwurst recipe, and wild turkey meat is a fine base for sausage. But wild turkey is as lean as meat gets, so fat is a critical factor.

Pan Seared Wild Turkey Breast

This is an adaptation of a great chicken breast recipe.  It involves slicing a boneless wild turkey breast into roughly half pound pieces, about the size and thickness of a chicken breast, each perfect for one serving. It is fast, easy, and delicious.

Low Stress Venison Stew

This will never win a contest against a well made “from-scratch” stew recipe but it is faster, easier and still pretty darn good.

Braised Venison Shoulder

Think of this as “pulled venison”,­ a simple but wonderful way to show off one of the least respected cuts. It’s a guaranteed hit, even among folks that aren’t too sure about wild meat.

Poultry Noodle Soup

Works great for chicken — but also for wild Galliformes (pheasant, grouse, etc.). Turkey and quail might pose challenges due to size, but would be a worthy experiment. When someone in my house starts to get a cold I go all Jewish mother and within Read More …

Steamed Mussels

A delicious and visually exotic dish – but really easy to prepare. It’s getting your hands on high quality fresh mussels which can be a challenge.