If your husband does like to hunt but you don't like to eat it you might try to experiment with some new recipes. After all, not only is it using our resources it is a great way to eat healthy. The meat is more lean than beef and it is organic. No added growth hormones or steroids in this meat. Just good old fashion grass from the prairie. If you refuse to use wild game then here are some good recipes for your beef. ;)
The main way to keep meat from tasting gamey is to treat your meat right. Make sure the animal gets dressed right away and put in a cool dry place until you can butcher it. Which should be as soon as possible. Then I freeze it. When I'm ready to use the meat for cooking there is a delicate time in which the meat tastes good after de-thawing it. I take mine out the night before and put it in the refrigerator and I do not wait more than two days to eat it. I do not de-thaw it in the microwave or in hot water. Unless I'm in a pinch but there is a taste difference. It just tastes more gamey if I do that.
Top 8 recipes for Wild Game in our home:
1.) Sloppy Joes
I got the recipe off of allrecipes.com and tweaked it. I love this website you can find almost any recipe even ones your mom used to make. But now that I just said that I cannot find this recipe, I guess I didn't save it to my recipe box so here is my version.
1 lb Ground Elk Meat
1/2 onion chopped (My husband can't eat them so I leave them out and add onion powder.)
1-2 minced garlic cloves
2 Tablespoons white flour
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup Ketchup
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
8 hamburger buns
In a skillet cook ground elk, onion/onion powder, and garlic over medium/high heat until meat is no longer pink. Slightly cook in the flour, just until you can't see white. Add the remaining ingredients except for the buns. :) Simmer for 15-20 min. stirring occasionally. Scoop 1/2 cup of the meat mixture onto each bun. And eat! Make sure you have a napkin!
2.) Cheddar Loafs
I love this recipe. I tried it with ground Elk and fell in love. Individual meat loaves, and they are delicious. They are moist and full of flavor. It is not your average meat loaf.
Meat loaf Ingredients:
1 egg
3/4 c. milk
1 c. (4 oz.) Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 c. quick-cooking oats
1/2 c. chopped onion (once again we don't do onion, I use onion powder and garlic powder about a tsp. of each or you could use a clove of minced garlic)
1 tsp. salt
1 lb lean ground elk or beef
Sauce:
2/3 c. ketchup
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. prepared mustard
Beat the eggs and milk in a bowl. Stir in cheese, oats, onion(or powders and garlic), and salt. Add the ground elk and mix well (I use my hands.) Shape into eight loaves; place in a greased 13x9 inch pan. Combine all the sauce ingredients in a separate bowl, spoon over loaves. Bake uncovered at 350 for 45 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink and the meat thermometer reads 160. Serves 8.
3.) Stuffed Peppers
We love it when the grocery store's have sales on produce like bell peppers. This is the perfect time to make stuffed bell peppers.
8 bell peppers, we used Green
1 cup onions (onion powder, my permanent change)
1 lb ground elk
1 clove minced garlic
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cans tomato soup
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 c. cooked brown rice (or white) I just start the rice cooker before I start cooking dinner.
Boil the peppers 3-4 minutes on the stove top after you cut off the tops and take out the seeds. Combine the onion, garlic, chili powder, and pepper in the skillet on the stovetop and cook until no longer pink. Add the remaining ingredients until heated through. Then stuff the peppers with the mixture and bake at 350 for 20 min. You can also save some of the cheese and top the peppers with more cheese.
4.) Bacon Wrapped Hamburgers
I also got this recipe from allrecipes.com. Click here for the link. I did make a few changes. I used ground elk instead of ground beef. I added 1-2 cloves of minced garlic. About a handful of cilantro and 1/2 teaspoon Grandpa Lyn's Seasoned Salt. You can find Grandpa Lyn's here. It is locally made. This salt is excellent you can use it on anything.
5.) Marinated Steaks
I love to marinate pretty much any meat with soy sauce, lemon juice and olive oil. Make sure to let it sit over night to really soak in. Then we grilled the steaks. You will want to use the best cut of your elk for this one and tenderize the meat. Here is a link for some other ideas of what you could add to your marinade and how much of each to use. I usually just use a combination of other things depending on what I have in the house so I don't have to make a trip to the store late at night. Well, I can't. I live in a small town and that isn't possible. So make do there are a lot of yummy things right in your pantry.
6.) Beef and Broccoli/ Crock Pot
I found this recipe on pinterest. Here is a link. I am all about fast, easy, good, and mix and match with what you already have in the kitchen. This makes a good base. I also added fresh grated ginger and garlic. I love that I can stick it in the crock pot and put the rice in the rice cooker and have an easy and tasty dinner for a busy night. The elk steaks cut into pieces work really well.
7.) Taco's and Fajitas
We love Taco bell spice packets from the store and the are fast and easy. Brown your meat, add the water, and spice. Make some Spanish rice for a side dish. A few vege's, sour cream, and cheese on a tortilla and this elk meat tastes great. And once again, it was fast, easy, and tasty.
8.) Your Own Family Recipe Favorites
Take your family recipe favorites and replace them with wild game. You'd be surprised at how much you will like it. We use wild game in our Chili, Spaghetti, Portuguese Soup, Egg casserole (with the wild game breakfast sausage), Shepard's pie, breakfast burritos, and anything you can think of really.
Do your own experiments. Some you will keep and some you won't, but that's how we found some of our favorites.
What is your favorite thing to make with wild game? How do you keep yours from tasting gamey?
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