Pennsylvania Pickled Leeks
t’s that time in Pennsylvania! So while you’re out scouting or hunting for turkeys, keep your eyes and nose open for these. The pickled leeks go great on a sandwich or a quick snack.
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Wild Recipes
Beaver Bomber Sandwiches
This is my take on the classic South Philadelphia Hot Beef Sandwich, except I’m using beaver. Yes, that’s correct, beaver. Beaver is often an overlooked wild game meat, but trust me, as long as you avoid the castor glands when skinning and butchering, it is excellent. Among the game meats I’ve used for this recipe, it ranks up there with bear and is far superior to venison.
I smoked the meat for about 1-1/2 hours and then put everything in a cast iron Dutch oven and slowly braised it on the pellet grill until the meat fell apart, which took an additional 3 hours or so. This is a delicious, but sloppy, sandwich so be sure to have plenty of napkins on hand.
Egyptian Duck Liver Sandwiches (Kebda Eskandarani)
Traditionally made with water buffalo liver, this sandwich is Egyptian street food at its finest. Although it can be found in most Egyptian cities, it originally hails from the port city of Alexandria, which it’s named after. The chopped liver gets marinated in a spicy sauce, then sautéed with chilies, peppers, and onions. It then gets stuffed into a long roll and drizzled with a special Egyptian-style tahini sauce. This delicious sandwich will change the mind of anyone still on the fence about enjoying liver!
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Axis Wellington (Hold the Mushrooms, Bring the Bacon)
Every year for Valentine’s day, Ryan and I try to get out of our comfort zones and try a new recipe for supper that night. It’s kind of became a Valentine’s tradition that one or both of us cook a crazy meal that we would normally not try. This year, we went with Axis Wellington using backstrap from an axis deer. But, we’re not a mushroom eating family. I absolutely hate them, and Ryan mainly lives without them because of me, so I decided to sub mushrooms with bacon because, well, who doesn’t like bacon?! Two days later, below was the delicious result. So if you’re looking for a rewarding challenge in the kitchen, give this recipe a go. You won’t be disappointed.
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Venison French Onion Soup Canapé
Are you looking for a finger licking good appetizer that will make everyone drool for more, well this is it. A canapé is a French appetizer which is basically a tiny version of an open faced sandwich and French onion soup is one of the most classic French dishes. So, I decided to bring that together with the addition of one of my favorite meats on the planet, Venison. If you don’t have venison, feel free to swap it out for any game-meat, beef or lamb. Just make sure you make enough because this one will disappear quick!
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Canada Goose Gondi
Nothing says Passover like a good bowl of matzo ball soup. The Jewish holiday begins this Saturday morning and celebrates the Biblical story of the Exodus, or freeing of Hebrew slaves from Egypt. Matzo represents the unleavened bread the Jews ate while fleeing Egypt. My Catholic family will celebrate with this dish to acknowledge our common roots in biblical history. In my recipe, I use Canada Goose instead of the traditional chicken. I also substitute Chickpea flour for Matzo meal because it is a common substitute in the Persian version called Gondi. But also because North Dakota is the fourth largest producer of chickpeas in the U.S.
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Wet-Aged Venison Roast
I removed a vacuum sealed bottom round roast from the freezer from the buck my wife harvested this past fall and allowed it to thaw in the refrigerator. I planned to wet age the roast for around 28 days, removing the meat every two weeks or so to drain any blood before resealing. This process allows enzymes to break down connective tissue while vacuum sealing removes oxygen which can increase bacterial growth and can lead to spoilage. When the roast was finally ready to hit the smoker, mother nature had other plans. By the time the weather had improved, the roast had aged an extra week and was around 35 days.
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Pickled Northern Under a Fur Coat
This classic Russian winter recipe, Russian Shuba Salad, is a great cold salad traditionally layered with potatoes, onion, carrots, eggs, beets, mayonnaise, & pickled herring. But I used Northern Pike caught while ice fishing here in North Dakota. For the pickled pike, you can use Hank Shaw’s recipe, found here.
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Wild Turkey & White Wine Porcini Fricassee
The next best thing to hunting a wild turkey is eating it. Wild turkey is a fantastic bird to both hunt and observe, and they are an absolute thrill to harvest. Anyone that has hunted turkeys long enough is likely to have more than one frustrating hunting experience, but when you are fortunate enough to fill your tag on a fired-up gobbler, all the frustration is worth it in the end. As we wind down after a long cold winter and begin looking forward to Spring, this take on a classic French dish is the perfect meal to bridge the gap between seasons and get us thinking about the turkey woods we love so much.
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Sichuan Beer Braised Duck
This recipe isn’t for everyone. But if you’re anything like me and love tucking into a big bucket of blue crabs, stripping every last morsel off of a chicken wing, digging into a crawfish boil, or going back to that lobster to see if you can pry any more meat out of the legs, then this recipe is for you!
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