You hunted hard this past season, and you put some healthy meat in your freezer. Now it’s time to grill, roast, braise and slow-cook all that delicious meat into palate-pleasing meals.
You can also use portions of your harvest to make delicious snacks that make a great quick lunch or keep you fueled between meals. These snacks also make great gifts, especially if you want to show appreciation to landowners who gave you permission to hunt their lands.
Let’s discuss some treats you can make from deer, elk, bear, pronghorn or wild hog.
You can often find game-processing equipment at an archery shop. If not, someone there can likely tell you where to look for these items:
Meat grinder
Sausage stuffer
Sausage casings
Seasoning
Pork fat
Smoker
This classic snack is great for road trips and outdoor excursions. It’s easy to make from ground venison or thin slices of meat. The basic process is to marinate the venison, and then slowly dry it in an oven, smoker or dehydrator. We share the recipe here.
If you want a venison snack that’s easier to chew than jerky, try summer sausage. It’s a smoky, savory treat that keeps you fueled during 3-D shoots, and goes great with cheese. It’s made from ground meat that’s seasoned, stuffed into sausage casings, and smoked till it’s cured. You can find a great recipe here.
Packaging meat on your own can be easy. Having the right equipment never hurts either. Photo Credit: realtree.com
These aren’t the packaged snacks you buy at gas stations and convenience stores. These are much healthier, and they give you the satisfying feeling of making them yourself from an animal you arrowed. If you make some snack sticks, hide them from your friends or they’ll disappear! Check out the recipe here.
Venison pepperoni pizza can also be on your list of foods to make. The possibilities are endless! Photo Credit: UMAi Dry blog
Venison pizza anyone? If you make your own venison pepperoni, you can have a wild-game pizza party. If you’re feeling classy, venison pepperoni goes well with wine and cheese, too. Classic pepperoni is made from pork, and air-dried in precise environmental conditions. However, you can also make pepperoni at home with wild game meat and dry it in an oven. Here’s the recipe to make this classic cured meat.
By now your mouth is watering, and your mind is racing with tasty ideas. If you don’t have the necessary equipment to make these wild-game delicacies, you can always have a processor make them for you. Talk to the staff at your archery shop to find a nearby processor, and see what services they offer. Some processors will even make specialty sausages like andouille, bratwurst and kielbasa.
The possibilities are endless with wild game. If you have a favorite carnivore creation, share it with us on the Bowhunting 360 Facebook page.
