Wild Game Recipes You Can Throw on the Grill this Summer Holiday Season

As the summer sun makes its way across the country, enjoy the summer holidays by throwing your frozen wild game meat on the grill and wowing yourself and your guests with the results of your fall harvest. Check out these recipes below to get the summer sizzle going.

Bacon-Wrapped Venison Cheese Sticks

This grilled delight is a little tedious to assemble. But after one bite, you’ll realize it’s worth the time and effort. I came across the recipe on the Legendary Whitetails website a few years back and made a few tweaks to ensure the “burger” stays together on the grill. We serve it to all our hunting friends, and they always ask for the recipe. It pairs nicely with grilled zucchini and sweet potato fries.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground venison
• ¼ cup diced red, yellow and orange bell peppers
• ¼ cup diced onion
• ¼ cup diced mushroom
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 egg
• Pepper, seasoning salt and garlic powder
• 4 unwrapped mozzarella string cheese sticks
• 4 pieces of uncooked thick-cut bacon

Directions:

1. Mix ground venison, bell pepper, onion, mushroom, minced garlic and egg in a large mixing bowl. Season to taste.
2. Slide each piece of string cheese down the length of a skewer so it sits in the middle.
3. Form the venison burger mixture around the piece of string cheese so that the cheese is completely encased.
4. Wrap with bacon and secure with toothpicks.
5. Grill until the bacon is cooked.
6. Serve on a stick like a corn dog or slide it onto a plate or brat bun.

Tangy Elk Satay Tacos

Use the elk, venison or antelope meat you have stocked in your freezer as a tasty alternative to ground beef tacos. You can fire up the grill and let the wild game do its thing while you enjoy the summer weather. You can use traditional taco seasoning packets or play around with your own seasonings. Check out this recipe from Nevada Foodies that uses cumin, coriander, fennel, Dijon, vinegar, oil and salt tor a satisfying tang.

Ingredients:

Main Meal

• 1 – 1.5 pounds boneless elk, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 8 flour tortillas
• 8 wooden or metal skewers

Side Veggies

• 2-3 romaine hearts, halved
• 2 red bell peppers, seeds removed and halved
• 6-8 green onions
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt

Directions:

1. Heat a dry skillet over medium-low heat. Add coriander, cumin, and fennel seeds and toast for 3–4 minutes until fragrant. Remove from heat and grind the toasted spices.
2. In a bowl, whisk together Dijon mustard, white vinegar, olive oil, kosher salt, and the toasted spices.
3. Slice the elk against the grain into 1/4-inch strips. Place in a bowl or plate and pour the marinade over the meat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight.
4. Drizzle romaine halves, bell peppers, and green onions with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.
5. Thread elk strips onto wooden or metal skewers.
6. Heat an outdoor grill to high. Grill elk skewers for 2–3 minutes per side until just cooked through. Grill vegetables until slightly charred.
7. Heat flour tortillas on the grill for a few seconds until warm.
8. Serve elk satay strips with chopped grilled vegetables in warm tortillas. Top with diced tomatoes, avocado, sour cream, or your favorite condiments.

Burger

When processing meat, you’ll make cuts and trimmings too small or tough for use as steaks, roasts or chunk-cubed dishes. Turn these leftovers into jerky or sausage, or grind them into burger. Venison burger can be used in traditional burger dishes like tacos or spaghetti, but the dish below is a bit more fun. It’s from Realtree’s “Timber 2 Table” blog, and it’s a great way to introduce venison to those who haven’t tried it before.

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds of ground elk or other venison
• 8 ounces of pepperjack cheese, cut into blocks
• Sliced cheese
• All-purpose seasoning

Directions:

1. Start by making the patties. Make them thin, because you will use two of them for a double layer burger. Go ahead and season the patties with Realtree APX seasoning blend or your favorite all-purpose mix.
2. Next, nestle a block of pepper-jack cheese into half of the patties. Take the non-cheesed patties and place over the top of the cheese blocks. Pinch the edges closed so that the cheese is encased in meat. Go ahead and top the meat with additional seasoning.
3. Place the patties on your pre-heated grill and cook for 8-10 minutes, then flip and finish cooking until the meat reaches the finished temperature you desire. I shoot for about 130 for medium-rare, but you can go a bit longer if you prefer closer to medium.
4. Just before the burgers are done, top each patty with an additional slice of cheese.

Seared Venison in Rosemary Duck Fat

While this recipe calls for using a skillet, you can follow the same recipe using the skillet on the grill instead of the stovetop. Just adjust the temp setting on the grill to mirror the temp settings you would’ve used on the stove. Find the full recipe, here, on Realtree.

Ingredients:

• Venison steak
• 2 to 3 tablespoons duck fat
• Fresh rosemary
• Greek seasoning
• Garlic salt

Directions:

1. Apply garlic salt and Greek seasoning to the meat.
2. Heat a medium to large cast-iron skillet.
3. Add duck fat and heat.
4. Sear the steak on one side for about four minutes and flip.
5. Add fresh rosemary sprigs.
6. Spoon the rosemary-infused duck fat over the steak while it sears another three to four minutes.

Fire up the grill during the summer holidays and serve up the delicious wild game you harvested in the fall. Enjoy the conservation cycle coming full circle as you relax in your backyard, public camping area, or wherever the summer breeze takes you.