Venison Chili fowl , and game . Popular recipes for fish would include Baked Walleye Fillets . If you don ’ t mind firing up your BBQ this winter , I ’ d suggest Planked Salmon with Whisky , Birch , and Maple Syrup Sauce . The Freshwater Fish Marketing Company has an online recipe book with dozens of Canadian-style recipes for freshwater fish . For upland birds , try Grouse with Grapes or Grouse with Ten Cloves of Garlic . For wild game , opt for Maple-Smoked Cheddar Venison Steaks or Grilled Venison with Blue Cheese and Pimento .
For those of you who don ’ t hunt or fish , you can purchase farmed game ( bison and elk ), pheasants , freshwater fish such as lake whitefish , pike , walleye , Arctic char , and salmon commercially . Search Google for sources . Farmers ’ markets often carry these products , too . Some local meat markets carry bison and elk cuts such as ground meat , burgers , smokies , bison sticks , and jerky . If you know a hunter or angler , they may gift you something , as it has long been a custom of outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen to share in their harvest .
Wild game should be cooked differently than beef because it ’ s lean , with little or no fat . Ditto for upland birds and waterfowl . Fat is marbled inside beef ; not so with wild game where it ’ s on the outside and should be trimmed because it does not taste good and will go rancid in a freezer . Wild game meat is low in fat and high in protein ; it ’ s best cooked at a
Baked Walleye Fillets
low heat for a short period of time so it doesn ’ t dry out and become tough to chew . It is ideal for chilis , pot roasts , stews , and grilled in a skillet with sauces . While you can use a slow cooker , they are not essential to tenderize meat because most game animals are young and tender ; old animals should be hung for at least a week or two to age .
I regard wild game as gourmet food — a delicacy — and prepare it accordingly as though it was being cooked for royalty . A bonus is that it ’ s healthy and nutritious .
Duane Radford has been the outdoor recipes columnist for the Alberta Outdoorsmen monthly magazine for the past twenty-five years . He was also an outdoor recipe columnist for the Newfoundland Sportsman magazine for many years . He has written recipes for Outdoor Canada and has authored a couple of cookbooks featuring fish and wild game .
Moroccan Spiced Grouse Breasts
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