recipe

This unique venison dish was inspired by the beef tataki and sides of seaweed salad I’ve often enjoyed in sushi restaurants. I wanted to combine them to make a full meal and was very happy with the results!

By: Jack Hennessy Photos by: Jack Hennessy Over the past couple years I have started…

Any angler who has visited Minnesota or talked with a Minnesotan knows those folks are fanatical about their walleye. Transplants in the state might argue marble eyes don’t put up a good fight and aren’t even that great-tasting, that they’re bland and nowhere near the flavor of say, for example, trout.

Making your own sushi with freshwater species may sound intimidating but it’s not as difficult as you might think. It’s also cheaper than a night out tossing back roll after roll of sushi, even if you include the cost of your annual license.

The crappie connection within our family runs deep, goes back decades to when my dad would tell us stories about his fishing trips to Canada, where they feasted on slabs night after night. Then, before I moved from Minnesota to Kansas, my dad, brother, and I followed through on the dream fishing trip for all of us, motored out one morning in the cold blue dark, over an hour from camp, to a remote spot where crappie bit fierce and fast on anything.

I know quite a few hunters who have always wanted to try corning their venison around St. Patrick’s Day but the concept, to them, seems complicated. If you are one of those folks who have wanted to partake in the aforementioned Irish tradition but have shied away in past years, I promise you this is one of the easiest ways to prepare and cook venison. Basically: if you can properly trim silver skin and add ingredients to a pot, you can corn and cook corned venison.

Here are three very easy recipes for fur, feather, and fin appetizers. For the sliders, you can use any venison (whitetail, mule deer, elk, caribou, etc.). For the Buffalo Pheasant, you can indeed substitute any upland bird (even waterfowl, I suppose) and incorporate this somewhat homemade buffalo sauce. For the bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers, you guessed it—you can use any fish, from saltwater to freshwater to scuzzy pond water fare (e.g., catfish).

Inspired by the curry chicken and curry goat rotis I’d ordered from Trini roti shops in Toronto, I decided to make a version using venison meat instead. This is the perfect opportunity to use the venison stew meat you got back from the butcher’s or to cube up your own venison shoulder or neck roast. Keep in mind those Scotch bonnets are SPICY, so decrease the amount in the recipe if you’re sensitive to heat. If you can’t find Scotch bonnets, use habaneros or a couple of shots of Caribbean Scotch bonnet hot sauce instead.

Birria is a famous Mexican stew or soup made with chili peppers and traditionally goat meat. It originated in the areas of Jalisco and Michoacán, as I understand, but continues to grow in popularity worldwide, with many variations popping up on social media.

Spicy venison fruit snacks might also be an appropriate recipe name, since that is how I’d best classify this jerky. There is some decent spice to this jerky—not overwhelming, in my opinion—but it may be too hot for kids, so not exactly kid-friendly venison fruit snacks. I did however give to my 4-year-old daughter and she enjoyed, but took a long time chewing the small piece, saying, “It’s kinda spicy.”