recipe

Mule Deer Meatballs

At the most basic, meatball recipes combine ground or chopped meats, functional ingredients and flavoring components. Bread crumbs, crackers, or a cooked grain are for body and prevent the toughness that happens when muscle fibers shrink as they cook. Eggs, sometimes bread soaked in milk, water or a broth bind all of the ingredients for simplifying the forming and cooking process. Those are all functional ingredient options that build the basic structure that can be simple or complex, depending on which regional result you want to create.  Adding specific flavoring components from seasonings, spices or aromatics is what really defines your dish and makes it embrace the style you have intended for it.  Onions, garlic, lemon grass, citrus and fresh herbs can transform any combination of your functional ingredients and send it to the far reaches of the earth. 

“Mule Deer Pupusa & Smoked Tomato salsa”

Pupusas are El Salvadorian stuffed corn cakes served with curtido and salsa roja, traditionally stuffed with beens, cheese and pork. We have taking this incredible south/central American favoirite and given it a Mule Deer Foundation spin using some of the roast cuts from our favorite critter.  These are a great item to make ahead, wrap in foil and have waiting for you back at camp to warm up after a long day in the field. Pupusas also freeze incredibly well if your looking for a quick dinner to pull out when time seems to slip away.  The curtido is a El Salvadorian version of slaw that cuts through the richness of the cakes and is definitely a must with these.  And the smoked tomato salsa is my favorite way to use up those sweet summertime tomatoes. We keep this on hand during the summer for all sorts of uses, its sure to become one of your go to faves. 

“Olympic Mountain Blacktail with Blackberry Drizzle”

This Olympic Mountain Blacktail with Blackberry Drizzle recipe is amazing when smoking venison with a fruit or nut-based wood like apple, cherry, oak, or pecan.   Searing to medium in a cast iron skillet in butter with garlic and fresh rosemary sprigs is a great alternative if you prefer not to smoke.  When smoking, my go to for blacktail is a 50/50 mix of apple and pecan, and here’s how I do it:

“Plum and 5 Spice Glazed Wild Boar Ribs”

Ribs are synonymous with summer, but, sometimes it’s great to switch up the typical Kansas city or Carolina style sauces with something just a bit outside of the box. These Plum and 5 Spice Glazed Boar Ribs have become one of our family’s favorites during plum season.

“Lobster Mushroom and Dungeness Crab Corn Chowder”

Lobster mushrooms are one of those unmistakable mushrooms, and also happen to be the aftermath of two forms of fungi attacking one another. Prior to the “attack” lobster mushrooms are actually mildly poisonous until the second fungi, attaches and “attacks” the prior which is when you see the fruiting portion of this incredible mushroom breach the surface in that unmistakable “cooked lobster” orange that also has a slight aroma of crab or lobster. This Soup is a great soup when corn is abundant and sweet and fresh wild Dungeness is in peak season.  It also comes together in one pot in under an hour. Add a loaf of your favorite sourdough and dam if it isn’t one of the best meals around. 

Wild Louisiana Shrimp & Garlic Annatto Butter Tacos

Summer and Shrimp, like Peanut Butter and …..You get the point. This is a great way to change up “taco Tuesday”

“Venison Skirt Steak Sandwich”

This is a great option for the pile of roast cuts you have left over In the freezer by the time February comes around. You’ve cooked your primary, secondary and lesser steak cuts, you’ve made Italian beef sandwiches and pulled mule deer, and so many pot roasts, the wife and kids are sick of it. Now have to come up with something new or face the embarrassment of ordering a pizza. This is the recipe to try. It’s super simple, yet refined and easy on the tastebuds. It’s something to remind you that summer days grilling on the porch are closer than you think.

“Mule Deer Carne Asada”

This dish uses tender venison meat to take the traditional carne asada and give it a unique twist. Whether you’re a seasoned chef or a beginner in the kitchen, this recipe is sure to impress with its simplicity and bold taste. The venison is first marinade in a zesty combination of spices and citrus juices, then grilled to perfection, resulting in juicy, flavorful bites that will tantalize your taste buds. 

Pickled Chanterelle

Chanterelle mushrooms are one of the mid to late harvests in my neck of the woods usually starting to show around mid-July through Mid to late September.  Found in most of the states west of the Dakotas and are easily identifiable.  Chanterelles lend themselves to so many cooking preparations but one that I love is pickled Chanterelles to brighten up the winter Doldrums. 

“Mule Deer Armadillo Eggs”

Armadillo eggs are a time-honored traditional appetizer of the Southwest. At the Mule Deer Foundation, we like to think of this appetizer as a great use of the excess mule deer grind left over at the end of the butchering day. For this Mule Deer Armadillo Eggs recipe we like to mix in 30% pork fat with our grind but whatever you have left over after your brats, or your summer sausage mix can work just as well. In fact, the more unique your blend of fat content and spices the better this appetizer becomes truly yours.

“Corned Deer Breakfast Skillet”

I am a breakfast guy. Pancakes, sausage, eggs, coffee, I love it all. I have a ritual in my house where the weekend doesn’t start until I serve Breakfast to the family. When my oldest child and I leave early on a hunting or fishing day trip, I always make extra in the oven for my wife and the younger kids. That said I don’t believe there is one perfect breakfast, the choices are all amazing. This “Corned Deer Breakfast Skillet” is one of my favorites and you should make one for yourself and your loved ones tomorrow morning.

“You Feta Not Miss Burger”

My wife is a 1st generation American whose family comes from Sparta in Greece. Our children and I have benefitted from her Mediterranean style cooking for the last 15 years. This burger is my attempt to mimic that style using wild game. The You Feta not Miss Burger is a sweet mash of dates, garlic, and honey atop a healthy patty under a smattering of crumbled feta cheese (get the good stuff from Greece if you buy Turkish feta, it won’t taste as good).