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Cooking for Beef-Eaters; 3 Great and Easy Wild Game Recipes

My favorite thing to do is cook for people. I absolutely love making home cooked meals for our family and friends. However, it can be tricky cooking for our awesome friends and family that don’t exactly eat wild game as much as we do. We either eat deer or elk meat at least four times a week. I understand that not all people like the taste of wild game, but honestly the “gamey” taste eventually goes away. I enjoy explaining to those crazy people that we (mainly Damon – my better half) work really hard during hunting season to fill our freezer. It is the BEST because then we rarely have to buy any red meat throughout the year. Plus, deer and elk meat are extremely lean, healthy, and natural, especially compared to beef. It is also reassuring that I can guarantee that the meat I am eating was 100% harvested humanely.

We eat wild game for many reasons, low cost, low fat, etc., but it is unbelievably cool to be apart of conservation. How is hunting conservation? Multiple ways. Conservation, by definition, is the “preservation, protection, or restoration of the natural environment, natural ecosystems, vegetation, and wildlife.” Some people are confused how hunting contributes to conservation, but it actually plays a huge role in the process. Hunters contribute financially through buying licenses, paying fees, purchasing guns and ammo, and donating. Hunters also volunteer to actively help restore wildlife populations. Say it with me – hunting is conservation.

Anyways, I love cooking for people and always try to make meals that mask the gamey taste and texture when people come over. I also strive for simple and low maintenance meals – homemade enchiladas, spaghetti, and steak fajitas are my top three favorites. Meals that include heavy sauce or anything in the crockpot are great choices for cooking wild game. My enchilada recipe is covered in a plethora of sauce and cheese. The spaghetti and steak fajita recipes are great options as you can throw everything in the crockpot and leave for the day. Be sure to try these easy recipes and indulge in some great comfort food; your guests will not be disappointed.

Thanks for reading – whether you are a “beef-eater”, a “no-meat-eater”, or a fellow “wild-game-eater” – share this post with someone you who know will enjoy.  

 

Enchiladas

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 lb ground deer or elk
  • 1 chopped white onion
  • 1 10oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
  • 1 15oz can black beans
  • 1 28oz can red enchilada sauce
  • 2 cup shredded cheese
  • 6 burrito flour tortillas
  • Chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees or 450 degrees for crispier enchiladas
  2. Brown the ground meat in a saucepan and season with salt & pepper
  3. Add in the chopped onion, diced tomatoes with green chilies, black beans, and a ¼ of the can of enchilada sauce
  4. Spray a 9×13 glass pan with cooking spray and spread a gentle amount of enchilada sauce on the bottom
  5. Fill each tortilla with a heaping scoop of the mixture, rolling it up when done and placing it in the pan
  6. After all the tortillas are filled and placed in the pan, top with the remaining enchilada sauce
  7. Cook for 25 minutes
  8. After 25 minutes, top with the shredded cheese and cook for 5 more minutes
  9. Top with chopped fresh cilantro


Spaghetti Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 lb ground deer or elk
  • 1 lb ground deer sausage
  • 1 chopped white onion
  • 1 29oz can tomato sauce
  • 1 28oz can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, & oregano
  • 1 12oz can tomato sauce
  • 1 12oz can diced tomatoes with roasted garlic
  • 1 8oz can tomato paste
  • Dried basil, parsley, garlic, and red pepperflakes
  • Salt & Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Brown the ground meat and sausage in a saucepan and drain the fat
  2. Pour the cooked meat into the crockpot and add all theother ingredients
  3. Add a desired amount of basil, parsley, garlic, red pepper flakes and salt & pepper
  4. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours
  5. Serve over spaghetti noodles and top with grated parmesan cheese

 

Steak Fajitas

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1.5 lb steak (deer or elk)
  • 1 sliced white onion
  • 2 sliced peppers (red, green, yellow or orange)
  • 1 10oz can tomatoes with green chilies
  • Oregano and taco seasoning
  • Salt & Pepper

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Cut the steak into ½ inch strips
  2. Slice the onion and peppers into ¼ inch strips
  3. Place half of the onions and peppers on the bottom of the crockpot and add the steak ontop
  4. Season the crockpot contents with the oregano, taco seasoning, and salt & pepper
  5. Pour the tomatoes with green chilies over the crockpot contents, and add the remaining onions and peppers ontop
  6. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours
  7. Serve in flour or corn tortillas topped with sour cream, hot sauce, and salsa

Written by Corrie Flynn

 

 

2 Replies to “Cooking for Beef-Eaters; 3 Great and Easy Wild Game Recipes”

  2. This is a great article Corrie and is honestly extremely relevant to me. My roommate got an elk this year and our freezer is full of meat. He told us to feel free to cook whatever we want but I never know what to do with that meat. I also really like how you prefaced your recipe with how important hunting is for conservation. If I were to add anything to your post I would tell readers how long each recipe takes to prepare in total. This is a very nitpicky suggestion but it’s a nice touch I like to see when I look up recipes online.

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