Wild Vittles: Wild Game Cooking For Everyone – Details, episodes & analysis

I've decided to start out my cookbook review project with my absolute favorite!  I use this cookbook weekly and am a huge fan.  If you don't utilize Hank Shaw's cookbooks or his on-line resources, you are really missing out.  Give a listen and give them a try!

I've decided to take a break from featuring recipe cooking on the podcast and will be pivoting to cookbook reviews for the next several episodes, so come along and hopefully you will discover new resources, new recipes and maybe a whole new way of looking at your wild game cooking.  It's going to be interesting!

On day 2 of the Total Archery Challenge, I sat down with Joel Smith and Judson Brown to talk a little be about TAC and a whole lot about wild game cooking and what we think about it. There's some good tips and lots of entertainment in this episode, so I hope you will enjoy it.

Quesadillas are a family favorite and are very versatile.  In this episode we will cook up some whitetail quesadillas with a simple mixture of onions, peppers and cheese on toasted flour tortillas with a "CRUNCH" to let you know they are ready.  It's also a great way to utilize leftovers when you have steak or roast available!

I had the good fortune to be able to have Kriss Abigail on the podcast to talk about her journey to becoming a professional wild game butcher and how she then uses that knowledge to teach others through her work with other conservation organizations and clinics she holds (such as Hunters of Color, the Texas Wildlife Association and the New School of Traditional Cookery).  In this episode we discuss her perspectives on how to choose a professional butcher, what tools you will need if you want to begin to do your own butchering and some good pointers on meat preservation with a wrap up on her own initial hunting experiences.  It's a great conversation and I hope you will enjoy it.  

You can find Kriss on Instagram at @Kriss_Abigail

She also has her own website at https://meetyourmeat.net

This recipe comes to us from Cowboy Kent Rollins and is intended for ground beef, but I've modified it slightly and use ground elk (and have also used ground whitetail) with no fat included.  I highly recommend trying out this very straightforward recipe for a new dish to utilize your ground meat.  Give it a try and you will be coming back for seconds for sure!  Below you will find a link to the Kent Rollins recipe that I have utilized as the basis for this dish.

Ken Rollins Cowboy Goulash Recipe Link:
 https://kentrollins.com/beef-goulash/

In this episode I cook a whitetail eye of round in a stir-fry using sugar snap peas, matchstick carrots, bell peppers and mushrooms along with a homemade stir-fry sauce (see below).  The recipe is essential one third meat to two thirds vegetables and you can use any combination of veggies you want.  I highly recommend trying this for a quick, delicious and healthy meal.

Recipe for the stir fry sauce:
1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
1/4 Cup Water
TBS Brown Sugar
Tsp Corn Starch

Spring to me is White Bass Fishing and Turkey hunting!  In this episode I'll walk you through the process of frying up a mess of white bass that I caught just the day before.  This is a quick and simple approach that is sure to please.  

This week I found roasted hatch chiles in a jar and a cold front blew into town, so I decided to cook up Elk Green Chile Stew!  I'd never tried this recipe before and was blown away with the spicy robust flavor.  It is a hit that I will be coming back to again and again.  I based my stew on Hank Shaw's Green Chile Stew and his exact recipe can be found below.  I deviated a bit by adding sweet corn and chopped fresh tomatoes.  I also added the potatoes earlier in the cook then he recommended and didn't add any additional water.  All and all, it was fantastic and I hope you will try it soon. 

Hank Shaw Green Chile Stew Recipe:
https://honest-food.net/green-chile-stew-recipe/

I sat down with Jeff Benda who is a professional Wild Game Chef with over 20 years of experience, to discuss how he got started, what he has learned and what advice he has for all of us as we strive to improve our skills as wild game cooks.  I highly recommend you check out his website ( https://wildgameandfish.com ) and view his library of wild game recipes.  If you are interested, he also has a weekly newsletter where he shares recipes as well!  In this episode we talk about wild game processing, waterfowl (including docs and geese), fishing, pronghorn antelope, deer and elk and loads of other interesting topics!  

Jef Benda's Website: https://wildgameandfish.com