Wild Things: Ideas for Cooking Game

Wild Things: Ideas for Cooking Game

Now is the time hunters in our area are getting ready to stalk some deer. The tradition of hunting in Appalachia dates back to before the white man, when American Indians hunted our area. The Shawnee lived north in Ohio, the Cherokee in the South, but in southern West Virginia, much of the land was simply hunting grounds.

My friend Winfred Porter of Catlettsburg, Ky., is an expert on hunting, fishing and preparing game. He was willing to share some game recipes with me, but he wanted me to stress that safety is the number one issue when it comes to hunting. Winfred is a certified hunting safety instructor in Kentucky and urges anyone who hunts to take a class in safety.

Deer Meat Loaf

• 2 whole eggs
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 1/8 cup sherry
• 1 pound of venison, ground
• 1/3 pound pork, ground
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1 cup bread crumbs

Put eggs, onion and sherry in a blender and liquefy for five seconds. Pour into large bowl and add meats, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and bread crumbs. Remove one tablespoon of mixture and fry it. Taste, and if you like, proceed. If not, adjust the seasonings.

Then, spray a loaf pan with non-stick baking spray and lay down a few thin strips of bacon or salt pork. Put meat mixture into pan. Bake at 375 degrees for an hour.

Remove meat loaf from pan and onto platter. Scrape the pan drippings, strain and pour over meat loaf. Serve.

There are plenty of squirrels and rabbits to hunt, too. I’ve never tried rabbit, but I understand it can be tough, and I know first-hand that squirrel is tough and gamey.

The following recipe, however, is meant to tenderize squirrel by slow cooking on top of the stove. This is a good recipe to use leftovers in, as it calls for mashed potatoes and cans of vegetables that you might have the equivalent of in leftovers.

For a real Appalachian feel, serve with hot corn bread.

Squirrel Stew

• 1 squirrel, gutted, skinned, singed, washed and cut into quarters
• 1 quart water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 chopped carrots
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons wine, gin or lemon juice
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings, or your favorite mixed herbs
• 1 16-ounce can of tomatoes
• 1 16-ounce can lima beans
• 1 16-ounce can creamed corn
• 1 cup mashed potatoes

In large pot, combine squirrel, water, salt, onion, carrots, pepper, wine, bay leaf and herbs of your choice. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and let simmer gently for one or two hours, skimming fat off the top if necessary.

Remove squirrel from pot, debone, and return meat to pot along with tomatoes and lima beans.

Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer again for a half hour. Then, gently stir in creamed corn and potatoes and cook for 15 minutes longer, making sure you don’t burn it. Taste and correct seasonings, if necessary. Remember to remove the bay leaf before serving.

You might even get a wild turkey around here, and with Thanksgiving coming up, you must be prepared! If you find yourself with a wild turkey on your hands, here’s a good recipe.

Roasted Wild Turkey

• Wild turkey, cleaned and plucked
• 1/2 cup or 1 stick butter
• 1/3 cup flour
• salt pork or bacon
• one lemon
• salt and pepper
• 1 can undiluted chicken broth, or water

Place turkey in roasting pan. Mix the butter and flour together, and rub on turkey breast and legs. Lay pork or bacon across the breast and drumsticks, pinning with toothpick, if necessary.

Put turkey in a 450 degree oven uncovered for a half hour. Then, squeeze the juice of one lemon over the turkey, then salt and pepper it and baste it with the fat that’s cooked out of it. Add chicken broth. Cover and roast at 275 degrees for 2 and a half to 3 and a half hours, basting every hour.

I must admit, I don’t want to kill an animal and eat it. Our property is home to so many rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks and deer, and we enjoy watching them romp and play so much, that killing them for food never enters my mind.

However, I like to remember where we came from in this country. So many Appalachians, just one generation ago, depended on hunting to provide their families with meat. I know a Cherokee woman who lived alone and off the land for a couple of years while she contemplated life. Squirrel and rabbit were her main courses, when she had meat.

It’s a little easier, in my mind, to catch a fish, skin it, cook it and eat it. I suppose that’s because they don’t seem as much like animals as those with fur who walk on the ground and breathe air, just like me.

Years ago I went fishing in Virginia and caught two blue gills – plenty for my dinner. I cleaned them, fried them and ate them. On the one hand, it was gratifying, to feel that I could provide my own food if I had to. On the other hand, I had killed something living by my own hand. And it was probably luck that I caught anything, so it’s not a skill I think I can depend on!

My father used to fish in Tennessee. He caught messes of trout when he and his friend went on weekend trips. My grandma was the only one willing to clean and filet them (I guess it was no big deal to her; she’d killed chickens and helped slaughter pigs when she was a kid!) Grandma liked to tell about my first experience seeing the trout laid out in the sink awaiting preparation. She said I asked her to make those fish stop looking at me!

After Grandma got done with them, you wouldn’t recognize them, in that golden brown coat of corn meal and flour. They were delicious!

Granny’s Pan-fried Trout

• 8 trout filets
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup yellow corn meal
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• vegetable oil or lard

Rinse filets and pat dry.

Mix flour, meal, salt and peppers together. Melt the lard in large skillet. Dredge filets in the meal mixture and place in hot oil. Don’t overcrowd; cook in batches if need be. Cook on each side until golden brown.

Remove from oil to platter covered in paper towel to allow grease to drain.