The "Gamy" Taste

I've been around hunters for as long as I can remember.  As a small child all my uncles, aunts, cousins along with my family would set up camp and the guys would go hunting.  In my teens, my dad opened an archery shop.  I then started hunting also.  The thing I noticed most is that, while the men were cutting slabs of meat off their kill, tossing it on the fire, then eating it, the women were complaining about the "gamy" taste.  I grew up knowing that phrase.  My mom and aunts would all complain about it.  Well, there are ways around that.  Commercially, they have many new marinades on the market in different varieties.  Try one, be daring, try a few different kinds, I bet you'll be surprised. 

  But, the best thing I have learned about is custom meat cutting.  I have since learned about this business in the last four and a half years.  My husband helps out one of his buddies who has his own meat cutting shop.  Before I met him I would take my kill to the first meat cutter I saw, they would ask a lot of questions about how I wanted it cut, but since I didn't know any different I would just say " yes, that's fine" to anything they suggested. There is a big difference when you know what they have to offer.

If you sit down and make a list of the different types of cuts you use, you can order these easily.  For example; do you use a lot of stew meat, hamburger or roasts?  How many times do you use meat in these forms, how many times do you cook a steak?  When you do, how many do you cook at one time?  Like after buying meat from the store, then coming home and wrapping it into the quantities you want.   Knowing these things will help when you decide how you want your meat cut and wrapped. 

But, back to the "gamy" taste.  My all time favorite way to disguise it is with sausage and bratwursts.  I've had:  Italian sausage (hot and sweet), which is the perfect compliment to lasagna and spaghetti sauce; Breakfast sausage (hot, medium, mild, maple, no-sage), which I use in omelets, gravy for biscuits or just to make patties with; Chorizo is perfect in a tortilla with eggs.  Bratwursts are a great easy meal.  Very flavorful from the grill or the stove. 

Lots of people I know do not like javelina.  The last one my husband got was ground up into chorizo.  No better way to have it.  Another tip; As you know wild game is very lean, one of the reasons it is good for you (another being NO steroids or growth hormones used).  My husband adds 5-7 pounds of pork (shoulder roast) to every 15 pounds of game when he grinds.  This adds flavor and a little bit of fat so the meat isn't so dry.  He gets it from the local grocery store meat department.  This amount can be modified to your taste.  

Here is a recipe for my husbands favorite breakfast:    BISCUITS and GRAVY 

Biscuits

2 cups flour

1 Tbls baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter

3 Tbls shortening

3/4 cup milk 

Sift together dry ingredients.  Mix in butter and shortening, using a fork, until crumbly.  Add milk.  Knead until tacky.  Roll out to desired thickness (they will rise) and cut into any shape you wish.  Bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes. 

Gravy

1 pound venison/elk hamburger or sausage

App. 1/4 cup flour

App. 2 cups milk

Brown the meat in frying pan.  Leave approximately 3 Tbls. oil in pan (drain the rest).  With wild game you may have to add oil.  While still on high, add flour, constantly stirring.  Then add milk, the same way, but pouring slowly.  Pour until you get the consistency you want.  Season to taste. ( I like seasoned salt and black pepper.) 

I hope you enjoy these tips and that it may be helpful to you.  If you have any comments, questions or recipes you would like to share, please respond at wildcooking@azod.com

          Annette Urquides