With dove season in full swing lets look at two new recipes that will be sure to get you excited to go out and shoot some more of these tasty birds. You’ll notice that some of these doves are breasted and some are plucked. The birds that were to shot up got breasted, the others were plucked. 

Lets start with the BBQ Teriyaki Dove shall we?

Teriyaki Sauce :

Ingredients:

1/4 Cup Soy Sauce

1 Cup Water

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger

2 Tablespoons Crushed garlic

4 tablespoons Brown Sugar

1 Tablespoon Honey

2 Tablespoons Cornstarch

1/4 Cup Water

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all but cornstarch and 1/4c water in a sauce pan and begin heating over Med .

Mix cornstarch and water and dissolve. Add to pan.

Heat until sauce thickens to desired thickness.about 4 minutes

Once you’ve made the sauce put in the fridge to cool down, once its cooled add dove to sauce for 1-2 hours.

Orange Glaze:

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced 

2 teaspoon garlic, minced 

¹⁄₂ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 

¹⁄₄ cup water

½ teaspoon sesame oil 

1 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons soy sauce

5 tablespoons sugar

5 tablespoons white vinegar 

¼ cup fresh orange juice 

1 tablespoon orange zest 

Direction

Mix together in small bowl orange juice, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, white vinegar and zest until sugar is dissolved, add 1 tablespoon cornstarch and mix smooth, set aside

Add 1 tablespoon oil to wok or skillet

Next add ginger and garlic and Sautee  for 30 seconds 

Stir in crushed red pepper and rice wine and still for 15 seconds to mix 

Add orange juice mixture to wok or skillet and bring to a boil, stirring often so not to burn sauce 

Once sauce comes to a boil reduce heat and simmer 5-10 minutes

Remove from heat and chill in fridge 1-2 hours

Once you’ve made the sauce put in the fridge to cool down, once its cooled add dove to sauce for 1-2 hours.

Cooking: Both Ways

While dove is marinating preheat Traeger, grill or any other smoker to 260-275. 

Remove dove from sauces sauce and place breast plate bone down on grill. I cooked mine in the Traeger, but they can be done in any smoker or on any grill. so follow the recipes and temps, just know tat cook times will vary depending on cooking method. 

Cook 10-15 minutes and flip, breast should be down now. Feel free to use some of your left over sauce and baste as it cooks. 

Your internal temperature goal for the doves are 135-140 keep a quick read thermometer on hand so you can pull. if you over cook dove they tend to get that wild flavor and dry out drastically. 

Once your dove have reached temp, pull and let rest 5-10 minutes, serve and enjoy! 

FromFieldToPlate Recipe 

Jeremiah Doughty 

Sweet, Savory and packed full of flavor, this dinner is simple and sure to leave all the plates around the table licked clean. 

One year ago I was running through the airport with minutes between flights and starving. I passed the food court area and smelt a dish I hadn’t eaten in over 7 years, I walked over and watched as a chef with a wok flung crispy beef though the air coating it in a thick Mongolian style sauce. I watched as the green onions flew through the air coating with the sauce along with the thinly sliced pieces of beef. I dreamt back to the last time I had eaten crispy Mongolian beef before my beef allergy and I got even more hungry. As I walked away starving I said to myself “Jeremiah, you have to recreate this when you get home.” 

I sat on the airplane eating a bag of trail mix still dreaming of Crispy Beef, I pulled my recipe book out and clicked my pen. I wrote the following recipe that day, but once I got home it got lost in many other recipes within the book and was soon forgotten. Last night I pulled out my recipe book and started scanning through it for inspiration, and there before me was this dish. I knew it was time to make it, it did not disappoint.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 

Crispy Mongolian Style Venison

Ingredients: 

1-2 pounds venison, sliced thin

( I used backstrap)

1/2 cup cornstarch 

Peanut Oil 

1/3 cup soy sauce 

2 cloves garlic, smashed 

1 tsp cracked pepper 

Sauce:

2 tablespoons oil 

1 Tablespoon gingers, grated 

4 cloves garlic, crushed 

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 rice vinegar 

1/2 cup water 

1/2 tsp hoisin sauce 

1/3 cup brown sugar 

1 tsp cornstarch mixed in 2 tsp water 

Chili Flakes, to taste 

1 bunch green onions

Directions:

1. Slice venison into thin strips. I take the back strap and butterfly, then I slice into strips from there. 
2. In glass bowl whisk soy sauce, garlic and pepper. Add venison to mixture and marinate in fridge for 2-3 hours. 
3. Remove venison from mixture and pat dry, coat I cornstarch once dried. 
4. In cast iron skillet or frying pan heat oil “2 inches deep” to 275-300 degrees, deep fry strips for 2-3 minutes until crispy. Remove from heat, drain and let rest 
5. In small sauce pan add oil and heat over high heat, add garlic and ginger sauté for 10-15  seconds. 
6. Add soy sauce, water, vinegar and hoisin, bring to a bowl and reduce heat to med-low. 
7. Add brown sugar and cornstarch, whisk one minute and remove from heat, allow to sit 5 minutes, sauce will thicken. 
8. Add green onions allowing them to cook for 1 minute in the hot sauce to soften them up.
9. Toss in venison and serve over rice. 

Jeremiah Doughty

fromfieldtoplate.com 

Ive already posted many jerky recipes in the past with your basic Teriyaki and cracked pepper. But this one is different. The flavors in this jerky are bold and have great depth. So if you’re anything like me, you’ll have to make a double batch because it will be gone faster than you can make it. I used my Traeger to smoke this batch, you can use any smoker, dehydrator, or oven. I prefer the smoker because of the added flavor.

Ginger & Garlic Smoked Venison Jerky

Ingredients:

1 pound venison sliced thinly (1/8 inch) It helps cutting is the meat is partially frozen.

1 cup Soy sauce, Low sodium ( if you don’t the meat will be very salty)

1 tsp smoked paprika

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp garlic powder ( not garlic salt )

2 tsp fresh ginger, grated

2 tsp cracked pepper

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried thyme

1/4 chili powder

1 tsp onion powder

Directions:

1. in a glass bowl min all ingredients (minus meat) until fully mixed and blended
2. add sliced meat and make sure they are covered completely
3. Marinate for 4-24 hours

1. if you’re using your smoker set it to 180
2. Remove meat from marinade and place directly on grill gate
3. after the first hour of smoking flip the jerky
4. watch it until its dried yet still soft. around 2-4 hours

1. remove from smoker and place immediately  in  ziploc bag and place in fridge. What this step is doing is osmosis. This is a key step, it helps the meat stay tender and returns positive moister back to the meat. If you’re wanting a dried hard jerky, Do not do this step. This step will make a soft “Store Bought” style jerky.
2. Enjoy! Keep in fridge to help it last longer.

Now that I’m an adult I look back at those dinners and read whats in it and cringe and can’t believe I used to crave it so much. Well, I still crave it on those cold winter nights, crave the tomato sauce, meat, noodles and that cheese goodness. So I decided I needed to recreate this dish and put a wild game spin on it. My whole family was surprised how much it tasted like the boxed version. I was excited that I knew what went into our dinner and that my craving for the helper had been met.

GameBurger Helper 

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground game meat (venison, elk, moose, turkey, pheasant, dove)
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley

• 2 teaspoon garlic powder

* 3 cloves, crushed
• pinch to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder (if wanted heat)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 cups Venison broth (or beef broth)
• 2 cups uncooked macaroni
• 1, 6 oz can tomato paste
*1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

1 .In large skillet or dutch oven heat oil over med-high heat. Add onion and brown, add garlic and cook additional two minutes.

2 .Add ground game meat and brown, add paprika, parsley, garlic powder, cayenne, salt and pepper. Still until blended

3. Stir in milk, broth, pasta and tomato paste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to med-low and cook 10-12 minutes until pasta is cooked, stirring often so not to burn.

4 .Remove from heat and stir in cheddar cheese. (this is key, if you try adding cheese while on heat, cheese can start to separate.)

5. Serve and enjoy.

( This can be used as a base recipe, add any vegetable, spice or seasoning your family enjoys.)

Heart

After posting an instagram post on eating heart and offering to give out recipes I decided to write this post just for you all. The first day of posting the pictures I had over 250 direct messages asking for recipes and how to’s on cooking heart. Before we start cooking we need to understand the benefits of eating heart, also where to get and how to prepare it.

Heart is one of those muscles that is over looked when it comes to the butchering process. Most hunters I talk to don’t even take it from the gut pile, let alone cook it. But lets take a look at the heart and some benefits from eating it and other parts as the Offal, whats offal you ask?

Lets look at the word Offal, offal literally means “Off Fall” these are the parts of the animal that fall off the carcass during the butchering process.This includes the heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, pancreas and all other abdominal organs, as well as the tails, feet, brains, tongue, and even the testicles. Yes, I know what you are thinking, I can eat all those things? But then why do I leave them in the gut pile. This is the question we need to answer. Taking a look at nature especially predatory animals, they go for the organ meat first and leave the main muscle groups for later. Reason being, the Offal meat is packed full of everything they need to keep running strong.

Organ meats are packed full of high protein, omega-3 fats, vitamin E, B, B12, D, A, K2, Amino Acid, choline, CoQ10, Iron, copper, zinc, and chromium. All of these are necessary for a healthy lifestyle and many Americans are lacking in these elements because of our western diets. Because organ meat has become an Eww factor for many of us, we have to substitute with pills and shakes to get our daily doses of these incredible life giving vitamins and minerals

.

When it comes to eating the Offal many are turned off not only by the idea, but also the flavor of these incredible food items. The flavor is greatly effected by how they are cared for from the field to the kitchen and eventually the plate. I could spend days talking on each of the listed above edibles but, Ill focus on my favorite cut… The heart.

The heart is a muscle just like every other muscle in the body, its a muscle that is always working and pumping life to the other muscles. When cooked correctly heart can be melt in your mouth delicious, but when cooked wrong it can be tough as boot leather. Ive won more people over to eating heart by simply cooking it for them and doing it well, then I have ever done by explaining the benefits of eating it. So lets get right into it shall we?

Heart Removal:

This is simple, once you’ve removed the guts and cut through the diaphragm wall, you come into the chest cavity. Placed directly between the lungs you will find the heart, its sitting there in a protective sack. Simply cut the top of the ventricles and remove the heart from the sack. If you’ve ever hunted with me you know I always bring a couple ziploc bags for the organ meats.

Cleaning:

Start off by rinsing the heart in cold water, pushing water through each vent and forcing out the clotted blood and other undesirable parts. I like to shove my fingers down each vent to make sure I am cleaning it out to the fullest. Rinse until the water comes out clear and all blood is removed.
If you’re eating it whole there are a couple ways to clean it further if you want or need to. One simple way to remove the spiderwebbing from inside the vents is to get a baby bottle cleaning brush (Yes I have one just for this) and shove it down each vent. You can twist the bottle brush down each vent this will remove the webbing without having to cut the heart open. “”This does not need to be done, some people just don’t enjoy eating it, it can be rubbery when cooked””.

If your going to make a recipe where the heart is sliced before cooking you can simply cut the spiderwebbing off when you get into the heart itself (See attached Photo)

Cooking the heart:

I feel like Bubba in Forrest Gump when I say, you can sauté it, boil it, bake it. You can grill, smoke and grind it. You can make heart tacos, heart gumbo, and on and on. I have come to find my favorite way to cook heart is with a nice smoke on it, smoked med-rare and sliced thin… Drool….

Recipes:

Smoked Heart:

Ingredients:

1 heart
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cloves garlic whole
4 sprigs rosemary
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions:

Clean and rinse heart
In small bowl or ziploc add all ingredients and mix, add heart and cover in fridge fro 2-6 hours.
While heart is marinating start smoker with any fruit, oak or nut wood. I avoid mesquite because it add a very bitter taste to game meat, especially heart.
Remove heart from marinade and stuff each vent with a clove of garlic and sprig of rosemary
Smoke heart at 180 degrees f until internal temp reaches 130-145
Remove heart from smoker, and allow to rest for 10 minutes
Remove garlic and rosemary, slice thin and enjoy

Heart Schnitzel:

Ingredients:

Heart
1 large egg
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Oil

Directions:

Clean and rinse heart
Open heart like a book and remove webbing, cut in half.
Pound each half out till 1/2 the width of original or 1/4 inch thick
Season heart with pepper, salt, garlic and thyme
Dredge each piece as follows: flour, egg wash, bread crumbs
Heat oil to med-high heat, enough oil for the meat to float but not submerge. Oil should be around 330 degrees.
Cook around 3-4 minutes each side until breading is golden brown and crispy
Remove from oil and drain
Squeeze a fresh lemon over and enjoy

Stuffed Heart:

Ingredients:

1-2 hearts
1/2 cup button mushrooms
1 bell pepper, diced
3/4 cup cooke rice or quinoa
1 can black beans
1 cups corn
1/2 cup salasa
1.5 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 can green chilies

Directions:

Clean and rinse heart
Cut out center of heart leaving a pocket
Mix all ingredients and stuff each heart
Using a cupcake pan or any other dish the heart can stand up in bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes (if you want heart cooked more, cook additional 10 minutes.)
Remove heart from oven and enjoy

Cast Iron skillet heart

Ingredients:

Heart
1/2 brown onion
4 cloves garlic
2 sprigs rosemary
Olive oil
4 tablespoons butter
Cracked pepper and sea salt
Smoked paprika

Directions:

Clean and rinse heart
Starting from the bottom, slice heart thin
In hot cast-iron skillet bring oil to temp over med-high heat
Season steak with salt, pepper and paprika and set aside
Add onions and sauté until soft,
Add butter, garlic, rosemary and steak to skillet
Cook 4-6 minutes browning each side of the heart rings
Remove from skillet along with onion and garlic and enjoy
( you can add to rice, mash, pasta or eat just like that)

Heart Tacos
( Ground or sliced)

Ingredients:

2 hearts
2 tablespoons Taco seasoning*
1 small red onion, sliced
5 cloves garlic minced
1 jalapeño, diced
1/2 cut cilantro, rough cut
1 tomato, diced
1/3 cup water

Directions:

Clean and rinse heart ( if grinding, cube and de spiderweb and grind with large grind plate)
In skillet add onion, garlic and 1 teaspoon oil, brown until soft 2-3 minutes
Add jalapeños cook 1 min
Add meat and cook until done, season with taco seasoning and 1/3 cup water
Add tomatoes, cilantro and cook 1-2 minutes
Remove from heat and add to your favorite taco shells and top with favorite toppings

(if slicing heart, slice lengthwise, thing and cook same way)

(* DIY taco seasoning)

Taco Seasoning
From Field To Plate

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon paprika
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
(If you need or want a little more kick add ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper)

Directions:
Mix all ingredients and store in airtight container
Use 2 tablespoons of seasoning per 1 pound of meat
Brown meat sprinkle, seasoning over meat add 1/3 cup of water
Mix into meat and simmer for 5 minutes or until most of the water is cooked off

I decided to take all those flavors and rework them into a meal rather than an appetizer. It takes as long to create your typical poppers as it does these subs, so why not give it a try. Below you’ll find a step by step recipe, and remember recipes are meant to be tweaked, so get crazy and enjoy.

Dove Popper Meatball Sub

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

1 pound ground dove (20-30 doves)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup onion minced
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions:

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees
Add all ingredients to small glass mixing bowl, using your hands kneed all ingredients together.
Take a spoonful of meat mixture and roll into small meatball
Place in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until meatballs are cooked and temp reads 165

Cream Cheese Sauce

Ingredients:

8oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

In small sauce pan add cream cheese and milk over medium heat and whisk until blended
Add remaining ingredients and whisk until blended and smooth
Simmer on low stirring frequently so not to burn for 1-2 minutes, remove from heat

Build your Sub:

Take your favorite sub roll and add cheese sauce to top and bottom, add bacon. Add meatballs, top with more sauce and fire roasted Jalapeños. Most of all Enjoy.

If there is a recipe you’ve been wanting recreated wild style, just ask and ill do my best. Enjoy!!

Nashville Hot Ditch Chicken

Ingredients:

4 pheasant breasts or 2 pheasants quartered

Nashville Spice:

1 tablespoon seasoning salt

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon Garlic Powder

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cracked pepper

1 teaspoon dried crushed oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon ground red cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

Marinade:

1.5 cups butter milk

1 bay leaf

3 tablespoons *Nashville Spice

Egg Mixture:

2 eggs

1 cup butter milk

1 tablespoon *Nashville Spice

3 tablespoons Nashville Hot Sauce

Flour Mixture:

2 cups flour

Remaining Nashville Spice

2 tablespoons corn starch

1 tablespoon baking powder

Nashville Hot Mop Sauce:

3 tablespoons hot sauce

2 tablespoon butter, melted

1 tablespoon ground red cayenne pepper

2 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon Nashville Spice

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 cup Vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Nashville Spice: mix all ingredients and set aside to use in other areas of the recipe.
2. Marinade: Whisk butter milk & Nashville spice in glass bowl until mixed, add bay leaf, pheasant, and cover. Place in fridge for 3-12 hours.
3. Heat oil to 300 degrees
4. In two bowls mix flour in one and egg mixture in second.
5. Remove pheasant from fridge and marinade, discard marinade
6. Start out by dredging each piece of meat in flour, egg, flour, then place in hot oil
7. Fry each piece until crispy and cooked fully, around 3-4 minutes per side. Remove from oil and drain
8. While pheasant is cooking start working on the Nashville hot mop, mix all ingredients until blended, taste and add more spice if needed.
9. After each piece of pheasant is fried, brush on 3 coats of hot mop mixture.
10. Build each plate with white bread, homemade slaw and top with dill pickles then drizzle with Nashville Hot Mop.

(Slaw mixture: 2 cups mixed cabbage, ½ cup mayo, 1 tablespoon Nashville spice. )

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:8]

With fast food being easier for many of us to grab as a quick dinner, we are allowing ourselves to ditch the dinner table for a drive thru window. One thing I love to do is recreate some of our old favorites from the drive thru window using fresh and wild ingredients. This wild turkey Mexican pizza is on of those dishes. It takes as much time to make as you’d spend driving, ordering and driving home from your favorite south of the border quick meal restaurant. I used ground wild turkey but you could use any wild game meat you’ve got in the freezer. Let’s get into how I create a healthier version of this delicious dish

Ingredients:

“Meat”

1 pound ground wild turkey (or any game meat)

¼ cup taco seasoning (see my homemade recipe)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons garlic, minced

1 teaspoon cracked pepper

¼ cup water

“Beans”

You can use canned retried beans or make mashed beans

1 can pinto beans

1 can black beans

2 tablespoons tacos seasoning

“Toppings”

Jalapeños

Tomatoes

Cheddar cheese

Sour cream

Guacamole

Chives

Salsa

Corn or flour tortillas

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. You can bake or fry your tortillas. I enjoy baking mine at 350 until crispy

3. In skillet add garlic and Worcestershire and start to brown garlic over medium heat. Add wild game meat and brown. Once meat has browned add remaining ingredients. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-6 minutes. This allows the seasoning to soak into the meat.

4. While meat is cooking add your beans to a medium pot along with seasoning. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, summer 4-5 minutes. Using a potato masher mash them until smooth

5. Chop all your toppings, use any your family like, you don’t need to use mine at all. Be creative

Assembly:

1. Take a crispy tortilla and add beans, spreading all over the top. Add meat next.

2. Place next tortilla on top of meat, beans and bass tortilla. Cover top with salsa, tomatoes and cheese

3. Add any other remains dry toppings

4. Place in oven for 5- 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly

5. Remove and top with sour cream, guacamole and any other toppings you’d enjoy.

6. Now dig in!!!

Now don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with this dish, it’s been as my friend says a “Red Neck Staple” forever. I find a couple problems with this dish though and here they are.

1. It takes forever to cut the meat, jalapenos, and wrap them in bacon
2. The wild game meat tends to become overcooked and masked.
3. It’s an appetizer not a meal

So, after posting a confession that I’ve never made poppers I got slammed with statements like.

“But, the flavors all meld so well”

“I make this dish for people who hate wild game and they love it.”

“It’s what we’ve always done”

“You’re missing out, you need to wrap it in bacon dude.”

After listening to everyone talk I had this idea to deconstruct the Popper and create it into a meal. I decided to take all those flavors from the cream cheese, bacon, jalapenos, and grilled flavors and rework it into a meal that will not mask the flavor of the game meat, but enhance it.  Again I want to say I have nothing against the poppers, I just want to show people there is another way to get those flavors you love so much.

Venison Steaks with Bacon Cream Cheese Gravy & Fire Roasted Jalapenos

Ingredients:

4 Venison steaks

4oz Cream Cheese

½ pound bacon, diced

2 Jalapenos

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

½ teaspoon cracked pepper

1.5 tablespoons flour (can remove to make gluten free)

1.5 cups milk

¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:

• Get your grill nice and hot
• Season your steaks with simple salt & pepper or any of your favorite steak seasonings
• Grill your venison steaks and jalapenos. I tend to grill my steaks for 3-4 minutes per side and serve med-rare. The Jalapenos you’ll want to char the skin on all side
• Remove steaks from heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes, place jalapenos in a bowl of ice water
• Take the jalapenos out of the water and rub your fingers over the skin and it will peel off. Dice them and set aside
• While steaks are resting let’s start the bacon and cream cheese gravy
• In skillet add bacon over medium heat cook until crispy, remove from bacon grease
• Add flour to bacon grease, whisk and brown flour cooking 2 minutes
• Add cream cheese,milk, pepper, salt, paprika and garlic whisk until it starts to thicken. If gravy is too thick for your liking add ¼ cup more milk.
• Plate steaks and smother in gravy, top that with fire roasted jalapenos and crispy bacon
• Enjoy

Jeremiah Doughty

From Field To Plate

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There is this misconception that we can’t or shouldn’t eat bobcats, coyotes and other such animals because they are predators and meat eaters. I’m here to tell you we can eat such animals and should if you kill them at least try it. I always respond to fellow hunters or negative naysayers when they say “Don’t eat that because it eats meat.” I ask the simple question. “Do you eat fish? chicken or turkey? do you eat pig?”. All of these creatures eat meat. It’s been said that if fish had legs we would all be doomed because they are such aggressive predators.

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Another misconception is that Bobcats are a scavenger animal, which is true in some cases, but for the most part they are opportunist hunters. They prefer to stalk and kill its in their DNA. If they are found scavenging a kill it will be within the first 24 hours of its death. This is why so many hunters who are trying to manage game on property kill coyotes and bobcats, because they HUNT! They eat eggs, quail, turkey, deer fawns, fish and other creatures. We need to get beyond the EWW factor and eat what we kill.

In India they don’t eat cows because they have risen them to a level of godhood. They place them on a higher playing field than human life. While visiting India I was told you go to prison for 3-7 years for killing a human, but could go to jail for 10-life for killing a cow. Though here in the states we raise, slaughter and grill them up med-rare with a side of mashed without even thinking of what that cow looked liked.

In the same way in the US we have placed many species on this very same field that India has placed their cow. We view them as pets and as equals. There was a study done were more people helped an animal that was in trouble over a human in the same situation. He have cats and dogs as pets, they sleep on our beds and eat better food than most in third world countries. Yet in other parts of the world cats and dogs are raised to be eaten just like we do cows, sheep and pigs.

I’m not here to preach I am simple here to show you that if you kill it, you eat it. Meat is Meat and it’s that simple.

Let us get down to the real reason you are here and some helpful tips on cooking up that Bobcat.

Brine:

Why should we brine bobcat?

Bobcat can tend to be a very tight muscled meat. This firmness can cause it to be super tough when cooked. By brining you are allowing the meat to rest and the muscle tissue itself to loosen with the introduction of liquid.  Another reason we brine them if to help leach out any blood that is still in the meat. Again being such a stiff muscular animal they blood tends to linger and in turn can give the meat a “Wild” taste to it, much more so then you’d like.

Below is a simple brine i do on most of my game animals.

• Fill ice chest with 50% ice and 50% water
• add 1/4 cup salt to every gallon of water
• submerge meat in mixture and brine for 12-36 hours.
• if brining longer than 12 hours change mixture every 12 hours to introduce clean liquid and remove blood from water.
• I do my bobcats and coyotes for 36 hours and it works beautifully.

Here is a killer recipe to create using any wild game animal especially your Bobcat and Coyotes.

Bobcat Barbacoa

Ingredients:
2 Bobcat hams (hind ends)
½ cup cilantro, chopped
1 cup red onion, sliced
3 chipotle in adobo sauce, chopped
2 cups game stock or chicken
2 jalapenos, chopped
2 limes, juiced
8 oz of green chilies
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon cracked pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch of salt
4oz can tomato paste
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix pepper, cumin, oregano, salt and red pepper. Rub mixture evenly on all sides of Bobcat roast
2. Turn crockpot to high and add remaining ingredients, mix together
3. Add bobcat to mixture and put lid on and walk away for 8-10 hours
4. Enjoy the amazing smell from your kitchen every time you enter the house
5. After 8-10 hours of cooking remove bobcat and place in large glass bowl, with two forks shred meat
6. Add meat back to liquid in crockpot and mix together
7. Remove from crockpot place on your favorite tortilla and cover in your favorite toppings