Ingredients: 10 pounds of summer sausage

Meats:
8 pounds venison
2 pounds wild boar
(could substitute domestic pig or do all Venison)
If you’re not using fats you will need to add a liquid
2 cups water (if not using fats)

Spices:

Homemade:

3 tablespoon cracked pepper
3 Tablespoon garlic powder
3 tablespoon onion powder
3 tablespoons mustard seed
1 tablespoon sea salt
2 tablespoon Marjoram
2 tablespoons cup quick cure

(if not using a smoker add two teaspoons liquid smoke.)

If you’re looking for a great pre-made seasoning you have to check out PS Seasonings. I used theirs this last go around and it was perfect. One simple package, just dump, mix and stuff. For a discount use promo code fromfieldtoplate10

Psseasonings.com 

Directions:

Place all your grinder and stuffer parts (minus the motor) in the freezer. The colder the meats and grinding parts, better the sausage. If they ground gets to warm it becomes a paste, and paste in sausages in a no-no, you’re making sausage not hotdogs

.
Take Venison and Boar meat and grind together. To me this is a Key step, I like to cube both meats and grind them together. By grinding them together you get a better mixer on the meat. I use the largest grind plate, again I like texture in my sausage.

Once meats have been ground season the meat with Seasonings and Cure. I like to lay out baking sheets and layer the meat on them, this way I get an even coat on the meat. Then simply mix with your hand, or stand up mixer.

Let meat mixture rest in the fridge for 12-24 hours. This will help develop the flavors and allow the cure to start working. If using a quick cure you can get away with 2-4 hours of resting

Using a summer sausage casing ( My Favorite ) start stuffing the sausages with the chilled seasoned meat.

Make sure you are stuffing the meat as full and tight as you can, you want the casings to be filled. I tend to make sure the casings push me rather than the other way around.

Once all casings are filled let sausage sit at room temp while you get your smoker ready.

You want to set your smoker to 180-220 degrees. I smoke my sausage till they hit 150-155 degrees. With the cure this is a safe temperature. I love using my Traeger Smoker

Key step: Remove Sausages from the smoker and put in a ice bath. This ice bath method will stop the cooking of the meats. Once temps get down to 100-120 remove from water, dry off and place in fridge over night.
You’re now ready to eat, freeze or share your amazing summer sausage.

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.

Starting September 1st your social media feeds will be flooded with popper recipes and popper pictures so staying true to my never making a popper, ill guide you to 5 dishes, to wow your friends and family that aren’t wrapped in bacon. (Don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with wrapping your dove in bacon, i’m just showing you there are more options then this one recipe.)

I also hear that many folks don’t like the taste of dove and one big reason is they are over cooking them, which dries them out and creates a very wild flavor to the meat.

Plucking:

Every year I hear from people that they breast out their doves because its easy and its all they’ve every known. They don’t have the time to pluck, well pluck that…. Plucking is really allot easier than you think, and best of all the kids love doing it.

Simply grab your dove with the breast up and start the pluck, grabbing the feathers and pulling opposite of the direction they grow in. Yes, it’s that simple and once you’ve pluck them remove the feet and guts.

To remove the guts take your knife and make a small incision right below the breast plate and shove your index finger it and Hook it out. Make sure you save the dove hearts and gizzards. A real treat for the kiddos once they’ve spent the morning retrieving and plucking.

Skinning:
Skinning is a another option you can do to make sure you keep all usable meat and those tasty bones. Yes tasty bones, I use the bones to make a killer dove bone broth or add them to the upland game bird stock I make.

Just pull the skin off like you would a sock, it’s that easy. I start at the legs and pull towards the head, then gut and rinse. You’re now left with a little skinned looking chicken.

Breasting:
Not my favorite, but is the fastest way to get the most used meat off the bird. Find the Breast plate, shove your thump under it and pull off. The guts and legs go on way as the breast and wings go another. From there remove skin and feathers, rinse and get ready to cook.

Grinding:
Yes you can grind your doves and all upland game birds. This method opens so many doors for recipes. Like tacos, spaghettis, meatballs and so many more. Just
skin your doves and remove all usable meat, breast, legs & wings. Run all the meat through the fine or course grinder plate and enjoy.

Boiled/slow cooked:
Take whole skinned doves and add them to a crockpot, pressure cooker or stock pot with water and cook them till the meat falls off the bones. Use pulled meat for soups, stews, wraps and many other dishes. (Add veggies and herbs while cooking to add flavor to the meat)

I will do a video this year on all these options so you can see the method and what the finished product should look like.

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Recipes:
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Stuffed Grilled Dove
Ingredients:
10-15 whole plucked dove
2 hatch chilies, Fired Roasted & diced
2 ears corn, fire roasted & removed from ear
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Red Onion, sliced and fire roasted then chopped

1 cup black beans
2 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
1 teaspoon dried garlic
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup cilantro, minced

Directions:
fire roast your chilies, corn and sliced onions. Once chilies are charred on the skin remove and place in a large bowl full of ice water, skin will peel off easy. Remove all skin. Cut corn from ears and chop the roasted onion slices.
In mixing bowl add onions, chilies, corn, black beans and cilantro, mix with 1 tablespoon paprika
Stuff each dove with 1-2 tablespoons of corn and chilies mixture.

Mix remaining dry seasonings and dry rub each dove
Grill on med-high heat until doves are med-med rare.
Remove and serve with your favorite sides
Doves can also be baked at 350 for 15-20 minutes until med-med rare

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Ground Dove Lettuce wraps

1 lb ground game bird
1 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tbsp ginger, minced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, sliced thinly
5 green onions, chopped
1 cup shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
salt and pepper to taste
½ head iceberg lettuce, cut into half

Add olive oil to a large skillet and heat until oil is very hot. Add ground bird and cook until no longer pink and starts to brown, break it up with a wooden spoon as necessary. Should take about 3 minutes.

Add soy sauce, ginger, garlic, peppers, coleslaw mix, and stir-fry for another 3 minutes. Add hoisin sauce and green onions, and toss. Transfer cooked mixture to a bowl. For more flavor add 1 cup of homemade teriyaki sauce.
Serve by placing spoonfuls of mixture into pieces of lettuce, fold lettuce over like small tacos, and eat.
Top with homemade teriyaki sauce

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
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
Add water to thin if you over-thicken it

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Game Bird Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:
2 cups shredded game bird meat
1 cup chopped cilantro
8 corn tortillas, roughly torn into pieces
8oz canned diced chilies
1 can fire roasted tomatoes with juices
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can sweet corn, rinsed
1 medium red onion, sliced thin
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
½ teaspoon salt
8 cups pheasant or chicken stock
½ teaspoon cumin
For that extra kick you can add
2 jalapeños, chopped
1 poblano pepper, chopped

Directions:
In large stock pot or Dutch oven add olive oil, onion and garlic cooking over medium heat until onions start to sweat. Add cilantro, 4 torn tortillas, tomatoes and green chilies cook for another 3 minutes stirring continually.
Add stock, game bird meat, spices, corn, beans and remaining 4 tortillas. Bring soup to a boil and reduce heat to simmer
Simmer for 1-2 hours allowing all the flavors to develop and the tortillas to fall apart.

Pour into your favorite bowl and top with your favorite toppings like cheese, avocado, sour cream or tortilla chips. Try a dash of lime for a sweetness to the heat.

The tortillas act as the binder, this soup is 100% gluten free for those looking for a delicious soup they can make at home. ________________________________________________________________________

Bird Stock

bird carcasses
1 onion sliced
3 carrots roughly chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped
Bulb of garlic, peeled and rough chopped
1 tablespoon peppercorns
2 sprigs thyme
Parsley
2 rosemary branches
2 bay leaf
(Any other herbs you’d like to add, be creative)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, add all veggies and bird carcasses in casserole dish. Roast for 20 minutes (This adds depth to the stock) remove from oven and add to large Dutch over or pot.
Put all ingredients in a large pot and fill with water till bones are 2-3 inches covered.
Bring to a boil then reduce heat so that it stays at a very gently simmer. You don’t want it to keep at a boil as it will make the stock look dirty. It won’t affect the taste but it won’t look as nice and clear.
Continue to simmer gently, uncovered, for about 4 hours.
Remove from heat and strain though a colander into a large bowl. Place a fine mesh sieve over another bowl and strain once more to remove any small particles. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper.

______________________________________________________________________________

Game bird & Dumplings

Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 pounds skin-on, bone-in upland game bird pieces (all thighs or a whole cut up game birds or a mixture of light & dark meat)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups diced carrots
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme)
3 bay leaves
½ cup flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
5 cups broth

FOR THE DUMPLINGS:
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, plus more for garnish

Directions
In a large, deep pot set over medium-high heat, melt together olive oil and butter. Generously season bird pieces with salt and pepper. Brown the birds on both sides, working in batches so as not to crowd the pot (about 4 to 6 minutes per side). Transfer birds to a plate and set aside.
Add the celery, carrots, and garlic to the pot. Cook the vegetables in the drippings until they begin to soften, stirring and adjusting the heat as necessary, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the browned pieces, thyme, bay leaves, garlic powder, onion powder, and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cook until the birds are cooked through, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove and discard the thyme stems and bay leaves. Transfer the cooked bird to a plate. Remove and discard the skin and bones, shred the bird, and return to the pot.

Ladle 2 cups of the cooking liquid into a large bowl or quart-sized measuring cup. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the flour until smooth. Continuously whisk the contents of the pot while slowly pouring in the flour mixture. Simmer and whisk until slightly thickened, about 8 to 10 minutes.
To make the dumplings, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir in the melted butter, buttermilk, and minced parsley until just combined. With heat reduced to low, drop rustic, tablespoon-sized balls into the simmering broth. (dumpling dough should be slightly sticky) Gently add dumplings one time and then simmer, covered, until the dumplings are firm, about 12 to 15 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste. Serve immediately, sprinkled with additional minced fresh parsley.

Now that you’ve got these dishes be creative and tell me what you’ve made using the methods above.
Go out there and get your hands dirty for dinner and go From Field To Plate.

– Jeremiah Doughty

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!!!

Sesame & Ginger Wild Turkey

Meat:

1 pound wild turkey breast or thigh meat, cubed

3 tablespoons corn starch

1 cup flour

½ teaspoon ginger powder

1 teaspoon cracked pepper

½ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon chili powder

1 egg, whisked

Bunch of green onions, white cut off

Directions:

• In Ziploc bag add all ingredients minus egg wash and meat
• Dip each chunk of turkey into egg wash and shake in flour mixture
• In large wok or skillet add ½ cup peanut oil over med-high and stir fry turkey until fully cooked 4-6 minutes
• You can cook meat in batches if your skillet or wok is not large enough

Sauce:

• 1 cup light soy sauce
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 2 teaspoons corn starch

Finish:

• In small bowl whisk all ingredients together
• Once meat is fully cooked add sauce and green onions to the skillet or wok and coat meat, sauce will start to thicken as it cooks.
• Cook for 2-3 minutes, constantly stirring so not to burn sauce
• Remove from heat add 3 tablespoons sesame seeds and top with diced green onions
• scoop over cooked rice and enjoy

Jeremiah Doughty

From Field To Plate

Venison Skillet Potpie “Skillet Version”

Ingredients:

1 pound Venison stew meat

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cracked pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium brown onion, chopped

1.5 cups carrots, chopped

1.5 cups celery, chopped

½ cup mushrooms

1 teaspoon thyme leaves, minced (or dried)

1 teaspoon rosemary, minced (or dried)

1 tablespoon parsley, minced

¼ cup flour

1 cup red wine, dry

½ cup whole milk

1.5 cups venison stock (sub beef if you have to)

1 box puff pastry

Egg wash (1 egg with 1 teaspoon cold water

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• In large cast iron skillet over medium heat 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Season stew meat with salt & pepper, brown meat in batches, you’re not cooking the cook all the way through you are just browning the outside to for a seal.
• Transfer meat to plate and add remaining oil to skillet
• Cook garlic & onions until onions start to sweat and become soft, scrape the bottom of skillet getting all the goodness that’s been cooking in the skillet
• Add carrots, celery rosemary, thyme and parsley seasoning with remaining salt and pepper
• Cook veggies for 6-8 minutes
• Coat veggies in flour and stir cooking one more minute
• Add red wine, milk and broth, bring to a boil and add meat back to mixture
• Reduce heat to low and simmer for 45-60 minutes, sauce will thicken
• While base is cooking roll out puff pastry and cut into a circle large enough to cover skillet
• Remove skillet from heat and carefully cover with puff pastry
• Brush with egg wash and cut a couple slits on the top of puff pastry to act as vents
• Place skillet on rimmed backing sheet and place in oven
• Cook for 18-20 minutes or until puff pastry is golden brown and cooked
• Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes
• Serve and enjoy

Jeremiah Doughty

From Field To Plate

Baked Potato Cheese Soup

Ingredients:

4 Large carrots, chopped small
4 large celery stalks, chopped small
½ large onion, minced
4-5 large potatoes, chopped small
6 cloves garlic, minced
½ pound bacon, chopped into 1 inch pieces
3 tablespoons flour, can omit if you want gluten free and sub out for cornstarch
2 cups broth, you can use Vegetable, chicken or even better wild game bird broth.
2 cups water
2 teaspoons cracked pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1.5 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, or any of your favorite cheese your family likes

Garnish:
Green onions
1 cups cheddar cheese
Left over bacon bits

Directions:
• In large stock pot or Dutch oven cook bacon bits over med-high heat. Once bacon is crispy remove from pot, leaving grease behind
• Add carrots, celery, onions, potatoes  and garlic to bacon grease and mix, season with salt, pepper, rosemary and paprika stirring to coat evenly. Cook veggies for 5 minutes until they start to sweat
• Add broth and water, bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer
• Simmer soup for 30 minutes until all veggies are soft
• While soup is cooking mix flour with 1.5 cups of milk in a small glass bowl and whisk until smooth and no clumps.
• Pour flour mixture into soup and remove from heat
• In a blender or food processor blend half the soup until smooth. * be careful soup will be hot and you don’t want to burn yourself. I do it in batches
• Add blended soup back to pot and fold in 2 cups of cheese
• Serve immediately and top with cheese, green onions and the bacon bits you removed earlier.

Try spicing up this soup by adding some leftover wild game meats. In our family we love to add leftover smoked pheasant or turkey. It adds depth and amazing flavors to this already amazing soup. I promise you there wont be much leftovers after everyone has a second and in some cases a third bowl (my wife).

From Field To Plate
Jeremiah Doughty