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.

Irish Black Bear Stew

Ingredients:

1 pound Bear stew meat, cubed

4 cups homemade Venison stock (or store bought beef stock)

16oz Guinness or other stout style beer (or 16oz red wine)

4 large carrots, roughly chopped

1 large brown onion, sliced

2 celery stalks, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

6 potatoes, quartered

2 bay leaves

1 can 6oz tomato paste

4 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon cracked pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

2 sprigs rosemary

3 tablespoons butter

Directions:

1. Mix flour, pepper and salt. Toss the stew meat and lightly coat, shake off excess flour and brown in skillet with 3 tablespoons butter. Lightly browning the meat helps keep the meat whole while cooking. The browning process is not meant to cook the meat but just brown the outside.
2. In Dutch oven add stock, beer or wine & tomato paste, mix together.
3. Add veggies, bay leaves, rosemary, garlic and browned stew meat
4. Bring your Dutch oven to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5-6 hours until meat is tender.
5. If you would like to make the stew thicker take 3 tablespoons of flour and three tablespoons of water and mix until flour has dissolved, then add to stew.
6. Season stew to taste and enjoy.

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

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

Now I’ve takin that cornbread waffle recipe and even created pancakes with it, but let’s focus on one thing at a time.

This recipe takes those cornbread waffles and tops them with homemade venison chili and beer battered onion rings. When one hears waffles, chili and onion rings they automatically raise their hand for another plate, so let’s dive in.

Let’s start with the chili seasoning. This is my not so secret chili seasoning. I’ve had many people tell me this chili mix has soon become their family favorite. Plus you know what’s in it and not what’s on the label.

Chili mix: 

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in small bowl and store in air tight container

When ready to use add 2 tablespoons of Chili mix to 1 pound of meat.
Sometimes I add more depended on how strong I want the flavor.

——————–

Now that we’ve got the mix it’s time for the chili recipe.

Super simple venison chili: 

Ingredients:

1 pound Game meat

(Any ground game meat, shredded or left over steak can be used)

2 cans chili beans

1 can black beans

1 can dark kidney beans

1 can navy beans

1 can pinto beans

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

1 can 8oz tomato paste

2 tablespoons homemade Chili Mix

1 sweet onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons cooking oil

12 Oz liquid; Beer or water

Directions:

In Dutch oven or skillet heat oil over medium heat, add onions heat until onions become translucent. Next add garlic and cook additional 1-2 minutes not burning the garlic. Next in same pan add ground meat, Worcestershire, ½ tablespoon of chili mix, salt and pepper to taste. Brown the meat and enjoy the smell!

If you’re using a Slow Cooker add the meat mixture to crock pot and follow the next directions. If using Dutch oven or large pot follow directions below.

Open and drain all bean except for the chili beans, do not drain them.

Add beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, remaining chili mix and liquid, stir everything mixing with the meat mixture.

(At this point you can add any other ingredient you see fit. Corn, pepper, chilies, celery anything you want to add for more flavor of family favorites.)

If using a Slow Cooker set to low and cook for 7-8 hours or 5-6 hours on high

If using Dutch oven or large pot bring chili to boil then reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours or more

——————————-

Okay, chili is made and cooking like a champ time for the cornbread waffles!

Butter milk Cornbread Waffles:

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups flour

3/4 cup corn meal

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 large egg

1 cup butter milk

¾ cup canola oil

Directions:

Preheat Waffle iron

Mix all ingredients, make sure not to over mix

pour 3/4 cup of batter into greased waffle iron and cook until golden brown

Remove waffle

(Dice in some jalapenos for an extra kick)

__________________________________________________________________________________

Okay now we’ve got the waffles & chili out next step with those beer battered onion rings!!

Beer Battered Onion rings:

Ingredients:

2-3 cups flour

1 cup of your favorite beer

1 Tbsp. Paprika

1 Tbsp. Cracked pepper

1 onion, sliced into rings

Directions:

Mix all ingredients minus the onions until fully mixed.

dredge each onion ring into flour, then dredge in beer batter

Add onion ring to hot oil (375) and cook until golden brown. try not to crowd the oil as your cooking.

Remove from oil and drain on wire rack.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

So lets Review..

1. Homemade chili
2. Homemade Cornbread waffles
3.  Homemade Beer battered onion rings

Now gather your favorite toppings and build your master piece!

Wild Turkey black bean & corn pitas

1 Pound wild turkey ground, or any game meat

1 Can black beans

1 cup fresh grilled corn

1 cup fresh tomatoes, clopped

2 avocados, cubed

4 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup cilantro, minced

½ teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon paprika

2 tablespoons Worcestershire

¼ teaspoon cracked pepper

4 whole wheat pitas

1/3 cup skim mozzarella cheese

1. In large skillet brown the turkey with garlic, chili powder, pepper & paprika. Cook until turkey is fully cooked about 7 minutes.

2. Mix in corn, cilantro & black beans and cook additional 2-4 minutes, remove from heat and stir in cheese, avocado and tomatoes.

3. Stuff each pita and enjoy[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:4]

Wild Game Taco Pie:

Ingredients:

1 pound ground wild game

½ Onion, diced

1 cup corn

1 can black beans, rinsed

1 cup tomatoes diced

½ cup cilantro, minced

1 can green chilies

2 tablespoons garlic, minced

¼ cup taco seasoning*

1 pie crust, homemade or store bought

2 flour tortillas

1.5 cups shredded cheese

1 cup crushed tortilla chips

Salt & pepper to taste

(Can swap for corn tortillas and remove pie crust to make gluten free)

 Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees, take your cast iron skillet fill the bottom with pie crust and bake for 15-20 minutes until crust is browned
2. While pie crust is cooking start working on the filling, in skillet brown onions & garlic, add ground meat and brown.
3. Mix taco seasoning with meat and ¾ cup of water or beer, bring to a boil and lower heat to simmer.
4. While simmering add green chilies, cilantro, tomatoes, black beans and corn and cook for additional 5 minutes then remove from heat.
5. Remove pie crust from oven and lower oven temp to 350
6. Place ½ the meat mixture on top of the pie crust followed by ½ cup cheese, top that with a tortilla repeat process
7. Fishing off with crushed tortillas and cheese, bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
8. Top with your favorite toppings and serve.