One of the best things wild game venison recipes offer is versatility, whether you want to create an elaborate dish or make something simple for family or hunting camp meals.
Venison and other wild game meats offer superb nutrition, of course. But with venison we're able to cover a gamut of cooking possibilities. From smoking roasts or making jerky to ground venison for soups and sausage, we're blessed with a range of possibilities.
If you're at hunting camp for a weekend or longer, knocking out meal preparation before you go and using the freezer is a smart idea. You can make soups, stews or meat sauce for pasta at home, then freeze it and take it to camp. Let it thaw, reheat and voila — an easy meal without much prep after a day of hunting. Slow-cooker meals are another great camp item, but we'll discuss those another day.
Field to Feast by Jim and Ann Casada is filled with great recipes along with iconic images from the Remington sporting arts collection.
Veteran outdoor writer Jim Casada and his wife, Ann, tested these recipes and others they published in Field to Feast, the Remington Cookbook in 2006. The 185-page book is packed with recipes for everything from venison, turkey, waterfowl, upland game and other tasty items such as elderberry jelly and black walnut cake. It also is illustrated with the incredibly wonderful artwork from the private collection of the Remington Arms Company.
Enjoy these easy venison recipes, and others to come this season, and find out below how to order your own Field to Feast cookbook.
Simple Spaghetti Meat Sauce
1 pound bulk venison (or pork) sausage
1 pound ground venison
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 (16-ounce) cans tomato paste
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup red wine (such as merlot)
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven and saute onion, garlic and mushrooms. Brown the sausage and ground venison; add to vegetables. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer for about 2 hours or until sauce has thickened and flavors have blended. Serve over pasta.
Makes 6-8 servings
Venison Taco Soup
1 pound ground venison
1 garlic clove, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (1.4-ounce) package dry taco mix
1 (15-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (16-ounce) can corn, drained
1 (10 1/2-ounce) can beef broth
3 cups water
tortilla chips
sour cream
grated cheese
Brown venison, garlic and onion. Add taco mix to venison and follow package instructions. In soup kettle combine tomatoes, beans, corn, broth and water. Add venison mixture and let simmer for 30 minutes. To serve, divide crumbled tortilla chips among 6-8 soup bowls and add soup. top with grated cheese and a dollop of sour cream.
Ground Venison Stogranoff
1 pound ground venison
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (8-ounce) can mushrooms, drained
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1/2 pint sour cream
2 tablespoons parsley
In a large skillet, brown venison and onion, and add mushrooms, soup, salt and pepper. Simmer 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream and parsley, and heat through. Do not boil. Serve over pasta or rice.
Makes 4 servings
BUY THE COOKBOOK
Field to Feast: the Remington Cookbook by Jim Casada is out of print but copies are available for purchase for $25 (plus $5 shipping and handling) at www.jimcasadaoutdoors.com or by sending $30 to Jim Casada, 1250 Yorkdale Drive, Rock Hill, SC 29730.
