Wild Game Cookbook

[River City John]

Cleaning out some of my father-in-law's stuff and I got his 1999 copy of NEBRASKAland Magazine Wild Game Cookbook.
Lots of great recipes and tips!

AN excerpt:

"Hayloft Aging Converts a Doubter

    I could not enjoy a venison dinner. In fact I couldn't understand how anyone could like it. Macho men bring home the game and begin eating.
    Then I was treated to a literal feast. My host was an experienced Maine hunter. He told me we weren't properly aging the meat. He hung his carcass in the hayloft of his barn, and it stayed there until it "dripped." He then trimmed off the "spoiled" edges which fed his dogs. The rest was delicious! Jack Wunderlich, Lincoln, Nebraska"

Tells how to determine the relative age of a fowl by snapping it's jaw, or bending the breastbone, etc.

Ever searched high and low for that recipe for Dove Gumbo? Here it is:
"DOVE GUMBO
Serves 4 to 6

Recipe should be served with rice.

4 tbl vegetable oil
4 to 6 doves, halved
1 lrg onion, chopped
6 cups chicken stock (or game bird stock)
4 to 6 green onions including tops, chopped
2 tbl dried thyme, or 3 fresh sprigs
3 tbl fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp pepper
1 pound smoked venison sausage or andouille sausage
10 oz okra
1 pint raw oysters, shucked
1 tbl file' powder (File' powder is powdered sassafras leaf. Add it after the gumbo is removed from the heat or it will thicken the stew
                          too much.)
1 clove garlic, minced

In a heavy pot, heat the oil and brown the doves. Remove the doves and saute' the onion in the remaining oil until soft. Return the doves to the pot, cover with stock and add the green onions, parsley,thyme and pepper. Cook over low heat until the doves are tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
Cut the sausage into 1-inch slices and add with okra to the pot. Cook for 15 minutes over medium heat. Add the oysters and their liquid and cook 6 minutes more. Skim off the excess fat. Remove from heat and add the file' powder and garlic, stirring well to combine."

"The Mourning Dove is the most abundant American game bird, . . .
At only 2 3/4 ounces each, it takes 3 doves to make one serving. Dove meat spoils easily. Because dove season begins in September when days are still warm, doves should be dressed immediately and kept cool."

At 3 doves per serving, it's easy to see why market hunters used punt guns and the like to go for quantity.


RCJ