Recipes

I read a recent article by David Draper on "The Perfect Game Meat to Fat Ratio is None at All - Stop adding fat to your healthy ground game meat, you don't need it." Draper writes: I've been processing my own (and others) deer and elk for about a dozen years and view adding some type of fat to ground venison as a necessary evil. I prefer ground pork, adding anywhere from 10 to 20 percent. Due to a calculating error on my part... the grind ended up at about 25 percent pork, a bit more than preferred. You don't need to add fat to your ground game meat to make it taste good. This math problem set me to wondering why hunters take a healthy source of protein and fatten it up? That's like someone on a diet taking a carrot stick and dipping it in ranch dressing. Quick research shows no clear consensus on what or how much fat to add. Some hunters swear by 50/50, others just 10 percent. Some like pork, others beef tallow. Some add bacon ends and pieces. Certainly, there's a rationale to adding fat, including enhancing flavor because, hey, we all know fat tastes good. Fat also keeps meat from drying out when you fry it and helps patties from falling apart. But is there a better, healthier alternative? Yes, depending on how you're planning to cook it. Burgers on the grill are probably how much of the ground venison in America makes it to the table. I'll be the first to admit, making a good burger without fat sounds impossible. The fat not only makes a burger juicy, it also helps it stay in patty form. Next

Our favorite recipes from Thanksgiving at Jimmy's family's house in the countryside, where cookies, pies, game dishes, and deer abound.  Try these great venison and other recipes. COWBOY COOKIES This recipe came to The Times in 2000 during the Bush-Gore presidential campaign when Family Circle magazine ran cookie recipes from each of the candidates' wives and asked readers to vote. Laura Bush's cowboy cookies, a classic chocolate chip cookie that's been beefed up with oats, pecans, coconut and cinnamon, beat Tipper Gore's ginger snaps by a mile. Here is an adaptation of that winning recipe.   INGREDIENTS 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 tablespoon baking soda 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon salT 1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature 1 1/2 c. granulated sugar 1 1/2 c. packed light-brown sugar 3 eggs 1 tablespoon vanilla 3 cups semisweet chocolate chipS 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats 2 cups unsweetened flake coconut 2 cups chopped pecans (8 ounces) PREPARATION Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in bowl. In a very large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Gradually beat in sugars, and combine thoroughly. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Beat in vanilla. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips, oats, coconut and pecans. For each cookie, drop 1/4 cup dough onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until edges are lightly browned; rotate sheets halfway through. Remove cookies from rack to cool. OLD TIME VENISON BREAKFAST SAUSAGE: GRANDMA'S PHEASANT SAUSAGE: Jimmy's Mom's homemade summer sausage from deer venison, made in the oven: