Well everyone it’s almost time for one of our favorite holidays…Thanksgiving! Why do we love Thanksgiving? Well because, as avid bow hunters, this is the holiday where we get to let our friends and family try some of our favorite wild game recipes, as well as try recipes other people bring along! This month’s blog is going to be a spotlight of some of the very best recipes that have come across our Thanksgiving table. Have a favorite of your own? Then share so we can give it a try!
As far as we are concerned, you can’t have the perfect Thanksgiving without the perfect turkey. Luckily, this year we had some pretty good luck getting a few wild turkeys and we can’t wait to get them on the table. Now, as for wild turkey, there are hundreds of amazing ways you can prep and cook it; all of which are completely delicious. If you’re not a big fan of cooking and prefer to go basic, we personally love doing both a simple roast with some basic seasonings (like salt, pepper, and season salt) and a good consistent basting. It’s easy as pie and always comes out juicy and flavorful with minimal effort. If you’re one that loves the flavors of a deep fried bird, then by all means go for it! For our fried birds, we like to keep it simple with a bit of salt and some brown sugar. It’s a little sweet and packed full of flavor. However, if you’re someone that loves to cook and wants to impress, we absolutely cannot get over how fabulous the Thanksgiving Wild Turkey recipe from The Wild Chef is. Why? Well it’s packed full of flavor, comes our wonderfully juicy, and well…bacon. You can never, ever go wrong with delicious bacon. Want the recipe, but don’t have the cookbook? No worries! You can find it here, courtesy of Serious Eats.
Now, we all know how impatient some guests can be while everything finishes cooking; not that we can blame them with all those amazing smells floating around. So, an appetizer is always a good idea. Our families absolutely love duck, so if we have some on hand we like to cut it into bite sized pieces, dip it in milk, and coat it with a lightly season breading and give it a good fry. It’s super simple and pretty darned tasty. However, you can also never go wrong with this recipe for bacon-wrapped elk. We gave it a whirl last year and it was a total hit, but then again…bacon! Another few options for your appetizer table that have been big hits here is some delicious venison summer sausage (we’ve tried tons of recipes, and Gramp’s version is still one of our all-time favorites) with cheese and crackers and if you prefer a fancier table, we also loved these Duck Bites with Orange and Candied Ginger from WildHarvestTable.com.
Now, of course you’ve got the appetizers and the star of the show covered, but what would Thanksgiving be without some of those amazing sides? We always have a salad at our table, and we love to sneak some wild game in. A few of our favorites is this recipe with Wild Boar and this salad which is suited to whatever wild game you happen to have on hand. We also love us some carbs, so stuffing is a must. Luckily, Wide Open Spaces completely has us covered on this front. They put up not one, not two, but three delicious wild game stuffing recipes a few years ago; and they are all fabulous! We also love to sneak some tiny bits of friend duck into our green bean casserole along with a little bit of bacon (what can we say… we really, really love bacon.
Well those are some of our favorite additions to our holiday table. What are some of yours? Tried these and liked them? Then tell us about it and send in a photo! We are especially thrilled because this year we’ve gotten tons of great photos and emails from Hunters all over the country who have let us know that thanks to our unique and wonderful Pro-Tracker, ultimate tracking and recovery system, they managed to find game they would have otherwise lost due to harsh terrain, nightfall, and even a freak heavy rainstorm that washed away a blood trail. We are so thrilled our system helped you guys to get some meat on your tables in time for Thanksgiving! We also wanted to say thanks to each and every one of you! Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and enjoy!
