Call of the Wild

By Ken Hoyt

With growing concerns about food sources, more and more people are turning to wild game as an alternative to industrially farmed meats. Many species are high in omega-three fatty acids and have all of the protein of traditional livestock, but with less unhealthy saturated fat.

More often farmed than hunted these days, game meat, such as venison, buffalo and duck, still has the same genetic markers as its forebears. There are fewer health and humane-treatment concerns with game as with factory-farmed meats, but check the source of any meat you eat. (Game meat is subjected to voluntary U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection only.) Seek out elk, bison and deer that have been grass fed. While game animals aren’t treated with growth hormones, ask whether birds, such as duck and geese, have been treated with antibiotics.

Chefs and diners in Portland, Oregon, find new ways to enjoy game meat every September during the Wild About Game Cook-Off sponsored by Nicky USA, a West Coast game-meat purveyor. During the competition, the contestant chefs draw a slip of paper to determine what kind of meat they will cook, and they spend the day preparing feasts using a variety of local, seasonal ingredients. Meanwhile, guests peruse booths featuring Oregon’s bounty, from wines and seafood to produce.

1st Place: Roasted Elk Loin Rack

Chef John Sundstrom, Lark Restaurant
Seattle, Washington
Serves 4

This recipe is part of a beautiful multicourse meal called Elk Tasting, which includes Elk Loin Chop with Celery Root and Truffle Salt, Elk Liver with Pearl Onions and Quince-Vanilla Bean Gastrique, and Elk and Wild Mushroom Crépinette. Get the full recipe at NaturalHomeMagazine.com.

•24-ounce elk loin rack, trimmed
•1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
•1 tablespoon thyme, chopped
•1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
•2 tablespoons olive oil
•Kosher or sea salt
•Freshly ground black pepper

Red Wine Sauce:
•1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
•4 ounces meat trimmings,
preferably elk
•1 carrot, peeled and diced
•2 ribs celery, diced
•1 onion, peeled and diced
•2 cloves garlic
•1 bottle red wine
•2 cups demi-glace
•2 branches thyme
•1 bay leaf
•1 tablespoon cold butter

Marinate elk in a mixture of garlic, herbs and oil for 2 to 4 hours.

Wipe off excess garlic, season with salt and pepper, and sear in a hot sauté pan. Brown on all sides, then place in a 450°F oven and roast for 10 to 15 minutes or until internal temperature is 130°F.

While meat cooks, make Red Wine Sauce (instructions below).

When meat is done, let it rest 4 to 5 minutes, then slice each loin between each bone into 4 slices and sprinkle with a bit more salt.

Fan out loins on a plate and drizzle with wine sauce (excess sauce can be served separately). Serve immediately.

To make Red Wine Sauce:

Pour 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium sauté pan and heat for about 1 minute or until the olive oil looks hot and glassy. Immediately add elk trimmings, carrot, celery, onion and garlic; cook over medium-high to high heat until caramel color develops.

Pour red wine into pan and scrape the flavorful brown bits as they become cooked onto the pan. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced by three quarters.

Add demi-glace, thyme and bay leaf, and simmer until reduced by three quarters. Pour through a fine-gauge strainer, then whisk in the cold butter and season with salt and pepper.

2nd Place: Grilled Buffalo Tenderloin with Root Vegetables

Chef Jody Denton, Merenda Restaurant
Bend, Oregon
Serves 6

Grill buffalo to an internal temperature of no more than 110°F to 120°F, as buffalo meat contains very little fat and will become tough and dry if overcooked.

•3 cups apple juice
•3/4 cup carrots, peeled and diced into 1/2  -inch pieces
•3/4 cup parsnips, peeled and diced into 1/2  -inch pieces
•3/4 cup turnips, peeled and diced into 1/2  -inch pieces
•2 tablespoons butter
•1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
•Salt and pepper to taste
•2 cloves garlic
•1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
•2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
•1 tablespoon olive oil
•6 buffalo tenderloin steaks, 6 to 8 ounces each
•6 thin slices nitrate-free smoked bacon
•Preheat oven to 375°F.
•In a small saucepot, bring apple juice to a boil and cook until reduced to a syrup. Do not burn.
•Mix carrots, parsnips and turnips with 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 teaspoon thyme. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and place on a baking sheet or in a cast-iron skillet. Put in the oven for about 30 minutes until vegetables are tender and beginning to brown around the edges.
•Place cooked vegetables in a nonstick skillet over high heat and add apple syrup. When it comes to a boil, add remaining butter; stir until it melts in completely. Set aside until ready to serve.
•Mix together garlic, thyme, sage, pepper and olive oil and rub all over steaks. Wrap each steak with one slice of bacon. Season lightly with salt.
•Grill tenderloins over a medium-hot grill until they reach desired level of doneness. Serve with vegetables.

3rd Place: Sautéed Quail Breast 

Chef Scott Staples, Restaurant Zoë
Seattle, Washington
Serves 6

This is a simplified version of Chef Staples’ elaborate original. When you want to pull out all of the stops for guests, you can find his restaurant-ready version at NaturalHomeMagazine.com.

•6 quail breasts with skin
•1/4 cup olive oil, or enough to coat quail breasts
•Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
•2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
•1 cup red wine
•4 to 5 tablespoons cold butter
•11/2  pounds fresh spinach, washed, stems and other debris removed

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Preheat a large sauté pan over the highest temperature. Coat quail breasts generously with olive oil, then season both sides with salt and pepper.

Place quail breasts into pan skin side down. Leave flame on high long enough for the pan to recover its heat, then turn flame down to medium or medium high. The object is to sear the breasts quickly so they stay rare but the skin is dark golden brown. Once you’ve achieved that, remove breasts and place them skin side up on a small sheet pan. Set aside.

In a saucepan, reduce chicken stock by half; then add red wine and reduce by half again. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

In a separate sauté pan, melt 2 to 3 tablespoons butter. Add spinach and lightly sauté until brightly colored and wilted. Remove from heat and cover. Set aside.

Pour off any fat from the sauté pan used to sear the quail. Add wine-stock reduction to the pan and bring to a boil. Turn off heat. Whisk in 2 tablespoons cold butter. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Place breasts, spinach and sauce, along with 6 plates for serving, in the oven for 5 to 6 minutes.

Divide spinach among the 6 plates, placing it in a 3-inch-diameter circle in the center. Place each quail breast on top of spinach. Spoon red-wine sauce over the breast and around the plate.

Buying Buffalo

The National Bison Association’s “Certified American Buffalo” seal assures customers that the meat they’re buying comes from producers who adhere to a USDA-audited program. This guarantees that the meat can be traced to the ranches of origin, and that animals were never given growth hormones or fed low levels of antibiotics or animal byproducts.

Eating Meat, Mindfully

Every time I visit the supermarket, I see the products of our food system: fatty, hormone-injected, often colorless meat that’s straight from a factory, not a farm. I’ll pass, though I do eat meat.

I buy my meat from farmers and ranchers who are committed to raising animals in humane and healthful ways. By eating grass-fed beef, roasted free-range chicken, elk chili and smoked duck, I celebrate the lands and the animals of my Idaho home.

I also want at least part of the responsibility for getting meat to be strictly my own. Each fall I hunt and stock my freezer for the year with elk, deer and duck. For eating, nothing better connects me to the cycle of life and death. I call this being a mindful meat eater.

Becoming a mindful meat eater means acknowledging that life feeds on life, that regardless of our diet, all food has a cost. Even those who shun animal products cannot escape this, whether it’s through loss of wildlife habitat to plant grain fields, poisoning by pesticide use, or insects and animals killed to protect organic crops from damage.

Becoming a mindful eater also means getting to know farms that raise animals while being respectful of their nature. By knowing about and supporting these kinds of farms, I connect with the meat I eat in a better, saner way.

The supermarket disconnects us from our food sources by allowing us to remain oblivious to problems with factory farming, such as chickens crammed into tiny, indoor cages or acre after acre of cattle packed into feedlots. To combat this oblivion, invest some time in learning how your steaks and burgers are produced. Support labels that certify animals are raised in ways healthful to them and the land, and avoid factory-farm products. Restore mindfulness to meat eating.

MATTHEW L. MILLER is the director of communications for The Nature Conservancy of Idaho. Reprinted with permission from the Land Institute’s Prairie Writers Circle (LandInstitute.org).

Consume with Caution

A fatal neurological ailment called chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected on venison farms in several states. Scientists are unsure whether humans who eat sick deer or elk could be infected. If you’re concerned, most states offer testing for CWD. Check CWD-info.org or APHIS.usda.gov/vs/nahps/cwd for more information.

Tips for Cooking Game

Wild game species found in North America include alligator, antelope, bison, caribou, deer, elk, moose, rabbit, reindeer, squirrel, turtle and wild boar. Game birds include duck, grouse, pheasant, partridge, quail, wild turkey and wild geese.

Farm-raised game has a stronger flavor than domesticated species, but is milder than wild game. Game animals haven’t been bred for the fat marbling that produces tender meat, so cook it slowly and never overcook, which toughens meat.

The best resource for game meat may be your local gourmet grocery. Eatwild (Eatwild.com) provides a searchable index of grass-fed meats, including wild game. 

Wild About Game 2006

•Saturday, September 30, 2006
•Oregon Convention Center, Portland
•To learn more or purchase tickets, log onto NickyUSA.com or call (800) 469-4162.