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Maximizing
the potential of all your harvested treasures For the past twenty something years I have been a student of the culinary arts. I have managed a degree from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY and because of my classical training and dedication to details I’ve become aware of WHY certain things are done, not just how. I started WILDEATS ENTERPRISES™ a couple of years ago because I got so frustrated listening to my fellow sportsmen complain that they loved to hunt and fish, but no one in their family would eat it, because it was too this and too that. Please, to all my fellow sportsmen, take a couple of minutes and read this article. It could very well change your LIFE. Your family, neighbors, dinner guests, hunting buddies and yes even your trusty yellow lab will be forever in your debt. The following is a simple path to success that will assist you in maximizing the potential of your hard earned game. You won’t believe the results! 1. The first step has nothing to do with gastronomics, but it is essential nonetheless. It starts at the practice range! If you can’t put your game down in the quickest fashion possible you will be subjected to a stressed out animal, whose muscle structure is full of adrenaline. It will be very difficult if not impossible to enjoy this meat for what it really is. PRACTICE SHOOTING, AND PLACING YOUR SHOT IN THE VITALS! 2. Immediately upon the downing of your game, it has to be eviscerated of its internal organs, (save the heart, liver for incredible culinary fare) also the inside straps (tenderloins) should be removed after a day or two. Most hunters pull these immediately, however they are too fresh and should be allowed to drain of blood and internal moisture to really live up to their potential. 3. This is an often-overlooked item - The obvious step would be to skin the animal. Picture this; you are all excited with the success of your hunt. And you remember reading that you need to skin your animal ASAP. OK, you roll your kill over to gut it and whisk through the cleaning process. Now thinking back what were you touching the whole time you were gutting your animal…the lower portion of the legs and maybe even the scent glands, by accident of course…the underbelly of that rutting bull and perhaps a variety of other personal parts…you get the picture. Your hands are contaminated with some of the foulest matter known to man. Everything you touch with those hands will be forever fouled to the point of no return. Take the steps necessary to clean your hands or at least have a pair of latex gloves. You can remove these when your finished handling the contaminated parts of the animal and try to avoid those areas if you can, you’ll be happy you did. 4. Skin your game as soon as possible to remove the internal heat. The quick cooling of the meat will insure a mild flavored final product. If this is overlooked the meat will remain warm for too long and greatly deteriorate the quality of the meat. In the culinary world there is a thing called
"the danger zone". It is the temperature in which bacteria
grows most rapidly. It is between 45°F — 140° F, anything between
these two temperature boundaries is subject to spoilage at a very fast
rate. I don’t know about you but I have seen elk left with the hide on
overnight, in sub zero temperatures and when we got to it the next day
it was still warm around the neck and shoulder area. This meat was in
"the danger zone" for well over 15 hours! That is why when we
did finally skin it out completely the entire area previously mentioned
was a nice muted yellow color. They don’t call it "the danger
zone" for nothing. ALL MEAT NEEDS TO HAVE THE INTERNAL TEMPERATURE DROPPED TO BELOW 45°F (or as low as physically possible) AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE…PERIOD 5. Keep the meat clean and free of foreign matter, including hair, mud, the sweat from horses, etc. 6. Allow an ample amount of time for your game to age, up to 14 days, but a week will do wonders. If you don’t have enough time to properly age your meat in the field you can restart that process after defrosting. The ideal temperature for aging is 38°F, low humidity. 7. Trim all the meat of the darkened outer layer and store it in portions proportional with your needs- four people, four good-sized steaks, etc. This will insure full utilization. The best type of freezer is a chest, because
all the cold air is settled in the bottom and doesn’t escape when you
open the door. The worst is a frost-free freezer, because it goes
through a continuous cycle of warming (to remove the frost) and
chilling. After a year in this environment you will have a major freezer
burn problem. 8. Double wrap your meat to preserve against freezer burn and label everything with the cut of meat, amount of pieces in the package and the date. Otherwise you will end up with a pile of unidentified blocks in your freezer…Sound familiar? 9. When preparing for a game meal you need to plan ahead of time - it is critical that the defrosting process be done at the slowest rate possible. This means in the refrigerator (36-38°F) for about three days. If you didn’t have enough time to dry age your meat before you packed it in the freezer now is a good time to restart that process. 10. Understand what the different cuts of meat are best used for - ·
Back straps, tenderloins,
sirloins, top rounds and select cuts from the shoulders, racks and chops
for grilling, sautéing and roasting. (Quick methods of cooking). ·
Necks, shanks, shoulders,
bottom and eye round roasts or heels - for braising, (pot roasts,
chilies, stews, ragouts), meat sauces, sausages, hamburgers, jerky, etc.
· Don’t forget the bones, they make great stock. Nothing should go to waste, we owe that much to the animal. 11. Tender cuts of game are best
prepared as quick as possible. There is a minimal amount of fat and the
natural juices are what you rely on to keep the meat moist and juicy. I
recommend cutting them across the grain and no thicker than 1 to 1-1/2
inches thick. If you exposed these cuts to high temperatures for too
long they will have a tendency to lose a lot of their natural juices. 12. Keep your flavorings simple.
If you follow these steps it won’t be necessary to add all the
cover-ups and sweet marinades. Let this great product speak for itself. 13. Game meat is the most natural
meat product you can find, not to mention its tremendous nutritional
advantages. Take the few steps needed to maximize its potential. For years I’ve enjoyed the fruits of my labor by
following these preventive steps. We all work way too hard for our fish
and game victories. When you do reap the rewards of success you deserve
to enjoy it for what it really is…outstanding! Don’t be one of those people
who blame the animal for their culinary shortcomings! good cookin’ & happy
huntin’ John
McGannon
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