On Fire For Wild Game

ON FIRE FOR WILD GAME

STORY BY LORIE A. WOODWARD • PHOTO BY NATALIE RHEA

The Texas Wildlife Association is equipping food conscious Texans with the knowledge and skills to secure and enjoy wild game.

“Food doesn’t get any more natural or sustainable than wild game,” said TWA’s Engagement Coordinator Kristin Parma. “Whether it’s around a kitchen table or a campfire, a well-prepared meal can help people discover that their passions for food, conservation and hunting are complementary.”

She continued, “It’s amazing what good things happen for wildlife—and people—when everyone discovers we are on the same team.”

The time is right to talk wild turkey and more. According to a 2019 survey conducted by Responsive Management, 80 percent of Americans, a historically high number, approve of legal hunting. While hunting’s climbing approval numbers can be attributed to several things, it coincides with the rise of the locavore movement, an interest in local, natural, sustainable food— including meat.

TWA’s first foray into using wild game as common ground for hunters and non-hunters came in 2017 with the advent of its Hunt to Table dinners. Urban and suburban attendees were so intrigued and invigorated by the possibility of harvesting their own meat they began requesting formal hunting instruction.

TWA responded to the novices’ enthusiasm by launching its Adult Mentored Hunting Program in 2017. Along with safe, ethical hunting and land stewardship, the program emphasizes game handling, processing and preparation.

Each meal during the three-day weekend event features game as the protein. Some meals such as breakfast tacos with wild boar chorizo are basic while others such as chile verde posole are more elevated. The goal is demonstrating the versatility of wild game as an everyday protein.

In 2023, Parma has spearheaded additional educational opportunities. To date, she has led wild game cooking demonstrations at the San Antonio Livestock Exposition and wild game cooking classes at the TWA’s headquarters in New Braunfels.

She is also incorporating wild game cooking demonstrations and outdoor meals into Adult Mentored Hunt weekends as well as special events that she leads such as the annual Texas Youth Hunting Program's Mother/Daughter Javelina Hunt and TWA's first-ever All-Women's Fly Fishing Experience scheduled for later this year on the Nueces River. As part of TWA's firstever Ranch Supper Series dinners, Parma will be cooking collaborative meals featuring wild game and locally raised meat/produce with Pure Pastures farm in Canyon Lake.

Parma’s skills as a wild game cook have grown alongside her zeal under the mentorship of Austin-based chef Jesse Griffiths. The field-totable trailblazer owns Dai Due, the New School of Traditional Cookery and authored the James Beard award-winning cookbook, The Hog Book

The 36-year-old did not start hunting until after she graduated college and embarked on her career. Today, she and her husband fill their larder by hunting, fishing and foraging. They also enjoy the generosity of other hunters.

"The great thing about being a wild game cook is that many people share their harvests with me to see what I can come up with," said Parma, noting that she's had the opportunity to prepare nilgai, eland, wildebeest, aoudad and most recently bighorn sheep. Parma’s original dishes are inspired by the bounty of the land and the challenge of adapting existing recipes to wild game.

“I want the game to be the star of the dish,” Parma said. “I avoid ingredients with overpowering flavors and concentrate on finding those that complement and elevate the featured meat.”

For instance, dove is very similar to lean beef. Like beef, doves pair well with mushrooms and red wine as well as butter- or oil-based herb sauces. One of her favorites is chimichurri, an oil-based Brazilian sauce featuring fresh garlic, parsley, cilantro and sometimes other tender herbs such as oregano or mint.

“Wild game cooking is like any other creative endeavor,” Parma said. “Master the basic techniques and then let your imagination run free. Sometimes the results will be better than others, but a day in the field or an evening in the kitchen is never wasted—especially when you share it with friends."

KRISTIN’S TOP FOUR TASTY TIPS

Parma, who is always on the go to events or far-flung outdoor destinations, slowed down long enough to share her top four tips for beginning wild game chefs.

1. Know your cuts and your techniques

Knowing the best technique for cooking different cuts of wild game is essential for having a positive cooking—and eating—experience. When people ask about cooking wild game, they often share their negative experiences. In most cases, they were trying to turn a particular cut of meat into something it just wasn’t meant to be.

Tough muscles that get used a lot such as top and bottom roasts that play a big role in an animals’ movements are typically better suited for braises or other forms of low and slow cooking. More delicate cuts such as backstraps and tenderloins are best fitted to searing or grilling fast over high heat. If cooking over high heat, be it in a cast-iron pan or on the grill, be sure to use an oil with a high smoke point such as avocado, peanut, sunflower or extra virgin olive oil.

2. Season well and often

Don’t be afraid of seasonings. Wild game is the perfect canvas for a myriad of spice blends and mixtures. No, you’re not covering up the “gamey” flavor (which, by the way, is minimized through proper processing and handling), you’re enhancing it.

Salt can do wonders for any meat, but it is particularly key to preparing game in way that awakens the palate. If you are an afficionado for ethnic cuisine, wild game is one of the best complements to spices such as chilies, turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, allspice and more. Explore curries, spice rubs and herbs. Don’t be timid!

3. Don’t overcook

The most common complaint regarding wild game as a meat is that it is too dry or tough. The likely culprit? Overcooking. When it comes to most game meats, err on the side of rare.

4. Think in (and out) of the box

Think about your favorite foods and simply recreate them using wild game. Whether it’s Birria tacos, Thai curry soup or a simple juicy hamburger, the complex, nuanced flavor of wild game can elevate the simplest dish.

Idea Starters

Here’s a list of Parma’s favorite wild game cookbooks to get your creative juices flowing.

• Buck, Buck, Moose by Hank Shaw

• Afield by Jesse Griffiths

• The Hog Book by Jesse Griffiths

• Hardcore Carnivore by Jess Pryles

Wild Boar BBQ Sliders

BY KRISTIN PARMA

Wild Boar BBQ Sliders

Ravanne Lindsay

A technique for slow cooking wild game that can be applied to multiple recipes.

INGREDIENTS

Slow cooker

Wild boar shoulder or ham

1 white onion, sliced

1 head of garlic, peeled

Salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin powder

1 cup orange juice

BBQ sauce

Slider buns and toppings of choice

1. Place meat in slow cooker, add garlic cloves, onion, and seasonings. Cover meat with orange juice and water.

2. Cook on low for eight hours until meat is tender and falls off the bone. Remove meat and shred. Tip: You can strain this juice and reserve stock for soups or use to rehydrate the meat later on.

3. At this point you can add BBQ sauce of your choosing and assemble your sliders or in a hot cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, add a touch of oil and the shredded wild boar. Allow to sear until any juices are evaporated and the meat is browned. (Give it a taste and you can add extra seasonings if you like, then the BBQ sauce. This adds a little extra texture and flavor to your meat.)

4. Assemble on toasted slider buns. Serve with pickles, onion, aioli and any other toppings you like. ( I like to serve with my homemade prickly pear BBQ sauce and a "mayo-less" sour-cream based coleslaw with sliced red and green cabbage, carrots and cilantro).

Venison with Blackberry Balsamic & Grilled Lemons

BY KRISTIN PARMA

Venison with Blackberry Balsamic & Grilled Lemons

Ravanne Lindsay

INGREDIENTS

1 to 2 pounds venison backstrap, with all silverskin removed

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt

Black pepper

1 shallot, diced

Fresh or frozen blackberries

Aged balsamic vinegar to taste

2 tablespoons butter

2 lemons, sliced

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1. Coat backstrap in olive oil and season generously with sea salt and pepper. Set aside at room temperature while you prepare your hot grill.

2. Lay the venison on the hot grill or in a cast iron skillet on the fire and sear on all sides, flipping every 30 seconds or so. For medium rare, the venison should have some give when pushed with your finger or tongs. If using a meat thermometer, the ideal internal temp is 130°-135°F°. I like to pull mine more on the rare side, around 125°F).

3. Take your venison off the fire and let it rest for at least 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, prepare your sauce. On the same open fire place a cast iron skillet. Add 1 tablespoons butter and diced shallot. Sauté until translucent and shallot starts to brown.

5. Add blackberries and sauté until softened down to a puree.

6. Add balsamic, one tablespoon at a time, making sure not to overpower the blackberries.

7. When the sauce reaches a thickness to your liking remove it from the heat and stir in the rest of the butter.

8. Lay your sliced lemons on the grill. Grill until the lemons are charred on both sides.

9. Slice the venison and serve immediately with grilled lemons and blackberry sauce.

Find Out More

For more information about Adult Mentored Hunting or upcoming food-centric events, see www.texas-wildlife.org . Join TWA to enjoy Parma's game cooking column featured in Texas Wildlife, the association's monthly magazine.