It’s not too ‘gamey’ for me!

What’s the best way to prepare your wild game once you have harvested an animal? This is probably the second most asked question I get in regards to hunting besides what is your favorite game to hunt? Most people have had bad experiences while treating wild game due primarily to the way the meat was handled and or prepared. That being said I want to talk more about the process of preparing cuts of meat vs. the entire animal in the field for field dressing, etc.

Rule #1 for preparing great tasting game is simple; you need to brine your meat first! What is brining? Well this is the basic process of soaking your meat in a container with cold water, salt, and little vinegar. Obviously the ratios vary by how much meat and the size of the cuts.

The brine does two things for us; first it removes a lot of the blood from the meat, which is where a lot of the so-called ‘gamey’ tastes come.   Second is this helps tenderize and moisten the cuts. As the salt interacts and soaks into the meat the meat will basically start a process of holding in the moisture and in turn holding moisture through the cooking process. Nothing worst in my opinion when you cut a duck breast and it has the same texture of a hockey puck! I like to let the meat soak for at least an hour and sometimes up to 24 hours depending the meat and cut.

Once you have completed the brining process the cuts can either be packaged and froze, set into a marinade of your choice, or seasoned and placed on the grill. I grill 99% of the game I cook, just my preference, can’t beat the flavor.

I firmly believe that this tip on how to prepare your game will change how your friends feel about eating the deer or duck you have prepared. Good luck and I hope this tip makes your next harvest taste even better!