• 1.5 lbs ground elk or venison burger
• 1/2 white onion chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 bottle beer
• 2 – 7oz cans of salsa verde
• 1 – 7oz diced mild green chili’s
• 1 – 6oz chopped black olives
• 1 – 15.25oz kidney beans
• 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3 cups crushed tortilla chips
• chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1) Cook elk burger and onion in heavy skillet until browned. Add ½ bottle of beer to keep elk moist while cooking. Stir garlic powder, cumin, salt, pepper and chipotle chili pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.

2) Combine 2 cans salsa verde, diced green chilies, kidney beans and salsa in a separate bowl. Add cooked elk burger to mixture.

3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4) Grease 9×13 casserole baking dish with non stick spray. Add 1 cup crushed tortilla chips to bottom of dish. Add layer of elk mixture on top of chips. Add 1 cup cheese to top of elk burger. Top cheese layer with 1 cup crushed tortilla chips. Add another layer of elk mixture. Add another layer of cheese. Top with remaining tortilla chips. Top with cheese and chopped olives.

5) Bake for 30 minutes until cheese melts.

Serve with sour cream and chopped cilantro.

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For all those out there who haven’t ever tried wild game cooking – let me just say you might be missing out on some of the best meats available. If you don’t know someone who is a hunter you can always order wild game from your local butcher. Be adventurous and try it!

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ inch thick elk or venison sirloin fillets (tenderized)
• 1 egg
• Flour for dredging
• 2 tablespoons oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup thinly sliced white onion
• 8 ounce sliced baby bella mushrooms
• 1 tomato diced
• ¼ capers
• ½ lemon and lemon peel
• ½ cup chardonnay
• 2 tablespoons oregano
• 2 tablespoons basil
• 2 tablespoons thyme
• Baguette

DIRECTIONS
1) Take steak fillet and tenderize between two sheets of wax paper until each fillet is about ¼ thick.

2) Add 2 tablespoons oil to cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Mix flour, salt pepper, garlic powder together. Beat egg in bowl, dip elk filet and then dredge lightly in flour. Be sure to remove excess. Brown elk in hot skillet for 2-3 minutes on each side or until tender. Remove from pan and set aside.

3) Add 4 tablespoons butter to the cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add diced onion and sliced mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes being sure to turn so not to burn. Add fresh herbs, capers, diced tomatoes and white wine. Squeeze ½ lemon into mixture and add 1 teaspoon lemon peel. Add meat back into mixture and cook on low until ready to serve. If mixture becomes thick add more wine.

4) Plate your elk scallopini and top with a heaping spoonful of mushroom caper sauce. Cut baguette into ¼ thick slices and enjoy.

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Fried Duck Egg Rolls

So the question is which is better: Fried or Baked? My answer would have to be that they are both amazing but you just can’t beat anything that’s fried. PERIOD!

INGREDIENTS
Made 10 egg rolls

• 4 duck breasts (goose or sage grouse breasts would work too)
• 1 package Egg Roll Wraps
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger (extra for marinade)
• 4 garlic cloves chopped
• 1 carrot shredded
• 3 green onions chopped
• 2 cups cabbage shredded
• 1 8oz chopped water chestnuts
• 1 small red pepper chopped
• ½ cup chicken broth
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• Olive oil
• Canola Oil

DIRECTIONS
1) Marinade Duck breasts in a Ziploc bag adding 1 tablespoon olive oil, minced ginger and 2 chopped garlic cloves. Leave for 30 minutes.

2) In a bowl combine cabbage, carrots, onion, remaining ginger, garlic, red hot pepper, nutmeg and water chestnuts.

3) Remove duck from bag, chop and quickly fry in hot skillet. About 3-5 minutes. Remove and set aside. Add ½ cup chicken broth to pan along with all vegetables and cook for about 3 minutes or until vegetables soften. Remove from heat and stir in duck meat.

4) Follow egg roll instructions on the back of the package. Simply taking a few tablespoons of filling adding it to the wrap, folding the bottom corner up over filling, folding sides in and rolling the rest up to form a roll. Simple.

FRIED EGG ROLLS
In large skillet, heat oil to about 350 degrees and place rolls flap down. Turn rolls until golden brown, 2-3 minutes. Remove and place on paper towels. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

BAKED EGG ROLLS
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place rolls on a baking sheet coated with non-stick spray. Brush tops of egg rolls with olive oil and bake until golden brown. Keep an eye on them and turn every few minutes. Cook about 10-12 minutes. Serve with your favorite sauce.

Vegetables: cabbage, carrots, water chestnuts, green onion, red hot pepper, garlic, ginger and nutmeg

Cooking duck – never overcook

Vegetables and duck filling

Baked Duck Egg Rolls – Amazing

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There’s nothing better than a heavenly hearty meal on a Sunday night. Mozzarella stuffed elk meatballs drowned in red wine tomato sauce served up with some fried basil and crusty bread. What else could you ask for?

You could also make this dish using venison, beef or veal.

INGREDIENTS
13/15 – 2 inch meatballs

• 1.5 lbs ground elk or venison burger
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 white onion diced
• 2 garlic cloves diced
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• ¼ teaspoon rosemary
• 3 slices white bread without crusts
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg beaten
• ½ cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
• Mozzarella cheese balls (size of cherry tomatoes)
• 1 – 28oz. can diced plain tomatoes
• Fresh basil chopped
• ½ cup dry red wine

DIRECTIONS
1) Heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil in cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add diced white onion and 2 diced garlic cloves. Cook until onions are soft and translucent, add thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper and then remove from heat. Set aside to cool.

2) In a separate bowl tear bread into small pieces and soak in milk for 5 minutes. Squeeze milk from bread and place in another larger bowl. Add elk burger, egg, parmigiano-reggiano, onion mixture and mix with your hands.

3) Take elk mixture and begin to form meatballs being sure to add a mozzarella cheese ball in the center of each meatball. The meatball sizes are up to you. You can make them small, medium or large depending on how you want to serve this dish up. Place meatballs on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour.

4) Add remaining oil to cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Place each meatball into skillet and cook on all sides. Remove meatballs from pan when browned.

5) Add ½ cup dry red wine to skillet to deglaze pan. Add canned tomatoes and ¼ cup fresh chopped basil. Bring sauce to a simmer, add meatballs and reduce heat to low. Continue to cook on low heat for 10 minutes.

For a garnish, you can quickly flash fry some basil leaves in a little oil and serve up with crusty bread or a side of pasta. Trust me — you’ll love it!

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Looking for a ‘Sure Thing’ when impressing dinner guests? Make this: Elk sausage stuffed baby portabella mushrooms with barbequed sweet onion and smokey gouda! Top each one off with a few small chives and Walla – Perfection!

INGREDIENTS

Makes approximately 35-40

DIRECTIONS
1) Slice sweet onion in large pieces about ¼ inch thick. Season with olive oil, salt and cook direct on barbeque. Turn every 2-3 minutes for roughly 10 minutes or until the onion becomes soft.

2) In a food processor add elk meat, onion and garlic powder. Pulse ingredients together for approximately 5-10 seconds. Remove and add to bowl combining the meat mixture and grated gouda cheese. Gently stir together and set aside.

3) Melt 2 tablespoons butter in skillet over medium heat. Add all mushrooms top side down, and cook for 1-2 minutes. Flip all mushrooms and cook for another minute. Remove from skillet and place top side down on a cookie sheet.

4) Spoon roughly 1 tablespoon of stuffing into each mushroom cap and top off with some fresh chives. Cook mushrooms for 13-15 minutes or until cheese has melted. Remove from oven and enjoy!

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Gourmet leftovers

Blue cheese mushroom risotto with ‘leftover’ elk meatloaf is a simple way to turn last night’s dinner into something new and amazing for dinner tonight. If you don’t have elk, try this recipe with ground hamburger or even as a side dish without the meat… you’ll be impressed.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup Orzo pasta
• 14.5 oz chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• ½ cup blue cheese
• Left over elk meatloaf

DIRECTIONS

1) In a medium size pan melt 2 tablespoons butter on medium-high heat. Add orzo pasta to butter and brown lightly. Once pasta has browned (not burned) add chicken broth and bring to a boil.

2) Cover and cook on low heat for 15 minutes.

3) During the last 5 minutes of cooking add sliced mushrooms, blue cheese and chopped meatloaf to pasta. Cover and continue to cook on low heat until warm.

Elk Meatloaf Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 pounds ground Elk
• 1 cup seasoned croutons crushed
• ½ cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons creamy horseradish
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

1) In a large bowl combine ground elk, crushed croutons, onion, horseradish and seasonings. Form into a loaf and place into a baking dish.

2) Cover with tinfoil and bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Remove tin foil and continue cooking for approximately 10 minutes or until your meat is thoroughly cooked. Remove from oven and let rest.

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Friday night spent outdoors next to a fire and a few shallot and blue cheese elk burgers on the BBQ.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound ground elk meat
• ½ pound ground elk sausage (breakfast or Italian)
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons A1 Steak Sauce
• 1/2 cup smashed garlic-n-herb croutons
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• Cracked pepper
• Soft blue cheese
• 1 red onion
• 3 medium shallots
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Salt and pepper

ADDITONAL

• Shredded lettuce
• Sesame seed hamburger buns
• Cream-style Horseradish

DIRECTIONS
1) In a large bowl, add Worcestershire sauce, A1 steak sauce, croutons, egg, garlic powder and cracked pepper to ground elk meat and sausage. Mix all ingredients by hand and then form into patties. The sizes of the patties are up to you. I typically get 4 patties out of this recipe.

2) After forming your patties, place direct on tinfoil. With your thumb, add a small indent into the center of each elk patty. This will help keep patty from shrinking when cooking.

3) Pre-heat the barbecue to high temperature.

4) Cook 7 minutes or until brown and then flip patty. Continue cooking on other side until brown – 7 minutes. Add cheese to the top of burgers during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Close lid and melt cheese.

5) Add sliced red onion and diced shallots onto a piece of tinfoil. Add butter, salt and pepper to onions. Place onions on BBQ (high heat). Cook for 10 minutes – turning onions every few minutes until brown. Continue cooking until onions become caramelized.

6) Toast buns on grill.

Top burger off with buttered onions and your favorite cream style horseradish sauce.

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