Tag Archives: Brine & Marinade Recipes

AN ESSENTIAL TECHNIQUE FOR FISH AND GAME

Sauces, Seasonings, & Marinades For Fish and Wild Game By Duane R. Lund.

Sauces, Seasonings, & Marinades For Fish and Wild Game By Duane R. Lund.
A Good Picture, Or Three..., Gone Fishing, Hunting For The Pot, Fishing For The Pan

Giving Thanks To Gravlax On Thanksgiving Day

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“I have lived! The American continent may now sink under the seas, for I have taken the best that it yields, and the best was neither dollars, love, nor real estate.” – Rudyard Kipling, After Landing His First Steelhead in 1926

 

 

A Decorative Plate of Gravlax, or Gravlaks, Made From Fresh Caught Silver Salmon From Valdez, Alaska. Photograph By Michael Patrick McCarty
Still Swimming…

 

What could be finer than family, friends, and turkey dinner with all of the fixings on Thanksgiving day? Well, it could be an appetizer of ocean-caught silver salmon, filleted just right and quick frozen with care for a long plane ride home. Now that’s a slab of goodness that will really put you in the Holiday spirit!

Lucky was I, to be so invited, and it was my first, of gravlax, that is.

 

A Female Angler Holds a Large Silver Salmon, Caught In An Ocean Bay Near Valdez, Alaska.

 

We owe our Scandanavian  brothers and sisters for this rather simple preparation. Cured with sugar, salt, and spices, Gravlax is not as salty as Lox, and not smoked like many other salmon recipes. The result is a clean tasting, invigorating dish, and you can almost feel that beautiful, sliver bullet dancing on the line.

It’s a perfect way to celebrate a grateful day, particularly in a room full of sportsmen and lovers of all things wild.

Enjoy!

 

A Long Rack of Silver Salmon Caught By Sportsfisherman, On Display In A Boatyard Under The Mountains, Near Valdez, Alaska
A Salmon Fisherman’s Dream

 

 

By Michael Patrick McCarty

 

Read More About Gravlax, Or Gravlaks, Here

or, Here

 

You Might Also Like Recipes For The Sportsman

 

For More Recipes, We Can Recommend:

 

A Taste Of Scandanavia

In this title, three delightful cookbooks are brought together in one Scandinavian gift collection. It offers everything you need to know about Swedish, Norwegian and Danish cuisines with over 180 authentic recipes. This title features evocative and informative introductions that cover the history, geography and culinary traditions of each country, as well as the local ingredients. Dishes include classic Gravlax with Mustard and Dill Sauce from Sweden, traditional Roast Hare with Lingonberries from Norway and world-famous Danish Pastry from Denmark. It is illustrated with 900 beautiful photographs, including a picture of every finished dish. Nutritional breakdowns are provided for every recipe. Classic Scandinavian cuisine is rooted in the natural bounty of the land, with fresh fish from the seas, wild game from the forests, and delicious dairy from the animals that graze on the fertile pastures.

 

Hunting For The Pot, Fishing For The Pan, Sporting Destinations

Black Canyon Wing and Clay

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“Soak it up, go into it softly and thoughtfully, with love and understanding, for another year must pass before you can come this way again”.

Gene Hill, Wingshooter’s Autumn, 1986

 

October 2015

Recently, I was honored to be an invited guest of a member of Black Canyon Wing and Clay in Delta, Colorado.

The use of their hunter friendly facilities and their gracious hospitality will be forever appreciated. And thank god for good friends too.

Give them a call if you are looking for a well-managed shooting property and a fine place to train your dogs or spend a stress free afternoon in a field of upland birds. And oh by the way, a round of wobble trap shooting is a whole bunch of good time (if you hit them).

Here’s a small look at some of the fun, and a couple of game recipes too.

A hunter, Michael McCarty, poses with a shotgun and a ring-necked at Black Canyon Wing and Clay Shooting Resort in Delta, Colorado. A great place to shoot trap and enjoy a hunting shooting reserve
Who Could Ever Tire of Pheasant in the Hand

 

Hunter’s “Go To” Pheasant Marinade

  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • juice from one lemon

This should be enough marinade for about 4 pheasant breasts and 8 legs. If not, adjust amount of marinade to the amount of meat (It is not necessary to completely immerse it). Marinade in covered dish in refrigerator. Best cooked on a hot grill. Don’t over cook.

*This is a fairly powerful marinade, so shorter marinade times of 20 minutes to 2 hours are best.

**It is difficult not to overdo it with this simple marinade. It’s that good! This works equally well on many kinds of wild game. Give it a try on some prime elk steaks and you won’t regret it.

A upland game bird hunter shoots some wobble trap at Black Canyon wing and Clay in Delta, Colorado. Trap shooting is a great way to practice your shotgunning skills for upland birds
Time To Check The Eye
An upland game hunter poses with a Rooster Pheasant at black Canyon Wing and Clay in delta, Colorado
Pheasants Always Make You Smile
skeeze / Pixabay
Logo found on a pickup truck for the Black Canyon Wing and Clay in Delta, colorado. A colorado shooting and hunting preserve reserve
Where The Action Is!

“Now you know your first big cock pheasant is a sight to see. There maybe ain’t nothing as dramatic, whether it’s an elephant or a polar bear. A cock pheasant is like a mallard duck. Maybe the pintail or the canvasback is better to eat, but there is nothing in the flying department as wonderfully gaudy as a cock pheasant of a he-mallard. Well, maybe a peacock, but we have so few peacocks around our neck of the woods”. – Robert Ruark

Read More About Black Canyon Here.

CHUKHAR WITH SHALLOTS

  • 1/2 stick butter
  • 4 chukhar
  • 1 pound shallots, peeled and sliced
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme

Brown the birds in 1/2 of the butter and salt and pepper to taste. Set Aside. Add the shallots, and cook until soft. Set shallots aside. Melt the remaining butter and add flour; stir for two minutes. Add broth, return the shallots, chukhars, and thyme. Cover and cook until tender (about 15 or 20 minutes).

At Mesa's Edge by Eugenia Bone. A celebration of the food from Colorado's North Fork Valley of the Gunnison
Bring On The Chukhars, and the Pheasants Too!

*This recipe was taken from At Mesa’s Edge: Cooking and Ranching in Colorado’s North fork Valley by Eugenia Bone. It provides great insight into the Gunnison Country and the unique pleasures of this area.

You May Also Like Our Thoughts On  Pheasant Hunting HERE, and a recipe for pheasant burritos that we love.

By Michael Patrick McCarty

And, You Might Also Read Our Post About Trophy Pike Fishing at Manitoba’s Silsby Lake Lodge

https://steemit.com/hunting/@huntbook/sporting-destinations-black-canyon-wing-and-clay

Hunting For The Pot, Fishing For The Pan

Pronghorn Jerky With Raisins and Madeira

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Pronghorn Antelope

Incoming! Jerky On The Hoof

 

INGREDIENTS

  • 3-4 pound rump roast or similar cut
  • 3/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce
  • 3/4 cup Soy Sauce
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 3/4  cup Good Madeira
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp Salt

DIRECTIONS

Cut meat into 1/4″ strips. Place remaining ingredients into blender and mix well. Then pour mixture over meat and refrigerate for at least 48 hours. Dehydrate for 8-10 hours, or until done.

Pairs nicely with the remaining Madeira, but then again, that’s the general idea.

Enjoy!

– Bear in mind that this jerky does not call for any type of added preservative. Refrigeration, or freezing,  is best for long-term storage.

Recipe by Michael Patrick McCarty

Pigeon Jerky

Most people don’t think of making jerky out of this common and often underrated bird, so good pigeon jerky recipes are scarce as hen’s teeth. Either that, or our fanatic pigeon shooting friends are holding them quite close to the vest.

We’ve been experimenting a bit with pigeon jerky and we have a few ideas. Many beef jerky marinades seem to work fairly well. Duck or goose jerky recipes can be adapted too. We’d love to hear about some of your favorite creations.

Soy and Ginger Pigeon Jerky

  • 6 pigeon breasts
  • 1 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper

Pound and flatten pigeon breasts in an effort to make them as uniform as possible, then cut into thin strips about 1/4″ thick. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and add the breast meat. Marinade for 4 to 12 hours in refrigerator, then dehydrate for about 8 hours at 155 degrees. It is done when it cracks easily when bent.

Serve with some creamy goat cheese of your choice on a good artisan cracker and a glass of good Port to wash it down. Guaranteed to stump the crowd, because almost no one can guess it’s origin. They will, however, want more.

Meditations / Pixabay

 

Hunting For The Pot, Fishing For The Pan, Trophy Gallery

It’s Rainbow Trout For Dinner(s)

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A fisherman poses with a fillet of a big trophy rainbow trout, before brining for the smoker
A Slab of a Slab!

 

You have a clue that it’s a big one when you can’t fit it into a selfie.

I don’t know about you, but this is the biggest trout fillet that I have ever seen. No doubt there is a bit of an optical illusion going on here, but then again, maybe not…

There will be more than a few meals out of this fish, either way. It was caught in Colorado, but I’m afraid that I would not have a friend for very long if I told you exactly where.

This one is heading for the smoker after a proper brine and soak. I can almost smell the swirling woodsmoke now, teasing the recesses of my epicurean memory. I remember too, just how much I love a fresh trout dinner.

Perhaps it’s time to grab a fishing pole…

 

A fisherman holds a trophy rainbow trout out in front of his body and takes a selfie
Too Heavy, In A Good Way!

 

A SIMPLE BRINE RECIPE WITH MAPLE AND GINGER

  • 8 cups water
  • 2 cups soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp ginger
  • 1 1/2 tbsp granulated garlic

Mix well, and brine fish for 6-10 hours. This should be enough liquid to cover 8-10 pounds of fillets.

 

Posted by Michael Patrick McCarty

Hunting For The Pot, Fishing For The Pan

Maple-Vinegar Marinated Pronghorn

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An Pronghorn Antelope Doe Steals a Drink at a High Desert Waterhole in Northwestern Colorado, during a mid-august bowhunt.
Closer Than Close – But No Horns
Pronghorn Reflections. Photo by Michael Patrick McCarty

 

Maple syrup was used as a traditional sweetener by many of the Northeastern Native American tribes, though there were never any antelope in that part of the country. Luckily, I live in the part of the world where they be, and every once and awhile I have an opportunity to test my burgeoning cookery skills.

This recipe features the boneless loin of Pronghorn, and the simple ingredients seem to blend perfectly with this wonderful and unique meat. It is one of my new favorite (of many), new game recipes.

  • 6-8 loin cutlets, thickly sliced
  • 1/2 to 1 cup each of maple syrup and apple cider vinegar (equal parts)
  • 6 juniper berries, crushed
  • several slices apple smoked bacon (enough to cover bottom of pan)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon butter

In a medium-sized bowl combine syrup, vinegar, and crushed berries. Mix well, add loin, cover, and refrigerate overnight (about 10 hours). Fry bacon in iron skillet until the grease is well rendered and set bacon aside. Remove from marinade, roll loin in unbleached flour, and then fry in bacon grease and butter until approaching medium rare. Serve with crumbled bacon on top.

This is a fabulous dinner entre or lunch, served with a salad or your favorite sides. It’s a special treat for breakfast too. I had mine with eggs over medium and a hunk of corn bread. I’m still thinking about it!

Happy Trails!

– Adapted from a recipe found in “Spirit of The Harvest: North American Indian Cooking” by Beverly Cox and Martin Jacobs.

* Vinegar is a natural meat tenderizer, so it is important not to marinade too long for younger animals. It is, however, a great trick for breaking down the meat of the older and tougher animals.

** I have not yet tried this with elk or deer or other game, but I suspect it would also work well in other instances. I can’t wait to give it a try.

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Food Freedom – and Wild Game Too!

Michael Patrick McCarty

You Might Also Like Pronghorn In The Pan