Hunting is and was the very first form of "natural" living. The first humans didn't have farms. Or ranches. Or slaughter houses. They hunted for their food in the wild, and being a hunter myself, I feel it to be one of the most humane ways of harvesting meat.
Each and every year we have a gathering where we meet, drink, drink some more, and eat our game from the previous hunting season - and then we eat some more. The creative side of us deemed it the "Game Feast," original, I know.
The menu this year included lots of venision, some rabbit, a few pheasant, Pennsylvania trout, and even a wild boar. A quick recap:
Venison Meatballs in Apricot Barbeque sauce - excellent. Very flavorful and saucey. Venision is a dry meat because of its low fat content, these meatballs stayed very moist.
Venison Cube Steaks w/Mushroom Gravy - ok, in a "Campbell's condensed soup" sort of way. The venison was good. The mushrooms were canned, and the gravy had the taste that it was from a mix or a jar. I don't know if that is the truth, but it sure tasted that way.
Wild Boar Sausage Stuffed Shells - awesome. If you didn't know it was Wild Boar, you still wouldn't have after eating the stuffed shells. It was a hot sausage mix, so it mixed well with the Riccotta cheese and red sauce.
Garlic Butter Baked Rabbit - a very nice way to eat rabbit; right off of the bone. The meat was cooked to perfection and the butter and garlic added just enough flavor to hide (but not completely remove) the wild game taste.
Venison Noodles - homecooked goodness. Tasted like a meal you would eat on a weeknight with 24 inches of snow outside.
Roasted Pheasant, stuffed with sweet peppers and wrapped in Bacon - killer. Dave makes these every year and they're always effin awesome. The sweet of the pepper, mixed with the salty of the bacon and the tenderness of the pheasant makes for a great appetizer.
Curried Venison - I made this, and I think it tasted great. The venison was super tender, and the sauce had just enough spice to excite the palat.
BBQ Venison Backstraps - always a treat. Pops makes these every year. I for one save my backstraps for cooking to a medium rare on the grill, but these are very tasty, and tender as heck.
Cajun Trout - slathered in butter and cajun seasonings. There are two things that take trout to the next level of taste - butter and smokey hot - and this had both.
The biggest thing missing was my 25 lb. turkey that was killed in the Spring of 09. Unfortunately a freezer malfunction in Pops' garage was the cause of that.
It was a great feast of excellent home-cooked, all natural meat products. Many beverages were consumed and it was a good night as usual.
Until next year fellas, good hunting.
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