Dive into these delicious game alternatives to your holiday meals.
It’s almost a Pavlovian response. A turkey tops the holiday table, and, naturally, eyes widen, hungry bellies rumble, and saliva sometimes flows when the aroma hits the nose.
Sure, turkey is tried and true, but what if you went a bit wild this season?
Nevada’s public lands and wildlife offer abundant opportunities to serve something a bit more outside the box (or bag) to friends and family for your holiday meals. And Nevada’s vast open spaces are a responsible hunter’s paradise.
Hunting for the Holidays
Truckee resident J.D. Hoss, who owns Truckee Tahoe Radio and J.D. Hoss Hardwoods & Carpet, has spent a lifetime honing his hunting prowess. Since childhood, he’s gone on hunting expeditions to bring home fresh food for the family. He often speaks of the importance of good stewardship as a hunter as well as his personal familiarity with a herd of deer that has migrated from Verdi to Truckee for generations. Hoss has eaten nearly a dozen deer from that herd — generations feeding generations.
Some of his first memorable hunts were in the Damonte Ranch wetlands area in South Reno, before it was developed; on Peavine Mountain, back when it was entirely rural; and in Lovelock, in an area the local 4-H chapter stocked with pheasants for hunting each November.
Hoss’ mother would make a robust, flavorful spaghetti sauce from pheasants he and family members brought home and cleaned — one of his fondest food memories.
Northern Nevada’s huntable wildlife delicacies include several anaerobic birds, or birds that only fly in short bursts, which Hoss says sport wonderful white meat — such as the red-legged partridge, also known as the chukar, as well as numerous species of quail and grouse. Since their legs are the only body parts that engage in frequent movement, they need some slow cooking to eliminate any toughness there.
Aerobic birds, such as geese or ducks, he explains, contain gamier dark meats that have a more pungent flavor.
People interested in trying wild game for the first time this holiday season might want to try elk backstraps, Hoss says, adding that they are divine. One should always have a pie on the table, too, such as the decadent goose pie that his wife, Birgitta Depaoli, makes annually … or more frequently, if Hoss gets his way.
Here’s the catch: It’s illegal to sell wild game. So if you don’t hunt, buddy up with a savvy hunter to access the best holiday meat alternatives. Or head to the Nevada Department of Wildlife website, Ndow.org, to find legal areas in which to hunt, then register for a hunter safety course — a requirement before heading out to hunt in Nevada — and learn for yourself what it’s like to bag your own meal.
Let the Butcher Do the Work
Clint Jolly, owner of Reno’s Butcher Boy Meat Market, chef, and longtime hunter has sampled many types of wild game in his lifetime. He’s the fourth generation of his native Nevadan family to learn the butchering trade.
He suggests that people who want to foray into preparing and serving wild game understand how the animal’s forage, such as sagebrush, affects the flavor of its meat. Put aside your taste expectations (not everything “tastes like chicken”) and explore different options to find something you enjoy.
Jolly says that Hungarian partridge is among the tastiest of local game birds, and sage hen is flavorful but can be tough, so preparation is key.
If you’re unable to or prefer not to get into the field yourself, area butchers have a selection of farm-raised, generally free-range meat selections, which will make your friends wonder if you did gear up and go out into the wild. Head to your favorite butcher shop for pheasants, ducks, geese, elk, or bison … all delicious options for the holidays.
Among Jolly’s festive and wild meal ideas are bison prime rib or roast and roasted wild boar, which are, ironically, farm raised though feral on what may be many thousands of acres of land.
Wild Game Wiles
Should you have generous hunter friends or bring home some of your own adventurous staples from the butcher, take some direction from Kristy Crabtree, who has been hunting for decades with her partner, Andy Perwein.
“You must do your due diligence,” Crabtree says. “Hiking and then making the decision to pull that trigger … once you do it, you’re responsible for that animal.”
That responsibility is not to be taken lightly. Sustainability keeps hunters hunting. Good stewardship means only taking as much as you need from nature while helping to preserve the habitat to keep the wildlife populations stable.
Crabtree and Perwein clean, butcher, process, and package their own meats. About 18 years ago, Crabtree launched a website, Nevadafoodies.com, which provides many tips and recipes for preparing wild game and birds to make it less intimidating and to inspire others to try it.
Some dishes she prepares for her family members during the holidays, which keep them clamoring for more, are slow-cooked and braised elk osso buco with creamy polenta and a wild game Wellington made with the backstrap of either an elk, antelope, or venison.
Wow your guests and give their, and your, taste buds a gift by serving wild game this season.
Goose Pot Pie
(courtesy of Birgitta Depaoli, wife of hunter J.D. Hoss. Makes 1, 9-inch pie)
1 pound goose breast (fascia removed and preferably brined — see brining recipe below)
¾ cup carrots, chopped
¾ cup zucchini, chopped
½ cup yellow squash, chopped
1 cup cremini mushrooms, chopped
½ cup onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon dried sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper, to taste
¾ cup chicken broth
¾ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 9-inch unbaked pie crusts
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake bottom empty pie crust (in pie pan) on cookie sheet on middle rack of oven for 17 to 20 minutes, until lightly brown.
While bottom crust is baking, chop all vegetables into ½-inch cubes and set aside. When crust is done, remove from oven and set temperature to 425 degrees F.
Cut goose breast into ½-inch slices. Place slices in a bowl and coat well with olive oil, pepper, sage, and thyme. (You don’t need to add salt if you have brined the breast. For brining instructions, see below.) Mix until seasoning is distributed evenly. Set aside.
Sauté vegetables in butter, with salt and pepper to taste, in a cast iron pan until tender but firm. Remove from heat, pour vegetables into a medium-sized bowl, and set them aside.
Using the same pan, set the heat just below high and sear the goose pieces in olive oil quickly, then remove. Place meat in bowl with vegetables and set aside.
Combine chicken broth and cream in a saucepan with cornstarch and whisk on medium heat until mixture thickens.
Scoop goose meat and vegetable mixture into cooked pie crust. Pour chicken broth-cream sauce over the meat and veggies until it is almost overflowing. Cover with top pie crust and pinch edges gently against lower crust. Cut 4 slits in the upper crust that are long enough to allow for bubbling.
Place pie in oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until crust is a light brown and filling is bubbling through slits. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
For brined goose meat
4 cups cold water, divided
2 ounces salt
1 ounce sugar
Additional seasonings, such as onion powder or garlic powder, if desired
Thaw goose breast and remove fascia with a sharp filet knife.
Bring 1 cup water, salt, sugar, and any additional seasonings to boil. Add remaining 3 cups of cold water. Pour brine into a large bowl or casserole dish and let cool in refrigerator until at least room temperature (otherwise the meat will cook). Lay whole goose breast in solution and brine for 6 to 24 hours before using.
