WildMeats and Holiday Treats with John Wallace

John Wallace, @wildgamecook, hails from Ohio, and works for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever.  John starts out by sharing how he and his sons at one point had 5 whitetails hanging in his garage.  He goes into detail how he approaches the idea of processing your own deer and  how he got into butchering his own game.  He makes the correlation that a self hunted, self processed animal always tastes better.  He also goes through the parts of the deer that are hardest to cut, most finicky, and most work.  That is a professional move here.  Tricks the mind, and saves the fun stuff for last.  Nick also poses the idea, bringing your cutting table up to counter height (36 inches).  Helps keep cutters standing straight up.

John who is an avid summer sausage maker, and no stranger into making meat candy.  Tried the first attempt at making  venison snack sticks this year with success.  While those will be on his holiday platter, John goes into talking about the goose pastrami he makes.  The recipe is from Hank Shaw, and John has added his own flair.  Another waterfowl treat would be a smoked Mallard which is sliced thin.

Another holiday classic is a Wellington, using a strip of tender wildgame and wrapping it in a mushroom stuffing, prosciutto, and puff pastry.  Nick’s favorite sauce to go with is a hollandaise.  A centerpiece on the Huntavore table this year is going to be a whole boneless leg of venison.  Adding a very festive seasoning, tying it up, and I did add a pork backfat cap.  Roasting on charcoal then finishes in a very hot  oven.  On John’s table a venison ham, cured and smoked.  He's also adding a smoked duck and the oddball store bought turkey will join the two.

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