Adventures In Gaming

No, I am not going to talk about video gaming this week. This week I am referring to game meat. I personally am not a hunter, but I understand the rational for hunting and the meat that is procured from the hunt needs to be used. I have never tried anything outside of deer and thought it might be nice to try something different for a change.  According to USDA Agricultural Handbook, game meats are lower in saturated fatty acids (especially Myristic, Palmitic), and higher in omega-3 fatty acids, compared to grain-fed beef. In addition, game meat is a good source of Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Phosphorus and Zinc, and a very good source of protein, Niacin and Vitamin B12. Game meat also has about one-third fewer calories (game birds having about half the calories) when compared to beef.

In my adventure this week, I tried Elk, Venison, and Boar. I do not recommend this amount of red meat in a week, but I was cleaning out the freezer and had to eat them before it went bad.  Recipes for two of the three dishes tried are at the end of the post.

First was elk. I personally do not like ground meat and the elk we had was ground, but non-the-less, I did enjoy it. I didn’t notice much of a natural flavor to the elk as it was seasoned with taco seasoning, but it did seem comparable to beef and made for a nice taco.

Next was venison. I really enjoyed this meat! It actually had a mild flavor, not gamey tasting at all! This was my favorite, especially pared with the spaghetti squash.

Finally was the boar. I have to say that I was not looking forward to the boar at all. I normally do not eat pork products (boar is a member of the swine family) but I was being open this week. My husband enjoyed this, but I did not. I found this meat very greasy. We prepared the boar as a chorizo and eggs dish, which was a good choice for this meat but it did not turn out the way we had hoped for this dish. Being that it was a bit of a disaster for me, the recipe will not be included.

After all the meat I ate this week (and all of the papaya enzymes I took to eat this much meat), I am now a fan of game meat... well at least some. For me the carnivore, it is a nice change from beef. If you are looking for something a little different that is a good source of complete protein with a higher omega-3 content compared to grain-fed beef, you may want to give game meat a try. 

References:

Anderson, B.A., M. L. Clements, L.E. Dickey, J. Exler, and I.M. Hoke. “Composition

of Foods: Lamb, Veal, and Game Products; Raw, Processed, Prepared.” USDA Agri-cultural Handbook (1989): 8-17.

USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 22. U.S. Department of Agriculture. http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search. Accessed Dec. 2, 2009.  

Free Recipe provided by: Healthylicious Housewife Recipes © 2013
http://www.healthylicious-housewife.com/pages/recipes/

Elk Taco’s








1 white onion

2 bell peppers

1 glove garlic

1lb ground Elk

Olive Oil

Low-Carb Tortilla

1 avocado

1 tomato

Lemon juice

Cheese

Taco Seasoning

Cooking Instructions:

Brown meat and add taco seasoning. Cut onion and peppers and sauté in olive oil (or avocado oil) with garlic.  Combine onion and peppers with meat. Cut avocado an tomatoes and blenderize till mixed. Add some lemon juice to prevent browning. Place ½ tortilla on plate with elk meat mixture over it. Add side of avocado/tomato and cheese.

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Spaghetti Squash with Venison Meatballs
(Healthylicious Housewife | Date Added: 20 Apr 2012)






1lb ground venison
1 organic egg
1/2tsp pepper
1/2tsp salt
1tsp garlic powder
1tsp oregano
1 medium to large sized spaghetti squash (the small ones tend to come out mushy no matter what the cooking time)
1 jar of organic pasta sauce (you could make your own sauce)

Cooking Instructions:

-Preheat oven to 375
-For the meatballs-whisk egg and seasoning
-add venison. Mix until everything is incorporated.
-Roll into balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
-Bake at 375 for 15 minutes then flip around and bake at least another 5 to 15 minutes...until they're browned.

For the squash-
-Cut the ends off, and then cut in half. Scoop the seeds out. Bake at 375 flesh side down in a casserole dish with 1/2 cup of water. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Let cool a minute, and then shred with a fork. Toss with pasta sauce and meatballs.

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