Cooking

By now, most hunters have their own “secret recipe” for venison chili. Sometimes, though, I think those secret recipes can be confused with boring – especially if it’s the same way you’ve been fixing chili for years.

Instead, look to trying one of these three unique dishes, which are probably unlike anything else in your cookbook. They’re sure to bring a different flavor, and maybe inspire you to change up that old secret formula.

Talk to a hunter about eating antelope and you’ll get a wide range of responses, from complaining that it’s foul and tastes of sage to praising it with the highest of compliments. It’s one of the few cuts of wild game that inspires such debate.

Personally, I love antelope, and have a hard time understanding the complaints from those who don’t.

It’s incredibly lean, with fewer calories than a wild turkey and less fat than a whitetail. This is a common criticism from hunters, but it should be noted that other ungulates like elk and moose are even leaner than a speed goat. Sure, it’s no slab of grass-fed beef, but it’s no vegetable, either.

There’s a lot of science behind creating the perfect venison cheese steak, from thinly sliced meat to slowly cooked onions. Venison sandwiches can be a thing of beauty, but they can also be a nightmare. There’s a fine line between the two when it comes to deer, and it’s usually crossed when the lean meat goes from tender to leather.