I Kill it- You Cook it

I remember being a little girl and dreaming about the man I would someday marry. I don't think I could even offend my husband with the statement that dead animals would not be the base of any little girls prince charming. farmer-maybe, hunter...mmm..OK, but Taxidermist? I knew a six to seven figure a year, large company CPA was not in my future, just because I wasn't that kind of girl, but I definitely did not prepare myself for the strange looks- sudden gulps and squished faces when I declare- " he's a taxidermist." Mind you I am not ashamed of the job that puts a roof over my head and clothes on my children's back. Heath is an artist and a craftsmen and I applaud him each and everyday. That being said- I know its weird.

The two most annoying questions I got when we were engaged were " Are you going to let him hang that stuff in the house?" and because I was a culinary arts major, " remind me not to eat dinner at your house?! Ha-Ha!"...yeah...real funny. We don't eat skunk or raccoon, I have all my teeth and no one is playing a banjo in the background. We are a fully functioning {semi} normal family, no old tires in the front yard, and yes we have running water. We have head mounts in the house but they do not look like an ominous creature with crooked eyes bulging from its head like you see in crime shows where the guy has a dead body in his freezer. It's a business just like an auto mechanic or a welder. We provide a service to hunters, and to my surprise over the past decade of my marriage, its a thriving business. Each year his business grows and we see people of all income brackets come through the door. And to be honest, in my opinion, they are the best customers a business could ask for. They are kind and caring, and are more like friends and family then just another sale. We get spoiled by our customer too. Some spend so much time in the woods that they literally give us meat out of their freezer because they have too much. OK-for the moms out there reading this still being skeptical and wrinkling your face let me put it in these terms;

envision someone walking through the door and giving you 10 pounds of hamburger, 6 bottom round roasts (about 5 lbs. a piece), and 3 packages of steaks, about a pound a piece. All organic, grass fed meat from a local sustainable source-for FREE. Crunch those numbers, un-crunch your face and tell me I'm not onto something! The protein we get not only reduces my grocery bill but guarantees my kids, the best option there is available. This also gives me the freedom to create all kinds of things with the various cuts we end up getting.
Most people I think are scared to cook game meat, I know I was. You spend your whole life with pork, beef and chicken and then you try to cook this thing that once had horns and you don't even know where to begin. You've heard the rumors about it being gamey and your great aunt  Bertha cooked it one time and it was either deep fried and smothered in gravy or dry and chalky. Trust me when I say this- its just like BEEF! I know, I know, its like the saying it's just like chicken, but I'm serious. Its a dark meat that is simply leaner, has less cholesterol and when handled correctly, has only a slightly different taste then beef and is not gamey at all. Sure everyone likes something deep fried and covered in gravy but Aunt Bertha weights 260 pounds for a reason. No one can live on a diet like that and to be honest, you loose so much of the flavor. If you become lucky enough to harvest a deer or elk yourself or like us, have it given to you, here is a recipe we love;

Salt Crusted Wild Roast
1-3 to 5lb. Deer or Elk Roast
1/3 c. olive oil
1/4 c. minced onion
1-2 tbsp. minced garlic (depending on your taste)
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. herbes de provence
1 cup kosher salt

combine oil, onion, garlic, pepper and herbes in a heavy plastic bag. Add roast and insure it it coated in the mixture. Refrigerate overnight. Remove from bag and let set on a  roasting rack lined with foil until room temperature. preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using hands, message the kosher salt all over the surface of the roast, generously heaping some on the top. Bake for 1-2 hours- depending on your roast size. Roast should reach 140 degrees before removing from oven, longer if you prefer it less pink. remove from oven and let stand for 10-15 minutes. remove salt crust and slice as desired.


The next is a somewhat deceptive recipe I created to get my kids to eat cauliflower and makes a great, earthy side to a hearty roast like the one above.

Creamy Cauliflower Potatoes

3 large red potatoes, NOT peeled
3 cups cauliflower pieces- fresh or frozen ( if frozen thawed)
tbsp. salted butter
1/2 c. heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Dice potatoes and place in a large pot with cauliflower pieces and  heavily salted water. bring to boil and cook until potatoes and cauliflower are soft but not mushy, about 10 minutes. drain well. in the same pot heat the heavy cream and butter until melted. add in the potatoes and cauliflower and using a potato masher press out the potatoes and cauliflower. In the event you have big chunks of cauliflower, pulse with a stick blender but remember, your making smashed potatoes-not baby food. Add salt and pepper to taste
You can add in bacon pieces, cheese, whatever you want to doctor them up- but don't tell the kids about the cauliflower.

As the hunting season falls upon us and your husband has a friend who wants to take him hunting- shove him out the door! it will save you some time from couponing.