Substitutions for Wildgame

Substitutions for Wildgame.

Many of you have asked me to get together a list of substitutions for the wild game in my recipes so that you could use my recipes. I have done that here and hope that it is helpful. If you would like me to cover something or make something more clear, please comment and let me know.

All venison recipes succeed using beef, but not all beef recipes succeed using venison.

There are many of you reading my blog and my books or watching my videos that do not hunt and do not have a way to get wild venison.  Do not let that stop you from using the recipes in my blogs/books/videos calling for wild game.  There are substitutions that will come pretty close to the rich flavor of the proteins that are harvest from the wild.  With any of your proteins, always choose grass fed organic animals and the beautiful earthy flavors will come through.  Animals with a variety in their diets always taste better than those fed purely from corn or grain.  My desire is that you get maximum health and flavor from your carefully chosen meats and that you never stop experimenting with your cuisine.

Venison
In most recipes, the venison can be replaced with grass fed beef, goat, or lamb.  The best cuts of meat for the various type recipes are as follows:
Venison tenderloin- beef tenderloin
Venison loin – beef loin
Venison hindquarter roast
– if used for pounded meat, stir fries, fajitas, burritos, or any other recipe that calls for slicing the meat horizontally and searing it use  flank steak
– if used for braises such as stews and soups use beef, goat, or lamb stew meat
Ground Venison – purchase a rump roast and have the butcher grind it on the largest setting

Wild Turkey
Domestic Turkey may be substituted for Wild Turkey.  The flavor will not be as intense, but it is a good substitute.

Wild Duck
Domestic Duck may be substituted for Wild Duck.  Remove the fat from the Domestic Duck in that Wild Duck does not have the fat content that is found in Domestic ducks.

Domestic Poultry
Farm raised poultry may be substituted for domestic poultry, but the flavor will not be as intense and cut the cooking time by 2/3.

You may substitute 2 pheasants in place of domestic poultry.  You can find pheasant at high end supermarkets.

Quail
Farm raised quail are a great substitute for wild quail.  They can be found in the freezer sections of high end supermarkets.  If your store does not have them, speak with the meat manager and they will probably order some for you.

If you need more detail about cuts of meat, please let me know. I will update this as I see needs to do so. Enjoy the recipes and let me know what you think!

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