Recipes

This is the kind of special dish you only get to make once or twice a year since it requires so many hearts to make, and each bird you bring down only has one. It’s a good idea to bug your friends, family, and hunting buddies for their hearts and organs if they’re not going to use them—that way, you...

Boudin is a classic cajun sausage that uses warm rice to bind the meat together. This recipe uses the wing and liver meat from specklebelly goose along with liver to create the perfect texture, and hearts and gizzards can also be incorporated into the mixture if you desire. It can be stuffed into...

I had the opportunity to hunt axis deer on Molokai, Hawaii, this summer with Danielle Prewett, Ben O’Brien, and the folks from Camp Chef. In addition to being overrun with deer, this beautiful island provides an abundance of wild food. Almost everywhere we went, we found guava hanging from the trees...

Gnome life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. You think sitting around all day in a garden is fun? I spent the first 16 years of my life up to my waist in mulch, standing watch by the petunias across from the bird bath. The gnome race was once the guardians of great treasures and precious gems—you...

Celebrate your next successful hunt with a memorable meal that is easy and delicious. With just a handful of ingredients, you can serve a meal that’ll make you wish ungulates had more than one heart. Here at MeatEater, we believe that heart is the perfect cut to enjoy after a pack out. You don’t...

Bulgogi translates to “fire meat” and is commonly found in Korean barbecue.  Most of the time you will see it made with really thin slices of beef or pork, especially sirloin or short ribs. Sometimes these meats are cheap, tough cuts, but they do well sliced thinly against the grain, marinated for a...

When I was growing up, we always ate the fried heart of a deer soon after killing it. My mom cooked it very simply: sliced thin, dredged in seasoned flour, and then fried in a skillet. My dad always complained if we put ketchup on venison loin, but he didn’t mind if we dipped our slices of heart in...

There are a lot of folks out there opposed to the idea of eating a heart, and it’s always my goal to change their mind. So when I cook something out of the ordinary for first timers, I typically serve it as an appetizer on toasted bread. This is partially because getting someone to take a small bite...

I like to save all of my game bird gizzards and hearts. I’ll freeze a few in the bottom of a quart-sized container, and then keep adding more and topping them off with water as I build my stash up to at least 1 pound of meat. Then I defrost them and make up a good pickling brine. You want the hearts...