The last quarter of the year can feel a bit like a rat race – kids are back to school, holidays are approaching, hunting season has kicked off, you’re trying to get in some late fall fishing and, if you live in a northern climate, you are simply trying to make the most of what little nice weather you have left before winter hits. That can make it really difficult to spend time in the kitchen preserving your harvests; there isn’t any shame in putting it off until you have a bit more breathing room, and perhaps the weather means you’ll need a little less convincing to spend time indoors.
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Now that that time of year is here, what can you do with a freezer full of wild game?
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Pressure Canning
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One of the old standby methods of food preservation, pressure canning meat is a great way to make it shelf stable.
Dehydrating
Dehydrating our wild game into easy-to-reach-for snacks is one of the tastiest ways to enjoy the meat from the freezer. Whether you are using your oven on the lowest setting or have an actual dehydrator, you can make some delicious wild game jerky in this manner.
Smoking
Smoked fish is one of those staple foods that almost everyone loves to have around, be it for a full meal or just a mid-day snack. If you don’t think you will get around to eating all the smoked fish while it’s fresh, you could also do a half-smoked version and pressure can it.
Freeze Dried
While freeze dryers are a costly investment, and one that I have not dove into, if you do a lot of backcountry hunting and fishing, you may find that the flexibility of creating your own wild game-based freeze-dried meals is something you want to explore more.
Just Plain & Simple, Get In The Kitchen More!
Have some unusual cuts of meat in your freezer? Maybe there’s a box of organ meat you have been putting off opening up? January is the perfect time of year to sit down, plan out some recipes and experiment with something you are unfamiliar with. When the weather is nice, it’s hard to justify spending time in the kitchen if you’re unsure of how it will turn out; this time of year, the idea of spending the entire afternoon creating a delicious (or maybe not quite as delicious, they can’t all be winners!) meal doesn’t sound too terrible after all!
