MARCH 2022. Blues Vol 38 No. 3

RUSTY BARRON
off duty & outdoors
Field to Table Recipes: My Top Favorites (Part 2)
For many of us, the fall has
been filled with days hunting
deer, birds, and small game
resulting in freezers full of meat
ready to be cooked into amazing
table fare. Preparing a meal
from wild game is not only
amazing to share with friends,
but it completes the hunting
adventure. Sometime back in
my youth, I made the life-long
pledge to the Hunting Gods that
I will not shoot it unless I enjoy
eating it. Therefore, for me personally,
I don’t do a lot of small
game hunting and this probably
explains why I love big game
and dove hunting so much.
Over the years I have enjoyed
sharing my wild game cookouts
with my family and friends
and thought this month I would
share two of my favorite crowd
pleasers in the hopes that maybe
you too can become the
go-to chef for neighborhood
parties.
First a big disclaimer; I love
cooking, but over the years I
have developed my own style
and philosophy of cooking. I
believe cooking is an art, not a
science, and therefore recipes
are there to guide you, not be
some chore that must me followed
exactly. I encourage you
to treat these two as just that,
a guideline or starting point to
which, you can add your own
personality.Rusty’s Venison Chili:
Each time I make my chili, it
is slightly different based on
the types of tomatoes/spices I
find and the amount and type of
meat I use. Also, it all changes
based on the variety of ingredients
I use depending on number
of people I am trying to feed.
This is the base recipe for feeding
about 4-5 people:
INGREDIENTS:
-2lbs of Ground Sausage
(Either Elk or Venison or one of
each. )
-1lb of Ground Bison or Regular
Hamburger
-1 large yellow or white onion
-1 entire head of Garlic minced
-About 5 regular size cans
of diced or crushed Tomatoes
with various spices included.
Tomatoes with Garlic/Onion, or
with Basil/Olive Oil, or whatever
spices you can find added to
diced or crushed tomatoes that
sounds good for your chili
-1-2 small cans of Rotel Tomatoes
“Original”
-1 additional large can of
Crushed Tomatoes (Just to have
to add to get the right consistency
at the end)
-2 cans of beans. I know there
is a massive Texas debate about
beans added to chili…I like
them, so I add one can of black
beans with Jalapenos and one
can of chili beans (pinto style)
that has chili spices
-1Tablespoon of Chili Powder
-1 teaspoon of Paprika
- teaspoon of Salt
-Shredded Cheese
-Big Bag of Fritos Corn Chips
or White Rice cooked as instructed
by package if you
prefer
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:
-Chop up the onion pretty fine
and add to a large skillet/pot
-Chop or mince all of the garlic
cloves and add to the skillet/
pot
-Add all of the meat to the
skillet and cook until meat is
browned.
-Add all of the Cans of Tomatoes
and Beans.
-Add the Chili Powder, Paprika,
and salt
-Simmer for at least 30 min
but longer is better…I let mine
simmer for hours and keep
checking it and adding what I
think it needs to get it where I
like it.
-Taste and add additional seasoning
as required (Additional
cans of Rotel Tomatoes or Add
Fresh Jalapenos or green chilis
for more spicy vs adding more
Chili powder)
Serve over Fritos or Rice
topped with shredded cheese
as preferred. It is also highly
recommend serving with Cornbread
that has been made with
double the eggs, small can of
cream style corn and shredded
cheese in addition to the package
instructions. Enjoy!
RUSTY BARRON
106 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 107