11.7 Game

Game means wild animals and birds. Farm-raised game is a wild species now raised on farms for sale. In the United States, states require restaurants to serve only game that was slaughtered and dressed under inspection. Game raised on farms under the proper rules can be sold. Wild game that is legally hunted cannot be sold; it may only be eaten by the hunter's own household. Suppliers who are not approved sometimes sell poached game; buy only from approved sources.

Game animals

Large game in North America includes deer, elk, moose, caribou, reindeer, antelope, bison, bear and wild boar. Small game includes rabbit, squirrel and alligator, among others. On a menu, venison can mean the meat of deer, elk, moose, caribou, antelope or pronghorn, but meat sold as venison must name the animal on its label.

• Deer meat is lean and tastes gamey. Soaking it overnight makes the taste milder.
• Elk tastes like a mild beef, almost sweet, with just a hint of venison, and can replace venison in most recipes.
• Moose is the largest of the venison animals, and its meat is like elk.
• Caribou (reindeer) is a little sweeter than other venison.
• Antelope and pronghorn are leaner than deer but taste much the same.
• Bison (buffalo) is said to taste sweeter and richer than beef. Hunted almost to extinction by the 1890s, it is now raised on farms across North America, more than 150,000 animals.
• Musk-ox tastes like bison. For collared peccary (javelina), fresh pork is the substitute.
• Rabbits sold for food in the United States are not North American cottontails. They are usually crosses of New Zealand and Belgian rabbits, Chinese rabbits, or Scottish hares.
• Wild boar and feral hogs are not native to North America. Most states treat them as pests and encourage hunting them.

Game birds

Game birds include grouse, guinea fowl, partridge, squab, quail, pheasant, ratites, wild ducks, wild geese and wild turkey. Rock Cornish hens, often thought of as game, are young farm chickens.

• Pheasant: the hen, about 3 pounds, is more tender, plump and juicy than the cock, about 5 pounds. Roast young birds; older birds are drier and leaner and need moist heat.
• Quail: about 3 to 7 ounces ready to cook. Its meat is dark but mild, and it is usually roasted and served whole.
• Squab: a pigeon about 4 weeks old, too young to fly, so its meat is very tender. It weighs 12 to 16 ounces and is usually stuffed whole and roasted.
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• Guinea fowl: tender when young, at about 11 weeks; hens are more tender than males. The meat is light red, a little dry and mildly gamey. At 2 to 3 pounds it is sold whole, and barding with fat keeps it moist.
• Wild duck: a duckling, usually under 8 weeks, weighs about 3½ to 5 pounds and its dark meat is tender. A duck over 6 months is tougher.
• Goose: 5 to 18 pounds. A young goose is tender, a mature one tougher.
• Wild turkey: leaner, less meaty, less tender and stronger-tasting than a farm turkey.
• Ratites (ostrich, emu, rhea): the meat looks like beef and tastes like it, a little sweeter.

How game differs from farm meat

Wild animals eat differently and move more than farm animals, so farm-raised game tastes stronger than farm meat but milder than wild game. Quality depends on the animal's age (young is tender), its diet and the season it was taken; autumn is best, after a summer of good feeding. Handling in the field matters as much. The animal should be gutted within an hour and the meat chilled within a few hours. Meat that is not dressed, moved and chilled properly is damaged, sometimes ruined.

Wild game is usually less tender than farm meat, because the animals exercise more and carry less fat. What fat there is usually tastes bad, so trim it off. For the most tender result, cook game slowly and do not overcook it. Braising (moist heat) and roasting (dry heat) both work. Keep it moist by basting, by larding (threading fat into the meat) or by barding (covering it with fat). see chapter 10: Why it works on tough meat

To soften a strong gamey taste, soak the meat overnight in the refrigerator in salted water (1 tablespoon of salt to a quart of cold water) or in diluted vinegar (1 cup to a quart of cold water). Cover the meat completely, and throw the liquid away after. A marinade also adds flavor or tenderizes. Keep the meat in the refrigerator while it marinates: birds for 1 to 2 days, game animals for 3 to 5. Bring a used marinade to the boil before you baste with it, and throw out any left uncooked.

Safety

Raw or undercooked game can carry harmful bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7, which is found in deer. Freezing does not kill bacteria; cooking does. Poultry must reach 74°C (165°F) for 15 seconds, ground meat 70°C (158°F), and well-done meat 71°C (160°F). Take the reading of a whole game bird in the thigh, in the wing and where the breast is thickest, and cook other cuts of game to 160°F.

Individual cuts of meat are used within two days, and fresh poultry is kept packed in ice. Game birds and ground game should be cooked or frozen within 1 or 2 days of purchase. Thaw game in the refrigerator, in cold water or in the microwave, never on the counter.