Cougar, mountain lion, puma, catamount, painter — whatever you want to call it, if you get a text from a buddy who guides hunts for Felix concolor that reads, “Do you want a mtn lion backstrap?” you should answer affirmatively, and then beg for the hams, too.
Many hunters find themselves having harvested a big game animal in an area that may require them to quarter the animal for ease of field removal. The key is to remove the quarters from the carcass or to remove the entrails as quickly as possible. This will help to cool the meat faster.
There’s a brown paper bag in my freezer right now whose sole purpose is to keep me from seeing the last two pieces of Antelope meat from last fall. If I see them, I’ll want to eat them, but I’m keeping them in reserve so I can compare them side by side with black bear meat. I’m trying to figure out which of the two is my favorite.
You know what I hate? Recipes that call for special ingredients that I’m not likely to have on-hand. I don’t always have the opportunity to plan a meal and buy all the stuff ahead of time. Sometimes I just need to defrost a piece of meat and get it done for dinner right now. This recipe is perfect because it’s made of things you probably have in the cupboard, and it’s delicious and approachable even for people who don’t like “game meat.”