Food has always been an important part of the F-Troop Camp experience. One of the great pleasures of getting away from home is to indulge in a few thousand calories of delicious meals at camp.
We like to cook out back at the fire pit on summer evenings, especially with venison steaks and chops. We slice the meat into stew-sized portions, marinate it for 24 hours and then just toss the bite-sized delicacies onto the fire pit rack and pick them off one by one, according to our individual “rare” to “well-done” tastes. Combine that main dish with some fire-roasted corn-on-the-cob, fresh salad, friendly conversation around the campfire and perhaps a sip of mountain brandy, and the informal dining experience is priceless. We sit out there and snack and chat for hours.
We also do a lot of slow-cooking when we’re gone for the day in the forest, fishing or hunting. We have excellent crock pot recipes for venison, grouse and even rabbit or squirrel. We set the crock pot on low and head out into the woods, knowing we’ll savor the sweet aroma of a well-prepared meal when we return. We also keep a meat smoker at camp, which we sometimes set up on the front porch, where we’ll smoke a leg of venison or a large salmon all day long.
But sometimes we disdain the easy way out and decide to spend hours at camp preparing more complicated dishes, such as Beautiful Gary’s Homemade Vegetable Soup, Billy’s Ground Venison Cowboy Beans or my own Venison Meatball Splash.
Perhaps our best cook at camp these days is Todd “Queen” Puleo, who accidentally wandered into a restaurant ladies room during his first visit to camp 12 years ago and earned the nickname he carries to this day.
Todd has agreed to share his two favorite recipes, “Stir Fry Venison with Broccoli” and “Todd’s Italian Venison Meatballs,” both brought to you straight from the Queen’s kitchen and detailed below. Enjoy!
Stir Fry Venison with Broccoli
Ingredients
´´ 1 pound thinly sliced venison steaks or chops.
´´ 1 teaspoon sesame oil (or olive oil).
The marinade
1/4 cup of soy sauce, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon sugar.
To Prepare
Mix marinade ingredients in a glass bowl and add venison. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let marinate in the refrigerator 2 to 4 hours. Heat wok (or non-stick skillet) over medium-high heat and add sesame oil. Cook marinated venison in hot wok 3-5 minutes. Serve with steamed rice and broccoli. Serves four.
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Todd’s Italian Venison Meatballs
Ingredients
´´ 1 pound ground venison.
´´ 1 large egg, beaten.
´´ 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs.
´´ 1/4 cup dry red wine.
´´ 2 tablespoons milk.
´´ 1 tablespoon parsley.
´´ 1 small finely-chopped onion.
´´ 1/2 teaspoon salt
´´ 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
´´ 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
To Prepare
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and evenly incorporate. Form into meatballs and bake on a non-stick baking sheet for 30 minutes. Place meatballs into a pot of red pasta sauce and let simmer until ready to serve.
Trail Notes: Paperback copies of my new book The F-Troop Camp Chronicles are on sale at the Book Rack, Daffin’s Candies, Copyland, Greenville News, Courthouse Square Dry Goods Co in Mercer, Allied News and CDS Sporting Goods in Grove City and Neshannock Creek Fly Shop in Volant. For mail orders or limited edition signed and numbered hardcovers, contact me directly at the numbers below.
Don Feigert is the outdoors writer for THE HERALD and the ALLIED NEWS. He can be contacted at 724-931-1699 or dfeigert@verizon.net. Visit his Website at www.donfeigert.com.
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Venison dishes from the Queen's kitchen
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