Last Updated on January 26, 2024 by Sabrina Currie
Over 65 of the best wild game recipes from fish to venison. Delicious recipes for 19 different kinds of wild game like trout, walleye, pheasant, duck, rabbit, boar, goat, deer, elk, moose, and more! If you're an avid hunter or know someone who is, you'll find the perfect, flavorful wild game recipe for your harvest here.
With different flavor profiles and cooking techniques, there is lots to choose from. Pick a recipe to use your smoker, dehydrator, slow cooker, oven or frying pan. Or pick a recipe based on the flavors of Italy, Mexico, South East Asia or America.
Love foraging while out in the forest or on hunting trips? Check out my spring foraging ideas and if you've scored some mushrooms, cook them up in this chanterelle mushroom risotto or this deluxe wild mushroom soup or check out more Mushroom Recipes here.
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Trout
A little aluminum foil, olive oil, salt and black pepper might be all you need to cook up a fresh trout at camp, but once you're home, try one of these tasty recipes with lots of great flavors.
Bluefish
Fun to fish for but less common at the dinner table, this tasty chowder recipe makes ho-hum fish into a delicious dinner.
Walleye
Walley is a tasty and very healthy fish to enjoy. A member of the perch family, walleye takes well to many styles of cooking and is a family favorite in this crispy fried recipe.
Catfish
A tasty, firm whitefish, catfish is delicious in many recipes. Try the ideas below or use it in any recipe that call for cod.
Mountain Whitefish
Mountain whitefish is freshwater member of the salmonid family. It is tasty and mild but very bony. It takes well to smoking or being cut in small chunks and simmered in curry.
Paddlefish
Pheasant
If you're a sporting chef, try one of these delicious and innovative recipes. With ingredients like wild mushrooms, port, curry and apples, you'll want to get your bag limit every time!
Duck
From the luxury of duck breast meat to slow cooked rillettes and ground duck burgers, there are so many ways to enjoy this wild game meat. Note that some recipes may use farmed duck which tends to be fattier, so you may need to add fat or reduce cooking time to keep the leaner wild duck moist.
Grouse
After a long day outdoors, the savory flavors of stew is welcome comfort. This makes a large stew and uses up lots of wild grouse meat at once. Also a great recipe to make ahead and keep in the freezer.
Pigeon/Squab/Dove
This tasty game bird goes by many names. Pigeon and dove tend to be the names for the wild birds while farms usually call the birds squab. These make a show stopper main course with each diner getting a whole pigeon on their plate. A great game meat for date night or make a whole pan of them to impress a crowd!
Goose
While sometimes quite strongly flavored, try this goose jerky for a goose recipe that tastes great.
Rabbit
One of the smaller game meats, rabbits have tender meat and a mild flavor. Rabbit meat is probably one of the most versatile game meats and works well in many recipes that call for chicken.
Goat
If you've been hunting in the mountains, you may score a goat! While not as commonly eaten in North America, it is very popular throughout the rest of the world. Goat is excellent in curries and is a great meat to cook in a slow cooker or pressure cooker to tenderize it.
Wild Boar
Wild boar has rich flavor and is great in slow cooked braises and stew. Try it in an earthy mushroom stew or in Italian seasoned tomato sauce in a ragu over pasta.
Pronghorn
Only found in a few areas, pronghorn is a tasty game meat that can be used in many venison recipes. These pronghorn gyros stuffed with veggies and tsatsiki are a great way to enjoy this lean and delicious game.
Elk
Elk meat is my personal favorite of the large game meats. Mild tasting and so versatile, different cuts make lots of recipes. Like venison, you can have it butchered into ground meat, steaks, backstrap, stew meat, roasts, ribs and more. Chili makes a great weeknight meal, burgers are perfect for game night, elk steaks and backstrap make a weekend treat.
Venison (Deer)
Deer meat, most commonly known as venison is a delicious and versatile game meat that can be made into almost anything ground beef can be, but it's so much healthier. Venison is leaner than farmed meats so try not to overcook it as it can get dry easily. A meat thermometer works really well to keep venison meat moist. Generally aim for between 130'F-145'F depending if you want it medium rare to medium well and if you are cooking tenderloin or backstraps, you can go as low as 120'F-130'F.
Bison
This lean and hearty red meat game is versatile and delcious. Meatballs and short ribs are easy recipes that everyone loves. Larger cuts like steaks and bite-sized cubes for stew are easy and delicious too.
Moose
Moose can be cooked up in the same ways as venison and elk. With a lovely mild flavor, similar to beef, moose is a really tasty game meat. And is there anything cooler than making moose burgers for dinner?! Yum!
Bear
Bear meat is less common and a little stronger tasting, but also very versatile. With many different cuts, you can make your favorites from ground meat, stew meat, jerky, steaks and roasts.
Large Game Meat Recipes
Use any of your favorite large game meats for these last recipes.
Pin These Wild Game Recipes To Save For Later
Save this to Pinterest or Facebook to come back and try more of these delicious game meat recipes throughout the year.
More Great Recipes To Try With Wild Game
These recipes are great for subbing in your fresh game meat.
- Stuffed Roast Chicken With Christmas Stuffing and Gravy
- Leftover Steak Tacos With Salsa, Slaw And Spicy Mayo
- Best Leftover Ham Recipes For Leftover Holiday Ham
- Juicy Lemon Garlic Oven Baked Thin Chicken Breasts
If you have any questions or comments, you can find me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. I try to answer any recipe related questions quickly as I know you might be in the middle of making it.
Also check out my FREE PRINTABLE meal planner to make menu planning and grocery shopping a breeze and my shopping guide. And if you like this recipe, I would love it if you give it a star rating in the recipe card.
Cheers and happy cooking, Friends! Sabrina
Jacqueline Debono says
This is such a fabulous collection of wild game recipes. Definitely a couple I want to try! Thanks for including my wild boar pasta. Have shared on Pinterest and will share on my FB too!
Sabrina Currie says
Thanks Jacqueline, it was really a fun and interesting one to collect. I hope to add even more favourite recipes as I find them. Thanks for sharing!