Raising Carnivores: Kid-Friendly Game Recipes

Highlighting Kid-friendly Recipes from Small Game to Waterfowl to Big Game That Isn’t Entirely Based on Fried Things.

As soon as my son was born, I literally couldn’t wait to feed him. The first six months of baby food was so boring to me as a person who loves to cook. Once we got past that first year, we had an epic first seven years of food. My wife and I proudly videoed him eating homemade ikura (salmon roe) from salmon we had caught when he was just 14 months old.

We enjoyed years of duck, rabbit, and every type of venison one could imagine. We then hit the fourth grade … I literally remember the little smack head kid who introduced him to cola … and even worse he came home from a play date and told me that Skittles were made with all the fruit from the rainbow. My glory run was over, at least for now. These days I am met with sentiments like, “This meat is chewy,” “It gets caught in my expanders,” and, “Why can’t I just have mac and cheese like my friends?”

With a freezer full of meat and a broken heart, I had to accept it was time to fight dirty. I’d fry rocky mountain oysters and grind my finest cuts into burger just to get this kid away from the SAD (Standard American Diet) that pollutes the health of so many. Now I’m plagued with my own son eating the food my wife and I try so hard to avoid. When a plate of food was put in front of him, he had the choice to eat now or later … he chose later … and then he’d sneak next door to grandma and papa’s house where he was met with spaghetti and pizza and all the things my Italian in-laws see fit for nutrition.

This has been a battle for sure! While I think the SAD diet is winning, in the long run our earlier influence will win. He still can’t resist all the great kid foods. We’ve learned to reframe our adventures of hunting and angling by talking about fish and chips and meaty burgers. We’ve glorified the experience and reward to such a level that even if he doesn’t eat all of it, he’s sharing the adventure. Life is often about the stories we tell ourselves … and I refuse to tell the story that my son’s food experience will stop with the local burger joint. Pay attention here; there are three steps to winning: engage, storytelling, and the best step, celebrations.

STEP 1

Engaging is critical to having you kids enjoy game meat. Now I’m going to give you some advice from my wife: “Gamify it.” Literally, kids like some competition and reward for hard efforts. For most kids, dragging them out to a duck blind in the cold driving rain and making them hunt all day despite their complaints of discomfort probably isn’t going to turn them into lifelong duck hunters. Dropping a plate of food in front of them and saying eat or be hungry can yield a similar result. So instead, I let him guide me as to what would be a fun day. I find things that are easy for him.

Here are my top activities I’ve personally used to engage my son:

• Crab fishing from a kayak
• Mushroom hunts (bring a gun to kill a turkey at the right time of year)
• Berry picking (great place to source rabbits)
• Fishing; start with a stocked lake to build the excitement … then bait and switch real fishing

Find events for your kids to meet other kids who like to hunt and fish. Many conservation organizations have camps for kids. California waterfowl has an incredible program for young hunters.

STEP 2

Storytelling is a critical part of human experience. Take every opportunity to talk about all the great adventures you’ve been on. Bring up your adventures around friends and fight dirty proactively by asking family and friends to engage your kids with mega-excitement about what they’re doing. “You went hunting and shot a squirrel/bird/deer? That’s amazing. You should be so proud. That’s unbelievable.”

STEP 3

Celebrations are what we live for, the reward of something good coming. Plan events after a forage, hunt, or fishing event where kids can participate in making food and enjoying it. Here are a few of my favorite in-the-field celebrations and at-home celebrations. Keeping it simple is key.

Meatballs and burgers at home

• Make nonna’s meatball recipe, or find a great recipe and make it your own
• Make it for mom — heart-shaped burgers on Mother’s Day

Nuggets (birds, balls, and shrooms)

• Upland birds, especially turkey can be great for a “tender” or “nugget”
• Balls — tell them what it is or don’t, but fried they’re delicious
• Shrooms are great finds to fry like a nugget

Fish Sticks

• OK, OK … everything is better fried

Kabobs

• Kefta Kabob — ground meat on a stick, spice it
• Stew meat and veggies, adding pineapple with wild boar is a house favorite

Stick cooking

• Trout on a stick
• Sausages on a stick
• Chunk-o-meat, make a satay or similar

Fire rules — bring your sausages. Most kids love anything to do with fire, just take it to the next level beyond s’mores and hotdogs. Give them the opportunity to cook over a fire with a trout or a slice of meat on a stick. Have a pan that can be used over a campground cooking grate or maybe even a Dutch oven for some whole cuts of meat. Planning is key here; don’t let that flame go to waste.

Raising kids to be carnivores, like everything else, will have challenges. They’re going to go through phases where they don’t like anything. They’re going to get exposed to other foods, and sometimes they’re just going to be difficult as they test you as a parent. Think strategically and plan accordingly. Get your little ones engaged early, have fun, and remember the memories from the field should make it to the plate.

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in Carnivore Magazine Issue 6.

More Great Wild Game Recipes

• Venison Philly Cheesesteak
• Sous Vide Wild Boar Shank
• Elk Jerky
• Easter Bear by Hank Shaw
• Mediterranean Spiced Ground Venison Kofta