Most shanks used to wind up the grind pile, or worse, the trash. But more hunters have started figuring out how damn good these cuts are if you take the time to cook them right.
This  southwest style preparation will turn some heads. It’s the kind of dish you’ll want to serve for a special occasion or when you’re trying to impress. The citrus and smokey peppers compliment the rich flavor of the shank—I guarantee you’ll...

I run a lodge in Southeast Alaska, and we catch a lot of shrimp. It’s pretty hard to go wrong with fresh-from-the-ocean shrimp and prawns, as long as you don’t overcook them, and I think simple preparations are the way to go. This particular recipe is versatile and complements the natural sweetness of the shrimp. You can eat them as a main course, pair them with a steak, throw them on a salad, add them to a wrap or a sandwich—you can...

Reubens are among the greatest sandwiches of all time—rye bread stacked high with corned beef, sauerkraut, thousand island dressing, and pickles—but they’re not easily shared. This recipe takes the essence of a Reuben and pares it down into a perfect summertime finger food, great for potlucks.
It’s pretty simple, but looks impressive. It’ll stand out on a picnic table crowded with store-bought salads and crudité, and likely be...

Venison necks are kind of like shanks: They’re well suited for braising and render soft, delicious meat. They have a more mild flavor than shanks, which allows them to absorb flavors and makes them perfect for a mole sauce.
I’m not going to lie—making mole is complex and time consuming. But hey, you might have some time on your hands right now. Why not put in the work and experiment with a new dish?
You can use the neck roast from any...

This dish was born of necessity and scarcity (of time, not ingredients). I operate a fishing lodge in southeast Alaska. After long days of hiking in the rain and chasing steelhead, everyone’s cold, wet, and very hungry. The perfect antidote? Jambalaya. It’s great comfort food and very filling.
This isn’t, however, the typical Southern-style recipe that takes hours of slow cooking. This recipe was created to conserve cooking time...

I’m always looking for ways to use unseasoned ground venison. Here’s a fun little appetizer that turns some of that ubiquitous ground into a plate of addicting morsels. I combine tomato paste, olives, and lots of Italian-style cheeses and herbs to make these crustless pizza bites. Yeah, I know I call them stuffed mushrooms, but they have the flavor profile of pizza. Prepping and cooking these is very easy — just make sure you bake them in a...

This easy and relatively fast recipe makes a perfect game-day snack. I’m a big fan of hot wings, and buffalo pheasant is a fun offshoot. You can use any of your favorite hot sauces, but I prefer Frank’s RedHot Original, as it suits the spirit of buffalo-style hot wings. Good luck eating just one.

Smoking whole might be the most versatile thing you can do with a duck. It can be served warm straight off the smoker, cooled for a charcuterie board, or incorporated into some other dish like duck ravioli. This also uses the entire animal, which the MeatEater crew always tries to do. Even after you’ve removed all the meat, the carcass can be used for a stock.
A whole smoked duck with orange feet hanging off a charcuterie board is quite the...

When you find giant puffball mushrooms, they usually come in such quantity that you need to find lots of ways to prepare them. In addition to our puffball mushroom crust pizza recipe, these are a delicious way to use all that mushroom flesh.
Despite the name, this recipe doesn’t actually use any mozzarella. Instead, it substitutes strips of puffball mushrooms for the cheese. The result, however, is delightfully (and surprisingly) similar to fried...

Giant puffball mushrooms are easily identifiable, widely distributed, and delicious. They pop up during late summer and early fall in timber, meadows, fields, and even yards across much of North America. If you find a large (anywhere from the size of a baseball to bigger than a basketball), white, fleshy mushroom with no gills and no stem, it’s most likely a giant puffball.
To be absolutely sure, however, always cut your giant puffballs open...