2022 Wild Game Cookoff Winning Dishes

Photo by Aaron Agosto

Greg Kvale and Pete Kvale, from BHA's Minnesota chapter, wowed the judges for the second straight year during the Wild Game Cookoff at the 2022 Rendezvous in Missoula, Montana. This year the magic came from their "Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Breakfast," which included a Chaga Rose Hip Maple Tea, Norsky Wild Rice Pancakes, Blueberry Port Compote, Corned Venison Wild Rice Hash, Pike and Walleye Fingers and a Remoulade Sauce.

Here's the recipes for the winning dishes:

Chaga Rose Hip Maple Tea

Ingredients

2 pints water
1 chunk chaga, about the size of a tennis ball
Hand full of rose hips
½ cup or slightly less maple syrup
1 whole nutmeg

Method

Heat water, chaga, rose hips and nutmeg to boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Add maple syrup, serve.

This is a nutty, slightly earthy sweet tea with a twist; it’s the nutmeg that gives it that little extra twist that’ll have ya saying ummm, that ain’t too bad!

Norsky Wild Rice Pancakes

Ingredients

¾ cup whole milk
½ cup water
2 eggs
¼ cup sugar, white, brown or maple
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 cup white or wheat flour, I used white, and 2 tbsp wild rice flour

(You can use up to 25% wild rice flour, any more and the cakes won’t turn out)

Method

Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Add eggs, vanilla, butter, milk and water.
Whisk until blended evenly.
Heat a cast iron griddle (preferred) until good and hot, then back off on the temp and let the griddle reach an even overall temp. Test with a small spot of batter: it should lay flat and almost immediately turn a nice brown color. Pour a smallish spot of batter on the grill and use a spoon/spatula to spread evenly to about the size of a soft ball. Flip as soon as the bottom is brown. These pancakes are supposed to be super thin, almost like a crepe. If your batter is too thick add a bit of water to the batter so that it spreads quickly over the griddle. No need to butter the griddle but do so if you have sticking issues.
Serve with butter and Blueberry Port Compote.

Blueberry Port Compote

Ingredients

1 cup wild or domestic blueberries (or any berries you have, I prefer blueberries as they have no hard seeds)
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup good port wine

Method

Bring all ingredients to a boil in a saucepan; be careful to not let it boil over at this point or you’re gonna have a big ole mess!
Simmer until sauce starts to thicken, kind of your choice but if you’re precise 220+ F on a candy thermometer is good.

The real secret to the rich sweet flavor here is good port wine, it just makes this really smooooth and satisfying.

Corned Venison Wild Rice Hash

Ingredients

4 medium sized Yukon gold or red potatoes cut into quarters
¼ cup wild rice
Turkey, chicken or vegetable stock to cover potatoes and rice.
4-6 oz corned venison
4-5 ramps, bulbs separated from the green tops, or ½ C onion and small bunch of chives
½ cup assorted mushrooms! Shiitake,chanterelles,
2 tbsp butter
Olive oil
Worcester sauce
Salt and pepper
6 pheasant, duck or chicken eggs

Method

Peel and cut potatoes into quarters.
Add potatoes, rice and enough stock to cover potatoes to a saucepan, boil until potatoes are just fork tender or a little firmer, remove potatoes, let cool slightly and dice into small chunks and set aside. Continue cooking rice in the broth until the kernels open slightly, drain and set aside.
While the potatoes and rice are cooking chop up the corned venison, onion/ramp and mushrooms.
In a 10” cast iron frying pan add olive oil and brown the potatoes, set aside.
Add butter to the frying pan and sauté the ramps/onion and mushrooms, add a dash of Worcester for taste. You can add the corned venison here as well if you wish to have a few crispy edges to the venison or just add it in the next step.
Add all ingredients to gather in the cast iron frying pan and warm evenly, turning with a spatula often. The trick here is to not overdo it as the rice will dry out and turn hard.
Lower the heat and flatten the hash in the bottom of the pan, crack and evenly spaced the eggs around the pan, cover and cook until the eggs are just done. A splash of water in the bottom of the pan helps steam the eggs. Don’t overcook, you want the yoke runny and the whites, white.
Cut the hash into equal pieces with one egg on top, the egg whites will seep down into the hash and firm up a serving size piece.
Crack on some salt and pepper, top with chopped ramp greens or chives, and a spot of hot sauce for color.

Photo by Aaron Agosto

Pike and Walleye Fingers

Ingredients

1 lb. or so of fish fillets, any species will do but I prefer northern pike, they just have a superior taste to me.
2 eggs + water
1 cup finely crushed, seasoned croutons any flavor.
Flour to coat fish
3 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter to fry fish
Salt and pepper and or some Old Bay in the flour if you wish

Method