Photo courtesy of Forrest Fisher
Innovative Outdoors Lake Erie Walleye Tournament Director Jim Steel will meet with boat captains on Thursday evening at the Clarion Hotel Pavilion to kick off the last major Lake Erie walleye tournament of the 2024 season.
With the rising cost of fuel and store-bought goods, many of us spend more time at home. Deer hunting, walleye and perch fishing, and other outdoor activities that yield opportunities to feed the family have become increasingly important for more than recreational reasons.
Last week, during the Lake Erie Experience VIP Event at the Clarion Hotel Pavilion on Chadwick Bay, attendees had an opportunity to meet Moira Tidball, creator of the Cornell University Wild Harvest culinary consumption resource. The Wild Harvest Table started as a celebration of the culinary bounty represented by wild game and fish in the Finger Lakes region of New York state. Still, it applies to every form of fish and game across the country (in my opinion).
“Right now is a great opportunity to do some home cooking and eat the meat stored in our wild game freezers,” Tidball said. “If you had a plentiful hunting season, it could also be the perfect time to share some meat with a non-hunting family or neighbors.”
Moira is a Cornell Cooperative Extension nutrition educator from Seneca County, who started a user-friendly website in 2009 as a resource for fish and game recipes. The site contains nutrition label information (calories, fat, vitamins, etc.) and preparation techniques. Her partner, Dr. Keith G. Tidball, in the Department of Natural Resources and Environment at Cornell University, helped with the website’s inception and recognized potential research questions evolving from the project.
All the recipes on the website have been tested (they are delicious) and are relatively simple to prepare.
Submitted Illustration
The “Wild Harvest Table” is a free public resource that offers advice on fish and game processing, complete with recipes and nutrition labels, like the one shown for a slice of venison meatloaf.
Nutrition facts are included in many recipes, and I found the two downloadable workshop booklets to be the most informative and valuable. The booklet called “Wild Harvest Table – Hunt Like A Chef Cookbook” and the “Fish Guide – Great
Recipes” provide preparation tips with pictures and recipe instructions with detailed instructions for novice and veteran outdoor folks alike. This team has helped make the nutritional content of several species a part of Food Data Central, USDA’s comprehensive source for food nutrient composition.
Since we are about to kick off a new season of deer hunting in WNY, it’s only a few short weeks away. There is nothing like “Good Old Venison Meatloaf.”
RECIPE
1.5 lb. ground venison
2 eggs
½ cup of quick oats
¼ cup ketchup
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp mustard
¼ cup minced onion
1 clove garlic (mashed)
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste (~1/2 tsp each)
¼ cup ketchup or barbecue sauce for top.
Preparation: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, crack and stir the eggs. Add oats, catsup, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, onion, garlic, and parsley. Mix in ground meat, salt, and pepper. When all the ingredients are well incorporated, form the meat into a loaf and place it in a small baking pan or on a cookie sheet (jelly roll pan). You may want to line the pan with parchment paper or foil for easier clean-up. Spread the remaining ketchup or barbeque sauce on top of the meatloaf. If desired, a few strips of bacon can go on top, but not necessary for moisture. Place meatloaf in the oven and cook for about 40 minutes until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Serves 6. Enjoy!
There are plenty of fish recipes in the booklets mentioned earlier. Have you ever tried parmesan fish filet fries, grilled cajun fish filets, walleye/perch fish chowder, or fish patty burgers? Lots of new deliciousness in these printable resources. Visit Wild Harvest Table – Cornell Cooperative Extension at https://www.wildharvesttable.com/.
Lastly, one of the last Lake Erie walleye tournaments on the 2024 calendar of events for the year is the upcoming Innovative Outdoors Walleye Challenge set for Dunkirk Harbor from the Steel Outdoors Group Tournament Headquarters at the Clarion Hotel Pavilion. Tournament Director Jim Steel is also President of the Eastern Lake Erie Charter Boat Association, and this tournament is well respected among all participating anglers. Registration has ended, but the weigh-in is open to the public starting this Friday with Big Fish Friday and then onto the main event set for Saturday. The blow day is Sunday if the event is canceled due to wind on Saturday. For more info, visit https://innovative-outdoors.com.
Gotta love the outdoors.
CALENDAR
Aug. 15: Southtowns Walleye Association, monthly meeting and Kids Day event, 5895 Southwestern Blvd.; kids’ crafts and learning stations-6 p.m., general meeting-7 p.m.
Aug. 16-17: Innovative Outdoors Walleye Challenge, Dunkirk Harbor from HQ at the Clarion Hotel Gazebo, $500 entry/team; info: Jim Steel, 716-481-5348 or visit https://innovative-outdoors.com.
Aug. 17: NYS Hunter Safety Training, Cattaraugus Rod & Gun Club, 7732 Route 353, Cattaraugus, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., register online at https://register-ed.com.
Aug. 18: NYS Hunter safety training, Jamestown Rifle and Pistol Club, 2882 Busti-Stillwater Road, Jamestown, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., register online at https://register-ed.com.