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Guest Teacher Spotlight: Miles Sims of The Wild Game Table

Through his group, The Wild Game Table, Miles Sims makes wild game accessible to anyone interested in the full "field to table" experience. Wild Game Table meet-ups cover everything for the ethical harvesting and field dressing of small and big game animals, from hunting and tracking techniques to butchering, processing, and storage. In his cooking classes, Miles shares techniques and recipes for cooking with wild game. With an open forum for discussions and opportunities for hands-on experiences in all stages of the process, The Wild Game Table makes it possible for you to fill your freezer full of healthy, happy & correctly harvested meat for all seasons.

General white-tailed deer season opens November 3rd and Miles will be back in The Happy Kitchen on November 6th, to lead a class about cooking with venison. The original version of this recipe appeared on Miles’ blog at Huntcrafted.com

Wild Game Recipes: Dry Rubbed Chimichurri Venison Tenderloins and Flank

This recipe is a day-of tradition and amazing-tasting reward for your hard work. I usually don’t marinade meat when we are going to be cooking it the same day. There’s just not enough time for the marinade to get into the meat. A great dry rub will do the trick in a pinch!

Ingredients:

  • tenderloins and flank from one deer
  • 1 recipe chimichurri dry rub (see below)

Trim and clean the meat. Toss everything into a baking dish and apply the chimichurri rub (Miles also recommends including along with 1 head roasted garlic with the rub). Set aside for about an hour. While you give the rub a little time to set in, you can grab your favorite beverage and retell the tale of your hunting trip.

When it’s time to eat, get your pan or grill hot & ready to go. I’m a big fan of cast iron. It’s easy to setup since I’m usually too tired to get the grill going on a hunt and it lets some air get underneath the meat while cooking. I put some olive oil or rendered fat in the pan and set it on medium-high.

Cook the tenderloin for no more than 3-4 minutes on each side and then let them rest while you set out the rest of the food. Then just serve and eat! Tenderloin is one of my favorite cuts of meat and is the best way to end the day after a successful hunt!

Chimichurri Dry Rub

  • 3 tbs dried oregano leaves
  • 3 tbs dried basil leaves
  • 2 tbs dried parsley flakes
  • 2 tbs dried thyme leaves
  • 2 tbs coarse kosher salt
  • 1 tbs ground black pepper
  • 1 tbs smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp dried crushed red pepper

Mix all of your spices together and crush in a bowl using the back of a spoon if you don’t have a mortar bowl. You can also double this up if you want to have a little extra for next time!