Written by Barbara Toombs

Published by Bear Mountain Ranch

You’ll find delectable venison, elk and bison dishes on the menus of the nation’s finest restaurants year round these days. Chefs are preparing game meat in a wide variety of ways, from traditional stews and roasts to more creative and exotic dishes, like elk tartare seasoned with truffle sauce and green bison chili topped with an avocado salsa.

Now, an increasing number of people are incorporating game meat into their home menu-planning—due in no small part to the fact that game meat is so low in fat. Game meat has half the fat, one-third the calories and 15 percent less cholesterol than beef. It is as low in calories as chicken (without the skin) and salmon, while being almost as high, if not higher, in protein. Add to this the fact that farm-raised game meat (like the bison meat sold by Bear Mountain Ranch) does not contain hormones, steroids, or chemicals, and you have a meat for the new millennium.

With the holidays approaching, it’s the perfect time to plan a special meal with game meat as the star attraction. Wonderful recipes abound, and many of them include red wine, whether it be used as a marinade, for braising, or in a sauce. But what wine do you serve with your culinary creation? Many people mistakenly use the rule of thumb that the stronger or more aggressive the food flavors, the more robust the wine needs to be. Surprisingly, this is not necessarily true with game meat. Experts are in general agreement, in fact, that “big” wines can actually overpower the meat, and tend to recommend lighter wines such as Pinot Noir, Chianti, and Beaujolais Village. And don’t just think red—for something like a summer sausage made of game meat, one expert even recommends a polished Italian Prosecco wine that is bubbly and sharp. Although half the fun is in the experimentation, we have some suggestions for you—whether you’re serving up delectable chops from that elk you bagged last hunting season, or some tasty bison shortribs.