Wild eats: Cooking for flavor and safety

There are many reasons why swapping out meat from the grocery store for wild game can have health benefits.

First, wild game tends to be leaner than farmed meats. That’s because wild animals walk, run and roam all day. Wild game is free from antibiotics and hormones too. Lastly, wild game is pretty easy on the pocketbook.

With that being said, do you know how to safely prepare your wild game? Are you wanting to learn how to prepare wild game without the gamey taste on your finished product? Or, are you just hunting for tips and ideas on how to use your recently acquired wild game?

Learn how to make the most of your freezer-full by tuning in to one or all of these free webinars. They will feature four dynamic sessions by Abbi Sampson, Purdue Extension educator and registered dietitian. Wild Eats: Cooking for Flavor and Safety will help you understand the ins and outs of cooking types of game, while keeping food safety a top priority.

The sessions occur on the second Wednesday of January, February, March and April from 3-3:30 p.m. There is no cost to participate. Register by Jan. 6 at: https://tinyurl.com/wildeatswebinar.

Topics will include venison (January), small game (February), fish (March) and game birds and waterfowl (April).

Can’t make it at the scheduled time? Go ahead and register, and a link with the recording will be emailed to you.

Visit www.extension.purdue.edu/putnam or contact the local Purdue Extension office at 653-8411 for more information regarding this week’s column topic or to RSVP for upcoming events.

Upcoming Events:

Dec. 15 – Area 5 Virtual PARP, virtual, 9-11 a.m., cost $15 for PARP or CCH credits, pre-register at https://bit.ly/Area5PARP

Dec. 15 – Take Time for Your Health, virtual, 12-1 p.m., pre-register at https://tinyurl.com/WIAWebinar

Dec. 21-Jan. 1 – Extension office closed for winter break

Jan. 5 – Winter walking group – Putnam County Fairgrounds – 9-10 a.m.

Jan. 12 – Winter walking group – Putnam County Fairgrounds – 9-10 a.m.

Jan. 13 – Wild Eats: Cooking for Flavor and Safety: Venison – virtual – 2-3 p.m., register at https://tinyurl.com/wildeatswebinar

Jan. 19 – Winter walking group – Putnam County Fairgrounds – 9-10 a.m.

Jan. 25 – ServSafe Food Managers online exam, 9 a.m.-noon, $65-115, register at https://www.purdue.edu/servsafe/workshops

Jan. 26 – Winter walking group – Putnam County Fairgrounds – 9-10 a.m.