What would you cook for 20 people?

[seigeto]

Hey everyone,

I'm a new wild game cook and I have an upcoming dinner party for 16-18 folks. I have deer in the freezer and was wanting to give them some wild game. Wondering what you'd recommend I cook for them. None of them are hunters, and few will have had venison in the past.

Thanks,
CJ

 

[Jape]

I would go with a classic that many are familiar with, such as meateater's venison bolognese recipe:

 

[rwc101]

I would do one of Hank Shaw's venison meatball recipes as an appetizer. Far too many people turn up their noses at venison because they're used to only eating beef, chicken and pork for me to waste huge amounts of venison as a main dish for 18 people who I'm not sure will like it.

Teriyaki Meatballs Recipe - Teriyaki Venison Meatballs | Hank Shaw

A teriyaki meatballs recipe based on Japanese niku dango - basically teriyaki meatballs - made with venison, beef or pork.

honest-food.net

 

[bushman13]

Smoke a whole shoulder and also do a giant batch of chili.

 

[Greyman]

For groups of people, I like doing a big pot of gumbo. Most everyone loves it and it's great on a cold day.

 

[Sawtooth]

My wife works with college student's and for several years during the winter months, we would have 10 to 20 students over for Taco Tuesdays. Easy to make, never had a complaint, and seldom had leftovers.

 

[cedahm]

In similar situations, we've done a selection of 'apps' - easier for people to sample without committing to a full portion.

- Meatballs as pointed out above (we did Swedish last year for Thanksgiving and it was a hit)
- 'Carpaccio' of loin or tenderloin (instead of Raw we do a hot fast sear with carpaccio-esque seasonings/pine nut crusted and then slice paper thin)
- Pastrami or some other cured style (good for back ham roasts)

 

[rustneversleeps]

Slider-Style Mini Burgers

This slider recipe for mini baked burgers is made with a savory blend of ground beef, onion soup mix, mayo, and cheese that's great for potlucks.

www.allrecipes.com

 

[teej89]

Crock Pot Mississippi Pot Roast

Over 500 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ratings! Crock Pot Mississippi Pot Roast is slow cooker goodness! Chuck roast combined with ranch dressing mix, onion soup mix, butter and peperoncini peppers. #slowcooker #beef

www.thecountrycook.net

extremely easy(10min of prep) and delicious

 

[deer_shooter]

I do a dinner party every year with usually 20-30 people. One year I did street tacos with 3 different types of meat, traditional ground meat (antelope), spicy shredded elk (venison would work), pork al pastor (for the handful that wouldn't try game). I also put out a charcuterie plate with wild game summer sausage, pastrami and/or corned venison along with different cheeses. Have fun with it. I'm happy to share any recipes if interested. I like the pot of chili idea too, I am planning to to that this year.

 

[devon deer]

Smoke a whole shoulder and also do a giant batch of chili.

I would go with chilli, not everyone likes Venison, but I have found stick it in a chilli they will eat it, and it won't put off anyone new to it, serve with some decent rice and plenty of garlic bread on the side.
Cheers
Richard

 

[Aussie_hunter_JD]

If you have have access to a mincer I'd mince up some venison cut in 10-15% pork fat from your butcher and do a big batch of chilli (you can do 100% game in this though) Top with sour cream, fresh jalapenos, cheese and spring onion. I serve it with rice on the side and nachos or salted corn chips in lieu of forks. Game and non game eaters alike go crazy for it and it's great in cold weather.

Edit: mince is Australian for ground, over here ground is what you stand on, generally not something you would eat!

 

[Dave N]

Chili, tacos, sketti, shredded BBQ sandwiches. Any combo thereof.

 

[scubohuntr]

I would go with something that is very obviously venison, not something that hides the flavor with strong seasonings or sauces. If you have time, bresaola is pretty spectacular and easy to relate to, and almost nobody that tries it with an open mind will reject it. If you don't have that much lead time, something like hors d'eouvre sausage chunks or meatballs, or possibly stroganoff over wild rice. If you wanted to go main dish, backstrap chops with onion and sour cream is pretty accessible for venison newbies, but will probably take ten pounds or so of really good meat. Depends on how well you like these folks.

I am strongly against trying to "surprise" anyone with hidden venison, so I always tend to go with venison out front, not camouflaged in something else, and let folks try it or not, according to their own wishes.

 

[Aussie_hunter_JD]

I would go with something that is very obviously venison, not something that hides the flavor with strong seasonings or sauces. If you have time, bresaola is pretty spectacular and easy to relate to, and almost nobody that tries it with an open mind will reject it. If you don't have that much lead time, something like hors d'eouvre sausage chunks or meatballs, or possibly stroganoff over wild rice. If you wanted to go main dish, backstrap chops with onion and sour cream is pretty accessible for venison newbies, but will probably take ten pounds or so of really good meat. Depends on how well you like these folks.

I am strongly against trying to "surprise" anyone with hidden venison, so I always tend to go with venison out front, not camouflaged in something else, and let folks try it or not, according to their own wishes.

I get what you're saying "we're eating venison so make it taste that way" but I disagree if it's for non game eaters. If I had of tried that with my wife who was very apprehensive about it she would have clammed up and never tried it again. I eased her in with dishes like tacos, burgers and chilli and now she'll happily eat a steak.

The first hurdle is getting people past the idea of eating something wild. If you ease them in with something familiar you can sometimes quite literally see their guard go down and see them start enjoying it.

When you tell someone they're eating game for the first time you can damned well be sure they're scrutinising every mouthful. It's not about surprising them with what they're eating, by all means tell people, it's about surprising them with how normal game is. Serving up a plain gamey meat and saying like it or leave it and too bad is a great way to turn off some people.

 

[noharleyyet]

Regular food for the main courses with small samplings of braised or grilled assorted game presented with food picks or skewers....

 

[Dave N]

Regular food for the main courses with small samplings of braised or grilled assorted game presented with food picks or skewers....

That's a good idea as well. Maybe a batch of stew. Most people know what beef stew tastes like so they can try a bowl and compare.

 

[NEWHunter]

First, I’d go with something you’re confident cooking, you know will turn out, and you like eating (in the event you have a lot of leftovers). As many have already said, if you make a good chili, tacos, stew, meatloaf, lasagna or the like I’d go with one of those. Good solid dishes that most everyone is familiar with and will not be too different flavor wise than what your guests are used to when made with venison.

For example, I think I make a pretty good chili that most everybody likes and comes out great every time. On the other hand, I make a good lasagna but sometimes it comes out too runny and I would be a bit embarrassed to serve it to guests. In my case, I’d go chili. Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

 

[bushman13]

My family used to take a different approach. If a person was dead set against eating Bambi, we would purposefully use chili and not tell them until the 2nd or third bowl. Kind of surprised no one ever tried to kick my dad's ass over it, looking back.

I would go with chilli, not everyone likes Venison, but I have found stick it in a chilli they will eat it, and it won't put off anyone new to it, serve with some decent rice and plenty of garlic bread on the side.
Cheers
Richard

 

[BrentD]

When I used to cook for that many, I roasted a whole pig or goat or lamb. Get it out of the kitchen. Lots of fun too. I enjoyed those days.