Photo by Aaron Rossenblat, Rapid City Journal
As Mountain Lion populations continue to expand, so do the hunting opportunities, with more states introducing lion hunting and other states increasing the amount of tags. Nebraska is the latest state to consider allowing the hunting of Mountain Lions. With more lions and more lion hunting, there is a increased need for the availability of Mountain Lion recipes. The Rapid City Journal recently ran a piece on a wild game cooking class by Mary Garrigan that featured Mountain Lion backstraps.
Sweet and Sour Lion
1/2 pound lion tenderloin, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 each yellow, red and green bell pepper
2 rings of pineapple, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
oil for frying
Marinate the lion meat in:
1 teaspoon soy sauce
rice wine to cover the meat
1-2 teaspoons of corn starch
Batter:
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon starch
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 egg
1 teaspoon oil
Mix batter, coat meat and fry. Set aside and drain oil.
Sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoon ketchup
1 teaspoon plum sauce
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons water
In a wok or large saucepan, brown garlic in a small amount of oil. Add peppers and pineapple. Heat for 5-10 minutes. Add sauce and let thicken. Then add meat. Serve over steamed rice.
Sesame Lion Backstrap
Marinade:
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoon sweet basil
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 mountain lion loin (backstrap)
1 pound bacon
Marinate meat for 8 hours. Roll backstrap in sesame seeds. Wrap with bacon. Tie off or skewer. Grill over medium to high heat.
For more reading on Mountain Lion recipes, Steve Rinella offers some thoughts on the matter. Happy hunting.
Try this: 1 pound mountain lion breakfast sausage cooked and drained, 2 bricks of cream cheese and one can of Rotel. Heat and serve with tortilla chips. It’s a wonderful chip dip.
Thanks, Sue. -seems to be a real shortage of Mtn Lion recipes out there.