Mountain Lion Green Chile Stew

Wanting to know my food sources more intimately was exactly why I started hunting a decade ago, and remains an integral aspect of my hunting ethic. And since becoming a hunter, I have been practicing “venison diplomacy.” Even in the tensest situations, I’ve found you can reach most anyone’s heart through their stomach. Nothing warms people up to the idea of knowing exactly where your food came from like sharing a tasty meal.

So when the good folks at Wyoming Wildlife Federation asked me to make a dish for their Sportsmen’s Reception at the Capitol during the legislative session last winter, I was thrilled to create a dish in support of their work on amending wanton waste laws in Wyoming. 

This law would require hunters to remove edible portions of animals defined as “trophy game” – black bears, mountain lions, and gray wolves; in theory, grizzly bears, as well – from the field. These animals are not often viewed as “good eating” and historically haven’t found their way to many tables.  My goal was to create a dish that would help change hunters’ perception and show carnivores can “wow” on a dinner table as well as elk or mule deer do, and to show the non-hunting voters of Wyoming we appreciate all our quarry from field to table.

Thanks to a generous donation of mountain lion meat from Luke Ellsbury of Cody, some “intelligent tinkering” happened in my kitchen, and this recipe is the result. It’s great any time of year but will warm you right down to the bones in winter especially. If you don’t have mountain lion meat available, other options that would work include javelina, blue grouse or rabbit. You will want to select a meat moderately flavored and lighter in color than, say, Canada goose or elk liver, but not so mild that it gets drowned out in a dish with strong flavors and a low-and-slow cooking strategy. 

Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of mountain lion meat: any cut is fine, but hams or shoulders are ideal

• 2 large or 6 small tomatillos, halved

• 12 to 15 hatch chiles

• Alternate: 7 ounces of diced green chile

• 1 tsp black pepper

• 2 tsp garlic powder

• 3 tsp ground cumin

• 1 yellow onion, diced

• 3+ garlic cloves

• 1 packet of fatty bacon

• 2 cups of chicken stock

• 1 bottle of Modelo Negra

• 14 ounce can of green chile enchilada sauce

• 3 bay leaves

• 1 tsp dried marjoram

• 2-3 large Russet potatoes

• 4 tbsp flour

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter

Materials

• Instant Pot

• Knife

• Frying pan (non-stick)

• Ladle 

Directions

1. If using hatch chiles and tomatillos: cut the tomatillos in half and broil all these together on a cookie sheet in the oven until blackened. You may also get the char by grilling these at a high temperature.

2. Once char-broiled, put them into the food processor with a little bit of warm water. Blend until very smooth.

3. Cook the packet of bacon in a pan over medium-low heat, ensuring it releases as much fat as possible into the pan. Once the fat has all melted, enjoy a little chef’s snack.

4. Cube the mountain lion meat into pieces not greater than 2 inches in their largest measurement. Sprinkle the meat with the pepper, cumin, and garlic powder, and mix well by hand.

5. Chop the onion and mince the garlic. Add the bacon grease to the Instant Pot. Set to medium or high (depending on the model of Instant Pot you have) “saute” mode. Add the onion, garlic, and seasoned, cubed meat into the pot. Brown well; at least 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure even browning.

6. Add the beer, enchilada sauce, slurry of tomatillos (and/or hatch chiles; if not using hatches, add the diced green chile at this time), bay leaves, and marjoram to the pot. Slowly add the chicken stock. Note: you may not use all of the stock; if you do, your volume will be approaching the maximum capacity of an Instant Pot, so adjust as needed and stir carefully.

7. Put the lid on the Instant Pot and set the vent so it is open, i.e., able to release steam. Change to “slow cook” mode on medium or high (again, depending on the model of Instant Pot you have) for an absolute minimum of 3 hours. After 3 hours, you may open the lid and check the consistency of the meat.

Note: due to risk of trichinosis, it is of utmost importance that you cook mountain lion meat at an adequate temperature for an adequate amount of time. While the conventional wisdom of achieving an internal temperature of 160*F is certainly a good benchmark, the minimum internal temperature to eliminate Trichinella varies based on how long you hold the meat at that temperature. You can find the FDA’s guidance online—but when in doubt, for this dish, it’s better to err on the side of cooking at a higher temperature for a longer time.

1. When the meat has begun to fall apart or can easily be torn apart, add the potatoes. Potato pieces should be about 1 inch in their greatest dimension. Let the stew simmer until potato pieces are fork-tender.

2. Make a roux with the butter and flour. Remove the roux from the heat source when it’s “coffee with a small splash of creamer” color – what might be called a light brown roux – and pour it into the stew then mix. Serve hot with the rest of the Modelo Negra bottles.