How to Find Venison and Wild Game Recipes on The Sporting Chef

Updated

The Sporting Chef (sportingchef.com) is the recipe site of Scott Leysath, a wild game and fish cooking authority. You can find recipes for venison, wild fowl, fish, and other game by browsing the site's recipe sections and popular recipe list, and you can get a free "Dead Meat" ebook by entering your email. The site is best suited to hunters and anglers who already have game meat on hand and want preparation methods, marinades, and sauces rather than basic cooking instruction.

What the site covers

The Sporting Chef focuses on "the proper preparation of wild caught fish and wild game." Its content is organized around ingredient types and recipe collections rather than a single searchable database. From the site's own listings, you can expect:

  • Venison — the site's stated specialty, including shoulder, neck, and hindquarter cuts
  • Wild fowl — duck, pheasant, chukar, and squirrel
  • Fish and seafood — including invasive species like lionfish
  • Seasonal and holiday menus — Easter, Fourth of July, and Lent collections

Finding recipes by ingredient

The most direct route is the "Our Most Popular Recipes" list, which names specific dishes and the cut or animal they use. Examples shown on the site include:

Recipe Ingredient
Smoked Pulled Venison Shoulder or Neck Roast Venison
Apple-Braised Neck Roast Venison
Venison Hindquarter Roast — Texas-Style Oven Method Deer, elk, moose, or antelope
Pheasant with Parmesan Mushroom Cream Sauce Pheasant
Chicken Fried Duck Breast Duck
Simple Squirrel Recipe (Hillbilly squirrel & gravy over rice) Squirrel
Spicy Marinated Grilled Chukar Chukar

If you have a specific cut, scan this list first — it maps dishes to the animal and the cooking method, so you can match what's in your freezer to a recipe instead of searching by name.

Recipes with video

Some recipes come with companion video. The site references full episodes of the Sporting Chef TV show and behind-the-scenes content for the "Dead Meat" series, including a Florida episode on invasive lionfish with two preparations (Lionfish Ceviche and Lionfish Tacos). If you prefer watching a technique before trying it — breaking down a hindquarter, for example — look for the recipe entries that link to episodes.

Extra resources

  • Free "Dead Meat" ebook — the site offers it in exchange for your email address, first name, and consent. This is a subscription step, not an open download.
  • Social channels — the site links to Instagram accounts for Jason the Butcher, Ranch America, Tommy the Fishmonger, Sporting Chef, and Dead Meat, where additional recipes and clips appear.
  • TV access — full episodes are noted as "Brought to you by MyOutdoorTV," so some video content sits behind that platform rather than on the site itself.

Practical tips

  • Start with the popular recipes list; it's the closest thing to an index the site provides.
  • Match the recipe to your exact cut. A neck roast and a hindquarter roast use different methods even though both are venison.
  • If a recipe references a video episode, check whether it's hosted on the site or on MyOutdoorTV before counting on it.
  • The email signup is the only stated way to get the free ebook — there's no indication it's downloadable without providing an address.