Skillet Parmigiana Cutlets
Breaded wild game cutlets fried in a camp skillet and finished with tomato sauce.
- calories
- 640
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 71
- protein
- 48 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 25 min
- water
- 120 ml cold
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Canister stove
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Wild game cutlet | 12 oz | cougar, venison, or elk; whatever is in the cooler |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup | |
| Grated parmesan | 1 cup | the shelf-stable shaker kind |
| Powdered whole milk | 3 tbsp | reconstitutes to about 1 cup |
| Dried basil | 1/2 tsp | |
| Dried chives | 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt and pepper | to taste | |
| Butter | 2 tbsp | |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Tomato sauce | 1 cup | a shelf-stable pouch, or tomato paste from a tube thinned with water |
Method
- Whisk the powdered milk into 120 ml of cold water in a cup or a wide bowl. Let it sit while you handle the meat.
- Cut the cutlet into rough 2-inch squares. Lay them between two sheets of parchment or wax paper and flatten them with a bottle or a smooth rock until they are about a quarter inch thick and roughly three inches across.
- Dip each piece in the milk, then in the flour-parmesan-herb mix. Dip it back in the milk and back in the mix a second time. Two coats is what makes the crust hold.
- Melt the butter with the oil in a skillet over the fire or stove. Medium heat, not roaring. The butter should foam, not blacken.
- Fry the cutlets about two minutes a side, until the crust is set and browned. Work in batches so the pan stays hot.
- Warm the tomato sauce in the same skillet after the meat comes out, scraping up the browned bits. Spoon it over the cutlets and eat right away.
This started as a kitchen recipe with fresh parmesan and a carton of milk, neither of which survives a weekend outdoors. Powdered whole milk mixed thin does the same job as a dredging liquid, and the shaker parmesan is already dry, which is what you want in a breading anyway. The tomato sauce comes from a pouch or a paste tube rather than a jar.
The double dip is the part worth doing carefully. One pass of milk and flour slides off in the pan; two builds a crust thick enough to stay put over uneven fire heat. Pounding the meat thin matters too, since a quarter-inch cutlet cooks through in the same two minutes the crust needs to brown, and lean wild game turns to leather if you leave it in longer chasing color.
Packing
Mix the flour, parmesan, basil, chives, salt, and pepper into one bag at home. Powdered milk goes in its own small bag. The meat stays frozen at the bottom of the cooler and gets cooked the first or second night. Carry the oil in a leakproof bottle and the butter in a small tub.
Variations
- No cooler: a pouch of chicken, patted dry, takes the breading well enough.
- Skip the sauce and squeeze a lemon over the crust instead.
- Leftover cutlets, cold, are a decent lunch on a tortilla.
https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/cat-meat-anyone.209427