Recipes from the 1979 Pennsylvania Game Cookbook
- Yen Ho
- Nov 20
- 5 min read
As I was searching around the Web for anything worthy to write about, I came across an old cookbook that talked about recipes I never heard of. When I read closer into these recipes, I realized these recipes are not the traditional recipes you would not usually find in a store. What surprised me was that there were recipes written and created by an Ambler resident at that time. So I wonder... why make these recipes? How important was this for people?
History of Wild Game Cooking
People have been cooking game meat for thousands of years as a way of survival. If traditional livestock were not available, wild game would be the only resource of protein available to hunt.
One of the most well-known early examples we know from history was from the Native Americans: hunting was part of their rituals and religious practices. In some parts of the United States, bison and elk were animals hunted by particular Native American groups not only for food but also for clothing and shelter.
For the Lenape Indians who once lived in our area during early America, they not only hunt for game but they also fished and hunted fowl. This means they hunted a variety of animals instead of one specific animal.
"In order to hunt game, the Lenape did not run after them with spears, as cartoons often inaccurately depict. Rather, they would first set fire to a portion of the forest, which would cause the animals to flee into traps. This method was efficient in capturing the game because it did not require too much energy to catch them. ‘Fire surround’ could have easily had a detrimental effect to the natural environment. However, the Lenape spread the ashes of the trees on the ground to ensure that the soil was rejuvenated and would remain fertile. In doing so, they consequently found a way to utilize the ashes that resulted from the fire and protected one of the most precious resources they had which would be vital for growing agriculture in the future: earth."
- Leora Margelovich, "Land of the Lenapes: Hunting and Gathering."
Fast forward to the 20th century, hunting became a popular recreational activity for many people, including for the wealthy class. The joy of hunting wild game as an activity gained the attention from everyone, but not everyone was happy about it. Conservation groups began to form as there was a rise in overhunting on the wild game population.
As a result, the 1970s introduced regulations and restrictions on wild game hunting from the federal government to prevent overexploitation. In order to maintain the survival of game animals, bag limits, hunting seasons, and licensing requirements were implemented. For Pennsylvania, they already implemented these regulations when they established the state's Game Commission in 1895.
The PGC Created a Cookbook
Many people from all parts of Pennsylvania were requesting game recipes to be included in the Pennsylvania Game News. When people's recipes were included in the magazine, they received positive feedback. Everyone enjoyed learning about tasty ways of preparing game. The people at the Game News were asked to send in their favorite recipes to be included in their first edition cookbook written in 1979. They made sure they included all types of wild game and different cooking techniques used to cook them. They found nearly 200 recipes!
In 2014, the PGC published a new cookbook with new recipes created by local Pennsylvanians.
Recipes from an Ambler Resident
There were four recipes written in the 1979 Game News magazine by the same resident from Ambler.
Venison Casserole
2 cups leftover venison 1⁄2 cup peas
1 ⁄2 cup carrots
1 ⁄2 cup green beans
1 ⁄8 teaspoon each: salt, pepper, garlic salt
1 ⁄2 teaspoon parsley flakes pinch of oregano
Cut venison roast in thin slices, then into 1-inch squares. Put vegetables in casserole with meat. Chop 1 small onion, saute 3 minutes and add to meat. Cover with sauce and bake 45 minutes in 350° oven.
Sauce: heat together:
1 can mushroom soup (undiluted)
1/4-ounce can drained mushrooms
1 cup of leftover gravy
all seasonings
1 1 ⁄2 cups of cooked noodles (optional)
Deerstalker's Pie
(leftover meat)
2 to 3 cups cubed cooked venison
4 slices bacon
2 large chopped onions
2 thinly sliced carrots
venison gravy or beef bouillon
1 ⁄2 cup red wine
salt, pepper and garlic salt to taste
1 ⁄4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 to 2 cups mashed potatoes
2 tablespoons butter or oleo
Put cubed meat in a pyrex baking dish. Fry the bacon in a large skillet. Remove bacon and crumble it and add to venison. In the bacon fat, cook onions and carrots over medium heat until onions are soft. Add to meat. Mix wine to gravy (should be about a cup). Stir in seasonings and pour over meat and vegetables. Cover with mashed potatoes and dot with butter. Bake at 425° for 25 to 30 minutes, until top is lightly browned.
Fricasee of Pheasant
2 pheasants cut in pieces
6 slices bacon
3 tablespoons flour
salt and pepper
2 cups of water
Place bacon in skillet. When some fat is extracted, add pheasant parts and brown well on all sides. Add flour, salt, pepper, stir well until blended. Add 2 cups water and stir until the gravy boils. Cover and simmer until meat is tender, about 2 hours.
Squirrel Stew
1 ⁄2 cup vinegar
1 3 ⁄4 teaspoons mixed spices
1 diced onion
celery leaves from 3 stalks
3 ⁄4 teaspoon salt
1 ⁄4 teaspoon pepper
2 diced carrots
Wash dressed squirrel thoroughly and cut into serving pieces. Combine the first four ingredients in deep pot. Add squirrel and cover with water. Let stand 3 hours. Drain squirrel, brown in 375° oven. Add remaining ingredients and again cover with water. Cover and continue cooking until tender.
Bibliography
"A History Timeline About Wild Game." History Timelines. Accessed June 15, 2025. http://historytimelines.co/timeline/wild-game.
Margelovich, Leora. "Land of the Lenapes: Hunting and Gathering." Science and Technology in New York City (blog). September 30, 2013. https://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/muehlbauer2013/?p=101.
Pifer, Doug. Pennsylvania Game Cookbook. (Harrisburg: The Pennsylvania Game Commission, 1979): 4, 29, 33, 66, 81.
Schneck, Marcus. "Pennsylvanians' recipes pack new Game Cookbook from Pennsylvania Game Commission." Penn Live. Last modified December 5, 2014. https://www.pennlive.com/pa-sportsman/2014/12/pennsylvanians_recipes_pack_ne.html.
"The History of Game Meat." KZN Game Meat. Last modified May 8, 2023. https://kznmeats.co.za/the-history-of-game-meat/.
"Who We Are." The Pennsylvania Game Commission. Accessed June 15, 2025. https://www.pa.gov/agencies/pgc/about-us/about-the-pgc.html.
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