Spring is here and you’re back in the woods listening for thundering gobbles of love-sick toms, searching for antler sheds as the snow-line rises, and chasing black bears as they begin shaking off their winter rust.
With all this running around, it’s easy to work up a big appetite, but the last thing you want to do is spend a ton of time cooking. Whether you’re around a campfire or your kitchen at home, this Spring Venison Cutlet recipe is a quick, fresh meal that’s sure to fuel your next outing in the sunshine.
While we used venison as the primary protein, you can substitute almost any wild game or fowl of your choice. And if you’re feeling up to the challenge, keep an eye out this spring for non-game ingredients from the woods to make this entire meal truly ‘Field to Table’.

The first main ingredient to keep an eye out for this spring are Morel mushrooms. These prized mushrooms are found across most of the U.S. and Canada in burns from the previous year and usually require a bit of gentle cleaning to get all the grit out. Get yourself a mushroom book if you don't know what you’re looking for and be sure to identify them properly.
Spring onions are another wild ingredient to look for. These are easy to find on sunny slopes early in the season and you can usually smell them as you trample them while out bear hunting. Spring onions are similar to a green onion, you can use the green parts in just about any application. They make a great addition to a Mountain House meal or tossed into whatever you are cooking back home. In this recipe you can easily swap out the chives for spring onions.
Lastly, and this one is a bit trickier to locate, is wild asparagus. You can usually stumble across patches of the stuff in the fall after it has become woody, but it bears no resemblance to the asparagus we all know. A quick google search will turn up some more pointers on how and where to find wild asparagus.
If you can’t find any of these items while out in the woods, don’t sweat it. The more mainstream options from the grocery store still work and taste great.