Pronghorn Steak Sandwich With

Avocado Pesto Recipe

A 12 Gauge Girl www.huntingandcooking.com

INGREDIENTS:

Avocado Basil Pesto

1 avocado

2 cups basil

1 clove garlic

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup pecans

1/3 cup grated parmesan

Salt and pepper

Everything Bagel Crusted Pronghorn Steak Sandwich

Sourdough Bread

1 pound pronghorn steak (or elk, deer, moose, etc)

Everything Bagel seasoning

1 Tablespoon oil

3 heirloom tomatoes

4 eggs

INSTRUCTIONS:

Avocado Basil Pesto

In a food processor, chop the avocado and basil until broken up.

Add full clove of garlic and pulse until chopped.

Mix in pecans, lemon juice, and parmesan cheese. Blend until mixture is like coarse salt.

With food processor running, slowly drizzle in olive oil until desired consistency is reached.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Everything Bagel Crusted Pronghorn Steak Sandwich

To cook pronghorn, preheat oven to 500 degrees.

In a skillet able to be transferred to the oven, heat a tablespoon of oil (I just used olive because it was already out but any cooking oil is fine) to medium high heat.

Generously season the pronghorn steak with the Everything Bagel seasoning. Drop into hot pan and brown each side for about three minutes per side (based on about a 1 and 1/2” thick steak, decrease time if steak is thinner and increase if steak is thicker).

Place the entire skillet into the oven for five minutes to finish cooking the pronghorn.

Let the meat rest for 8-10 minutes before thinly slicing for sandwiches.

Toast slices of sourdough bread.

Generously coat one slice with the avocado basil pesto.

Place three slices of heirloom tomato slices and then pile high with sliced pronghorn steak.

For the fried egg: Fry eggs to medium so the whites are cooked but the yolk is still runny. Typical fry time for an egg to reach medium over a medium level of heat is about five minutes (three minutes the first side, flip and two minutes the second side).

Top the sandwich with a fried egg, slice to let the yolk run all over, and enjoy!!!

How To Avoid Buck Fever

(continued from page 13)

One time I hunted for 3 days in Saskatchewan and never saw a buck. Six hours into the fourth day I heard a branch crack, then one snort. I raised my .270 in the nick of time to shoot a 150-inch non-typical that raced past my stand. It can happen that fast, so look and listen for bucks. One good thing about a quickie hunt is that you don’t have time to get buck fever. If you’re ready, you just react and shoot. Watch a Buck. Let’s say you spot a huge buck 150 yards out, angling toward your stand. Do not, I repeat, do not take your eyes off the deer. If you look down at your bow or gun for just a second you might look back up and he’ll be gone, down in a ditch, behind a hump, whatever. It might take you a couple of minutes to find the buck again. Heck, you may never see him again. Try a sort of double vision. Watch a buck with one eye and with your other eye look 20 yards ahead of him for holes in the cover to shoot. Start planning a shot as far in advance as possible. Also, read a buck’s body language. Things are good when a big deer strolls along with his head down. But if a buck is alert and nervous, looking all around, you’ve got to be extra careful. He’ll bust you in a second.

Don’t watch a rack. A surefire way to catch the fever and shakes is to spot a giant buck and then gape at his rack. The more you count tines, gauge mass and guesstimate score, the more your heart pounds. You start to hyperventilate. Your legs turn to jelly. The closer a buck comes, the bigger his rack looks. Keep watching it and you might lose it! Once you spot a shooter, don’t look at his rack again. Pick a spot of hair on a buck’s side and watch that instead. It helps you stay calm and get ready for the shot. Move when you can. When you spot a buck a good way off, grab your bow and stand up slowly. You’ll probably want to sit in a stand and shoot a gun, so simply twist your body in the deer’s direction. When a buck pops out of the cover within 100 yards, be careful. But not too careful. The second he turns his head away or sticks it behind a tree or patch of brush go for it. Move smoothly and quietly, but don’t be tentative. You’ve got to get into shooting position early, before a buck gets tight and pins you down. Freeze if you have to. If a buck looks your way freeze! He might have spotted a flicker of movement, or whiffed a few of your scent molecules or simply sensed that something is amiss. Whatever, he’s wired and ready to bolt. Wait until the deer settles down and drops or turns his head before moving again. If he stays wired, stay frozen. You might have to let him walk past or beneath your stand. Make your final move as he quarters away.

Close the sale. So far so good. You’re sitting pretty with a muzzleloader or rifle pointed at a wall-hanger. Well, what are you waiting for? Take a deep breath and take the buck as soon as he is in range and you have a clear view of his heart/lung vitals. Every second that you wait, the chances of something going wrong are magnified. Shoot when you can! An archer must be slick when a big deer is inside 30 yards. Don’t draw your bow when a buck is quartering on. He’ll look up and bust you. Wait until he turns broadside or walks away. And don’t pull the string until he looks away or runs his head behind a tree or brush. Bore your eye through the peep and onto that spot of hair you’ve been watching all this time. Aim just behind a buck’s front leg and a third of the way up his body. Take a deep breath. Focus on a smooth release and total follow-through. Keep watching that hair patch until your arrow’s fletching disappears into it. A deer shot through the lungs with a bullet or a broadhead won’t go far...

Josh Kirchner courtesy Vortex Optics www.vortexoptics.com