Rachel Knickrehm owns Wild West Bakery in Eagle and studied cooking in Canada and at BSU.

Jim Allen of Meridian is a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel and a hunter education instructor.

At first glance, they might not seem to have much in common, but both enjoy turning wild game into mouth-watering meals.

"My mom was a dietitian and she was convinced boys should learn how to cook," Allen said. "We ate a lot of wild game, so we worked on that."

Knickrehm grew up on a farm in Vale, Ore., where her father, brothers, and other relatives provided a steady supply of wild game.

Cooking with game brings a different flavor to every dish, she said. Whatever the animal ate affects the flavor of its meat, so there's always an element of surprise.

Because game is so lean, you can also manipulate the flavor of your dishes by adding fat, such as bacon.

Allen said too many people try to hide the flavor of their game and end up ruining it.

"I try to bring the flavor of the game out and make meals that people will enjoy," he said.

I met Knickrehm and Allen at a wild game cooking clinic sponsored by the University of Idaho Extension Agency.

I'm always trying to improve my cooking skills and help others do the same because hunters who use the old adage "the fun is over once you pull the trigger" should spend more time in the kitchen.

Cooking a great meal made from wild game is the perfect way to cap a successful hunt. It's also a great way to share the experience with others.

So I borrowed a few of Knickrehm and Allen's recipes and added a couple of my own for one simple reason: If I can cook a tasty meal with game, anyone can.

Rachel's recipes

Elk chasseur

Four 5- to 6-ounce sirloin elk steaks.

cup of flour

teaspoon salt

teaspoon pepper

Five strips of bacon, diced

One or two shallots, minced fine

Five or six sliced button mushrooms

Two cups of port wine

One bunch of green onions, chopped

One diced tomato

€ to cup of instant brown gravy mix

Salt and pepper to taste

Lightly sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper on both sides and dredge them in flour. Set aside. Add diced bacon to a saute pan and cook on low heat until the fat is rendered.

Turn heat up and sear steaks in bacon fat on both sides and then remove and set on a sheet pan. Put the steaks in the oven at 300 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Add shallots and bacon to the saute pan and lightly cook until translucent. Add mushrooms and saute for one to two minutes until soft. Add a little more flour and stir until all flour is absorbed. Add port and stir to get any bits off the bottom of the pan. Add gravy mix and stir. If mixture becomes too thick, add water to thin it out.

To finish the sauce, add green onions and tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. When steaks have reached desired doneness, add them back to sauce.

Elk sausage with blue cheese and caramelized apples and onions

Four elk sausages or about a pound of patty sausage

One yellow onion, sliced into thin strips

One apple peeled, cored and diced

Three to four tablespoons of oil

Three to four tablespoons of stoneground mustard

Pinch of sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

cup of blue cheese

Four sandwich rolls

Put sausages in oven at 325 degrees or brown in frying pan with patty sausage.

Heat oil in saute pan. Add onions and cook until very soft, stirring occasionally. Add apples and sugar and cook until browning occurs. Add mustard and finish with salt and pepper to taste.

Remove sausages from the oven or frying pan. Put blue cheese on one side of the roll and and put it in the oven until the cheese is melted. Remove the rolls from the oven, top with sausage, onion and apple mixture.

Jim's recipes

Baked wild game stew

Two pounds of lean stew meat cut into 1- to 2-inch cubes

Six medium carrots. cut into strips

Three medium potatoes peeled and quartered

One medium onion. sliced into rings

One cup of diced, canned tomatoes

One small green pepper, diced

One cup water or red wine

3 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca

cup soft bread crumbs

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Put into a 3-quart covered baking dish and bake at 325 degrees for 3 hours and or until meat is tender.

Fryin' meat and gravy

Deer, elk or other big game steaks (as many as you want to cook)

Butter or olive oil

Cream of mushroom soup

Flour

Cooked rice

Cut your meat into pieces about 4 to 6 inches square. Coat with flour and season to taste. Brown in either butter or olive oil.

Pour in a can of cream of mushroom soup and simmer until tender, usually about 30 minutes. Serve over rice.

Gulf Coast duck breasts

About four duck breasts, filleted off bone and skinless

One onion

One bell pepper

Butter

€ cup soy sauce

--cup Worcestershire sauce

1 cup dry white wine

Flour

Two eggs

cup of milk

Cooking oil

For marinade: Dice the bell pepper and onion and saute the mixture in a couple tablespoons of butter. Stir in soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, white wine and 1 cup of water. Bring to a simmer.

Cool to room temperature and add teaspoon of sugar and stir.

Cut duck breasts to 1 inch cubes and pound flat with a meat mallet. Place meat in marinade for 4 to 6 hours.

When you're ready to cook, mix salt and pepper and about a cup of flour in a pie plate.

In a separate bowl, mix two eggs and cup of milk.

Pour a good puddle of cooking oil in a deep frying pan. Heat to medium high heat.

Drag the meat through the flour mixture, shake it off and then dip it in the milk and egg mixture. Set it in the hot oil. Cook about three minutes turning at least once. Do not overcook the meat.

Roger's recipes

Dutch oven gamebird breasts

(Add or subtract anything you like; it's my recipe, but it's your dinner.)

Two duck and two pheasant breasts (because that's what I had. You can use any gamebird, and use more if you have them.)

Allegro Game Tame marinade

a baseball-sized white onion

Chopped cilantro (as much as you like)

Four pieces of cooked bacon

1 cup of uncooked rice

One 14-ounce can of chicken broth

Soy sauce (€ cup? I just dumped it in until the broth turned light brown.)

One teaspoon of liquid hickory smoke

Marinate the breasts for at least four hours in Game Tame. (If you don't have any, use a mixture of half soy sauce and half cooking oil and some lemon or lime juice.)

Start 20 charcoal briquets (This is for a 10-inch Dutch oven, if yours is larger or smaller, add or subtract. You want it to heat to about 350 degrees.)

Chop the onion and cilantro and put it in the Dutch oven

Fry the bacon and remove it from the frying pan. Set the pan aside and don't throw out the grease. Chop the cooked bacon and add it to Dutch oven.

Add 1 cup of rice, chicken broth, soy sauce and liquid smoke to the Dutch oven.

Stir until it's mixed and well distributed in the bottom of the Dutch oven.

Take bird breasts and salt and pepper to taste, add other spices if you like, and then brown the breasts in the hot bacon grease.

Set the breasts on top of the other stuff in the Dutch oven. Don't let the breasts touch the sides or bottom of the Dutch oven and don't stack bird breasts on top of each other.

Put the lid on the Dutch oven and put 14 briquets on top and six on bottom. Cook for 40 to 45 minutes.

Quick Fry Goose Breasts

Goose breasts

Allegro Game Tame marinade

Krusteaz bake/fry mix

Canola oil

Mongolian fire oil

Sesame seeds

Cut the breasts across the grain into ‹-inch to -inch thick steaks.

Marinate at least four hours in Game Tame.

In a 10-inch frying pan, mix 3 tablespoons of canola oil and one tablespoon of Mongolian fire oil. Preheat oil on medium heat.

Coat both side of the steaks with Krusteaz Bake Fry mix.

Cook 1 to 2 minutes per side. There should be a narrow streak of pink in the middle when the steak is sliced open.

Remove steaks from pan, dip in sesame seeds and serve.