Perfect Wild Game Cooking

Remi Warren Shares New Line Of Game-Specific Spices & Cooking Tips

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“The harder you work for something, the better it’s going to taste,” Remi Warren says as he espouses the virtues of game meat. “When I shoot my own elk there's this experiential part of it. Like I provided for myself, knowing that I worked hard for it. And there's nothing sweeter than that.”

But the avid backcountry hunter and Outdoor Channel host’s feelings of accomplishment were slowly diminished when he took a hard look at the seasonings he was using on the meat he’d harvested. 

“I’ve got some of the best meat on the planet and then I look at what I’m putting on it, and it’s just filled with garbage I can’t pronounce,” he says. “I’d eat elk and I’d feel so good, and then I’d put a bunch of seasoning that had all this stuff in it, and I’m just degrading the quality of what I’m eating.”

After a deep dive into what was in his spice cabinet, Warren found spices using nasty pesticides, filled with heavy metals like arsenic, lead, and mercury—things we’d never put in our bodies otherwise, but accept as part of a seasoning mix. So, he started Live Wild Spice Company which makes a line of spices as clean as the meat it’s intended for. 

Remi The Backcountry Hunter

Remi Warren was born in rural northern Nevada, in the mountainous terrain outside Reno. He was first introduced to the outdoors through backpacking trips with his grandmother. As a young teenager, he gained an appreciation for hunting and realized he could combine his two outdoor passions by tracking deer and elk through the backcountry.

“I never knew anyone actually ‘backcountry hunted,’” he says, making air quotes with his fingers. “The first time was just me and my dad on a deer hunt, packed in, camped at a lake, caught some fish. We didn’t even get any deer but that was the initial step and we’ve been doing it ever since.”

His career as a backcountry hunting guide led to gigs as host of Apex Predator and Solo Hunters for the Outdoor Channel. And with that celebrity has come countless appearances on podcasts and partnerships with numerous outdoor and conservation organizations. He’s also gained a deep appreciation for the value of game meat.

Field-To-Table Notes

Warren is an avid eater of the game he kills, to the point he no longer buys meat to eat at home. And since he’s eating game all the time, he’s constantly finding ways to make it delicious.

“When I had somebody cook wild game, it tasted terrible. It was always this gamey, very strong flavor and it was really tough,” he says. “So, people have this bad connotation. Then I realized that most of that was just based on the preparation. It was overcooked and or was prepped badly in the field.”

Making wild game taste good, he says, begins as soon as the animal falls. The first thing he recommends is cooling the meat down immediately, which means skinning the animal right away so the heat can evaporate.

For larger game, he uses a “gutless method,” quartering the animal on the ground, hanging it to cool, and ensuring it stays clean, cool, and dry. If the weather is warm, he’ll de-bone the animal in the field, too, because heat can get trapped near bones. Then he’ll hang it in game bags to get air circulating around the meat, limiting the growth of bacteria.

“You could take the best Wagyu beef and if you gutted it in the heat and then threw it in the back of your truck and drove around without skinning it for a day, it would taste like garbage,” he advises. 

Spicing & Cooking It Up

Making sure the meat stays tasty is only half the battle. Game meat also has to be cooked properly and seasoned with the right stuff. That’s where Warren’s line of Live Wild spices comes in, which he’s blended specifically to accent the unique and underappreciated flavors of game.

The spices are all 100% organic, without added salt or preservatives. They’re packaged in dark, resealable bags that keep light from degrading the spices, and make them easy to stuff in a field bag for backcountry expeditions. Warren says his favorite is the Bazaar-B-Q, which he based on a mysterious seasoning packet he found in Kyrgyzstan.

“We got these sheep and brought them back to camp and were cooking on coals,” he remembers. “We had this seasoning packet, it was all in Russian, but we coated the meat in it and put it on the coals and it was the best thing ever.” 

When he returned to the United States, he translated the packet and found it was filled with “absolute poison.” So, he spent months trying to duplicate the flavors (minus the chemicals) and ultimately came up with the Bazaar-B-Q blend. Warren says he likes it on backstraps and sirloins.

Carne Cazador is Live Wild’s Southwestern/Mexican blend, which Warren recommends for taco seasoning or even a chili starter. 

“It’s really good for browning meat, or anything you’re going to slow cook,” he says. “Or as a base for chili, we’ll put that on the meat then add it with tomatoes, tomato sauce, and beans.”

Finally, Warren recommends the citrus pepper blend to help tenderize meats—especially tougher game cuts. But it’s also great on fish, chicken, or wings in much the same way you’d use traditional lemon pepper.

Obviously, Warren says the spices are great for anything, even if you haven’t gotten on the game train yet. But they’ll still never taste as good as the satisfaction of killing your own dinner.

“That flavor of success, that working hard for it?” he says. “That seasoning is the best flavor you can get.”

For more information on Remi Warren’s spices company, visit livewildspices.com. 

Remi Warren’s Elk Asada Recipe

Start with an elk or wild game whole sirloin (or similar cut) sliced thin.

Marinade

Use a blender or food processor to make the marinade with:

• 1 Anaheim chili

• 2/3 cup avocado oil

• 3 cloves of garlic

Once blended, mix in:

• 2 tablespoons of Live Wild Carne

Cazador Seasoning

• 1/3 cup of chopped cilantro

• Squeeze in one lime

Let it marinate 1 to 8 hours (I prefer using a chamber vac sealer for this process)

Method

• Heat the grill at 485 to 500 degrees. Going hot and fast is best, 2 to 4 minutes per side or until desired doneness.

• Heat tortillas on an oiled skillet and top tortillas with Asada, grilled poblano, and bell peppers.

• As an added bonus, add sauteed onions made in butter, oil, and additional Carne Cazador seasoning mixed in.