Around here, a meal has come to symbolize a great deal to us, viewed as a reward for hard-work put in.

Hard work put to the tending of the livestock and land, to an understanding of the legacy and geography of the mysterious Wild Horse Desert in South Texas. The flavor, a reminder of the peoples before us, and of those who paved the way through their own inscrutable work ethics. A common ground to connect with family, friends, and make new acquaintances alike. Now, as the goings get tough, we look upon recipes from our past to forge forward. This Nilgai Stew recipe can be found in our King Ranch Saddle Shop Cook Book here, among many others that will help you and yours find comfort.

If your freezer is found without Nilgai sausage or steaks, we recommend opting for a spiced pork sausage for this dish. Here, we’ve prepared the recipe over a camp fire with cast iron, but this can be done on stovetop too.

2 lbs. Nilgai Stew Meat

1 Large Onion Chopped

3 Garlic Cloves Minced

1 Bell Pepper Chopped

1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds

1/2 lb. Diced Carrots

1/2 Head Chopped Cabbage

1 8 oz. Can Tomato Sauce

Salt To Taste

Cut the stew meat into 1″ cubes, or bite size. Wash meat with vinegar and water; drain and sprinkle meat with plain tenderizer. Let set one hour of more. Brown the meat in a large iron skillet in a small amount of oil; add onion, garlic, salt, bell pepper, cumin seeds and cook until onion is transparent. Add carrots, cabbage and tomato sauce; simmer until meat is tender. Adjust spices to taste. use flour and cold water to make a paste and thicken as desired.

Recipe Courtesy of Willy Flores,
Retired Norias Cook

 

The King Ranch Cook Book

8 Comments

  • Glenn Crawford says:

    Awesome!

    • Ronald Keith Adams says:

      What is Nilgai meat?

      • Ronald Keith Adams says:

        Antelope meat, did you ever think about that during a pandemic that the meat you are suggesting is probably not readily available? Or affordable?
        Probably not!

        • Connie says:

          Did you miss the part where they recommend using spiced Pork sausage in place of Nilgal? Readily available and affordable, even during a pandemic.

        • BL says:

          Keep reading, spicy sausage great substitute

        • Waymon T says:

          Probably not readily available unless you go hunting in South Texas! But I think the hunting camps were still going strong during the pandemic. I went hunting a lot during the pandemic!

      • Shelly Pritchatd says:

        Antelope. Very mild meat and tender.

  • Susan says:

    Many hunters have a freezer full like us and do not know what to do with it…..This recipe was very helpful.