On Hanging Pheasants
Hanging upland game birds is a lot like dry-aging beef: It concentrates and refines flavors, tenderizes meat and generally transforms a pheasant from a rather boring chicken into a bird fit for a king. Here’s how to do it safely.
The Great Hollyleaf Redberry Mystery
Hollyleaf redberry is sweet, pretty and abundant. It is also a mystery. I am confident about eating this berry now, but it took some research — the kind of research anyone who dares eat something unknown ought to do before popping it into your mouth.
Loving the Unloved: Bat Rays
If there is a fish in California waters more hated than a bat ray, I don’t what it is. “Everyone” says the lowly bat ray is inedible, but I know better. After all, a ray is merely a narrow-tailed skate. And skate sells for $20 a pound — when you can find it.
Edible Amanitas: Vernicoccora
Sacramento is a haven for amanita mushrooms. Many are deadly. But not all. One, the coccora, is among the finest-tasting mushrooms in the world. But be very careful.
White Sturgeon and Fine Dining
Fine dining is a high-wire act, a balance between art, technique and flavor. Miss one element, and the dish fails. This dish, I am proud to say, did not fail.
Wild Duck Hot Dogs
I didn’t set out to make a wild duck hot dog. All I wanted to do was make an all-duck sausage, and that means you need to emulsify it, like a hot dog. Who knew my spice mix was the secret of hot dogs?
Eating Santa’s Shroom
Amanita muscaria can be a hallucinatory mushroom, a possible symbol of Santa and his flying reindeer. But it also can be eaten safely, if you do it right. So I decided to take a Christmas trip down the rabbit hole…
On Plucking Birds
To pluck or skin? It’s a question all bird hunters face. Most of a bird’s distinctive flavor is in its skin and fat, but plucking can be tricky. Here’s how to go about it.
Dessert, from the Mountain
I rarely make elaborate desserts, but the abundance of my foraging spot in the high Sierra has been so amazing I made an exception: Almost every ingredient on this plate comes from within a few miles of every other.
Cooking Blue Camas
Blue Camas, camassia quamash, has been a staple of the Northwest Indians for centuries, but few modern cooks have experimented with this edible bulb. Here are the results of my experiments.
