Salmon and Trout
Smoked Lake Trout
Smoking a lake trout (a/k/a mackinaw) is a lot like smoking a salmon, but I recently had the chance to smoke a couple fish in Manitoba, Canada with some Cree Indians and learned a lot about the process.
Recipe
Louisiana Boudin Sausage
Boudin, the ultimate Cajun comfort food. Not quite a sausage, boudin is more like jambalaya in a hog casing. You eat it on crackers or just by hand, right out of the casing. I learned how to make it at Legnon's in Lafayette, and here's my version.
Fish
Smoked Sablefish
It's time to catch black cod, a/k/a sablefish or butterfish out here in the North Pacific. If you've ever eaten this fish, it's like eating silk -- mild, velvety and just a little oily. This means it's perfect for smoking.
Fish
New England Style Fried Clams
I love fried clams. A lot. Maybe too much. My sisters will attest to this. Well, this is how they make fried clams in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, where I've been eating giant baskets of them since at least 1974. This recipe is so good you'll want to head out to the clam flats ASAP.
Preservation Recipes
Pickled Fiddleheads
Catching the ephemeral fiddlehead is a tricky business, and I find that pickling them is a great way of preserving this zephyr of spring. This is an old-style brine pickle, lacto-fermented with no vinegar.
Charcuterie
Smoked Boneless Turkey Breast
Wild turkey meat can get dry if you don't do things just right. But a long brine and a cool smoke does wonders for the breast meat. Trussing improves things even more, and the result is a primo sandwich meat for your lunches!
Fish
Smoked Sturgeon
It's sturgeon time here in the West, and whether you catch your own or buy farm-raised fish, smoked sturgeon is one of the great smoked fish of the world. Here's how I make it.
Recipe
Bear Fat Buttermilk Biscuits
There is a legend among a certain set of pastry chefs about the miraculous qualities of rendered bear fat in pastry. Well, it's true. While these may be pretty classic buttermilk biscuits, they are the flakiest you will ever eat.
Wild Game
Chipotle Deer Jerky
Jerky seems so simple, but the difference between good jerky and great jerky is profound. At last, I think I've finally made a great jerky!
Southern
Creole Turtle Soup
What do you do when a friend drop ships you a dead snapping turtle? You make Creole turtle soup, that's what. One of the weirdest things to land on my doorstep become one of my favorite new soups...
Ducks and Geese
Wood Duck and Acorn Dumplings
Wood ducks are both beautiful and tasty; and if you know much about them, you know they love acorns above all else. So I felt I needed to make a wood duck recipe that highlighted that. Wood duck, with acorn dumplings and a winter salsa.
Wild Game
Kentucky Burgoo
Every region of the country has its big, burly stew, from gumbo to chili to cioppino. This is a Kentucky classic, done with a menagerie of wild game: Pheasant, squirrel and venison. Make a big ole' bowl this weekend and you won't be sad.
