Fish
Cooking and eating the American shad used to be part of any angler's skill set. No longer. All those bones have defeated many a would-be shad eater. But here's how to cook shad and actually enjoy it. Everything you need to know about dealing with a fish whose Latin name is "tastiest."
How-To (DIY stuff)
There is no form of fishing I am better at than bottom fishing in the ocean. And here in the West, that means rockfish (rock cod) and lingcod. Here's how to catch more, from gear to technique, to little tricks and tips that have helped me over the years.
Featured
Gruit beer, which is beer made without hops, or with hops as a minor addition, is an ancient practice that deserves to be revived using the wild edible plants all around us.
Foraging
Bracken fern lives all over the world. And most every place it lives, people eat it. Yet it's recently been branded as a carcinogen. That seems to be true, but like all things, the poison's in the dose.
Foraging
Cholla buds are edible, believe it or not. Here's how to harvest, prepare, store and eat the buds from the cholla cactus, which live in the American Southwest.
Mushrooms
Every spring I have a brief fling with my illicit lover, Amanita velosa. She is the sweetest, most lovely mushroom I've ever eaten, and I spend long hours looking for her. Here's how to safely identify this mushroom, and how to cook it.
How-To (DIY stuff)
Learning how to render duck fat isn't hard, but there are a few tricks to know. Here's how I do it with both wild or farmed ducks and geese. We also have a new video showing you the process.
Wild Game
Roast partridge, grouse or quail is a wonderful idea, but in practice the bird often comes out dry. Pan roasting is a far better way to roast game birds. This is by far the best way to cook upland birds, or small, skinny ducks like teal.
Foraging
It's time to harvest pinon pine nuts in America's West, and here's what you need to know to find, pick and process your own American pine nuts.
Berries and Fruits
Here's how to make prickly pear syrup without the sticky business of scorching and peeling the tunas, as the fruit are called. It's all in how you strain the juice...
Berries and Fruits
Manzanita berries are ripening all over California right now, but few know that they are not only edible, but are well worth your time to collect. The secret? Grind the dry, apple-like berries to make a sort of manzanita sugar.
Recipe
Verjus, or verjuice, is the juice of unripe grapes - wild or cultivated. It is a classic French alternative to vinegar, and it is pretty easy to make. Here's how.
As Seen In
