Sometimes a hunt is more than a hunt. Sometimes it is a window into the dark reaches of this world, and the next. I came away from my Wyoming antelope hunt with a vision of courage — not by me or by any of my companions, but of the animals we pursued.
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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.
Curing Olives with Lye
Many of the olives I cure each year are done in a brine. But year after year I’ve been curing more with lye. I know it sounds scary, but it’s not – if you follow these simple instructions. The result is a buttery, firm olive that I actually prefer over the brine cured ones.
Pheasant Peperonata
Peperonata is normally a side dish of sweet peppers, onions and tomato; it’s like an Italian stir-fry. It is a perfect dish for late fall, when everyone’s peppers come ripe. I boosted this recipe up to a main course by adding a little shredded poached pheasant breast. Clean, tasty and easy.
Grilled Salmon Salad
Salmon salad. Pretty ordinary, right? My version, as you might expect, comes with a twist: It’s not made from salmon fillets. I make my salmon salad by grilling the bones after I’ve filleted the fish, then stripping the meat from the ribs for this salad. Thrifty, and awesome.
German Bacon
Germans eat a lot of smoked meats, including bacon. But I failed to find “authentic” German bacon recipes, so I made up my own. This bacon turned out so well it made me want to dance around in a dirndl. OK, maybe not. But it is damn good.
Pheasant Wings Buffalo Style
If you love buffalo wings made from chicken, all it takes to do this with pheasant wings is a little bath in some nice stock. This, my friends, is wild game football food.
Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs
Deviled eggs are one of those foods I have a hard time controlling myself with. I’ve been known to eat a dozen at a sitting, and even though I know I’ll feel ill afterwards, I can’t stop eating them. These deviled eggs, made with smoked salmon, are especially good.