Recipe

Maple Bourbon Sauce

I am kind of in love with this gravy. Maple and bourbon sing together like McCartney and Lennon, and in summer I love me my maple-bourbon BBQ sauce. But it's winter, time for gravy. Paired with roast duck, it's a winnah...

Pheasant, Grouse, Quail

Pheasant with Apples

There is something about the combination of poultry and apples that just sings. This dish, Pheasant Normandy, is loaded with apple flavor and is larded with butter and cream. It requires no special technique or esoteric ingredients -- it's pure comfort food, and all it asks of you is a little time.

Venison

Venison Stir Fry

Yes, this is a generic name for a dish, but the exact veggies I used aren't the important part: The important part of this recipe is a Chinese cooking technique called "velveting." If you are a wild game cook, you need to learn this trick.

Ducks and Geese

Bluebills and a Blown Mind

Diver ducks have a reputation as smelly, fishy tasting birds. Sometimes that's true. But as I found out last week, even a clam-eating, saltwater duck can be magnificent at the table. Believe me, I am as shocked to write this as you are to hear it.

Italian

The White Rabbit

Sometimes you want a gentle hand when cooking rabbit. It is a delicate meat that can easily be overwhelmed by strong flavors. This Italian inspired recipe keeps things mellow to let the rabbit flavor shine. How? Don't brown the meat first.

French

Crawfish Bisque

Nothing says luxury like a smooth, creamy lobster bisque. Sadly, I live 3,000 miles from Maine lobsters, but I do live near some of the best crayfish spots in America. And lemme tell ya, this crayfish bisque is every bit as good as one made with their big brothers.

Mushrooms

Yellowfoot Chanterelles, My Secret Ingredient

No mushroom forms more of a backbone to my cooking than does the humble yellowfoot chanterelle. I will drive great distances in search of it, just so I have enough to get me through the dry months.

Featured

On Breasting Out Birds

I've seen a lot of hunters "breast out" a lot of birds this hunting season, leaving the legs and wings for the coyotes - or even just tossing them in the trash. It pains me to see this. It's my hope, in my own small way, to convince those hunters who do that to change their minds.

Wild Game

Smoked Goose Breast

Behold the glory that is spickgans, a Pomeranian smoked goose breast that is at the pinnacle of German charcuterie. Goose, cured with juniper and black pepper and smoked over beech, oak or apple wood. The secret is in the shape, which makes it a delight to eat.

Venison

Roast Venison with Bavarian Dumplings

Forget hams and turkeys for Christmas. Roast a leg of venison instead. If you have a whole hind leg of a doe or small deer, this is a perfect recipe for the holidays. It's a lot like roasting a leg of lamb.

Foraging

Wild Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce has been part of the American holiday tradition for more than two centuries. It is a perfect accompaniment to roast turkey or venison, pork, wild boar or bear. And while this is a pretty classic recipe, it is made with real wild cranberries from New England.

Recipe

Wiener Schnitzel

Wiener schnitzel goes by many names, but whatever you call it, this is a bedrock recipe you need to know as a cook, whether you work with wild game or not. It's quick comfort food that can be made with an array of meats, ranging from pheasant and wild boar to veal, pork or chicken.