I have been inordinately obsessed with red huckleberries ever since I ate a handful at a friend’s house years ago. This year is epic for them, and I finally managed to pick several pounds. Here’s how to find, harvest, prep and eat your red hucks.
Berries and Fruits
Grouse Northwoods
An ode to the ruffed grouse of the Northwoods, whether they’re in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan or Canada. This recipe relies on flavors familiar to this part of the world: wild rice, mushrooms, cranberries.
How to Make Prickly Pear Syrup
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…
How to Eat Manzanita Berries
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.
Huckleberry Muffins
It’s huckleberry season here in the West. And while my favorite way to eat hucks is in a bowl with cream, I also love huckleberry muffins. My version has a bit of a tang to it from sour cream.
How to Make Verjus
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.
Blackberry Syrup
Blackberry syrup was my favorite at the International House of Pancakes when I was a kid. It’s still one of the few syrups I still make every year, mostly to mix with seltzer water (or vodka) for drinks. Here’s how to make it.
Duck Breast with Beer Sauce
Duck breast. Beer. Wild berries. What’s not to love? This is an original recipe very, very loosely inspired by an Icelandic dish that uses beer and malt (or beer) vinegar as the main component in the sauce. It’s one of the first times I’ve used beer this way, and it won’t be the last.