Spanish
An old Spanish recipe for partridges, you sear the birds then simmer them in a vinegary sauce and store in jars in a cool place, like a fridge. I like to take a couple partridges out and eat them at room temperature, while watching football...
Foraging
Wild hazel nuts are everywhere, but no one seems to be able to see them. Here's how to recognize and harvest wild hazel nuts, which are in season right now.
Pheasant, Grouse, Quail
Quail barbecued slow and low with Arizona sauce. What is Arizona sauce, you say? All that is good about the wild foods of the Southwest: mesquite honey, tequila, and wild chiltepin chiles.
Recipe
This dish, inspired by Swedish chef Magnus Nilsson of Faviken, is nothing short of a revelation in its simplicity and in the technique of cooking the partridges. If you are an upland bird hunter, or like to eat Cornish hens or quail, you must read this.
Featured
My life is governed by the near-constant need to process, butcher and store the fish and game we bring home. This is the Imperative of Protein, and while it is indeed hard work, I would not choose to live any other way.
Pheasant, Grouse, Quail
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.
Featured
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.
Mushrooms
Matsutake mushrooms are popping all over California's North Coast now. If you've never heard of them, matsutakes are one of the most prized mushrooms in Asia. Firm and clean-tasting, they have a beguiling aroma - like earthy cinnamon.
Pheasant, Grouse, Quail
Done right, smoked pheasant can be the finest expression of this bird at the table. Smokey, juicy and a little sweet from a maple glaze, it's a lot like those smoked turkeys you can buy for the holidays -- only with fewer leftovers. Here's how to do it.
Sweet Things
Wintergreen ice cream. Why not? I love regular mint ice cream, and after my friend Nate and I foraged for a bunch of wintergreen berries on Cape Ann in Massachusetts a couple weeks ago, I reckoned this would be a cool way to use them... no pun intended.
Pheasant, Grouse, Quail
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.
German
No, this is not hasenpfeffer. This stew, which comes from Swabia in Southern Germany, is much lighter -- almost summery -- and is a great way to usher in cooler nights -- and rabbit season.
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