Cooking Wild

Bears and moose and seals! Oh my! This isn't a list of just wild animals but the ingredients of some truly wild dishes in a new cookbook The Wild Game Cookbook. Although I don't ascribe to cooking all animals (seriously, ultra cute sandpipers and baby seals along with bunnies on a platter?)there are some home chefs out there who prefer the Papa Hemingway way  of hunting and then cooking your catch. Now there are some interesting recipes about what to do with those carcasses.

Chef and hunter John-Paul Grappe wrote this informative, to say the least, book (Robert Rose Publishers) with dishes featuring every kind of wild life from larks to moose. :This cookbook may be very offensive to animal lovers and animal rights activists. There are people who do love hunting and cooking their kill however, and this is the perfect gift for them. Chef Grappe is not only a restauranteur but has also been an instructor for the last twenty five years. The book is also good for nature lovers with its detailed pictures of wild animals along with information and vital stats about them. There is some interesting info about curing game birds as well as cooking with game, including one section about dealing with muscled meat.Hunters will appreciate the varied tips and advice about prepping freshly killed animals. There is even a mushroom guide about what kinds to use in dishes. as well as a four page pictorial how to on how to prepare fowl along with a dictionary on different cooking techniques such as braising and frying.

Chef Grappe does have some recipes that home chefs can make with turkey,goose, duck and rabbit bought from their local butcher. There is a stuffed turkey poult with a tarragon rich fumet that would make a nice alternative to a typical roast turkey dinner. Some may want to try roasted young goose stuffed with roast chestnuts or duck l'orange. The hare or rabbit recipes have a decidedly Gallic taste to them thanks to Chef Grappe's French Canadian heritage. Hunters may appreciate the venison loaf or the bison rib eye steak.Chef Grappe also includes ones for boar that are rich with sauces such as Sauce Diane and sparkling cider. However there are also beaver and seal recipes here, including one for a beaver tail. I hate to say this in any review on this blog but those particular recipes  are just distasteful as are the ones for squirrels.Yes, people eat these animals and have for centuries , however I can't see that happening in a civilized society where farm animal meat is plentiful.

If you're a hunter who loves to cook your catch, then The Complete Wild Game Cookbook is for you. It's certainly informative and eye opening with a wide array of recipes. if you love game, then buy this book.There's all sorts of dishes from the smallest lark to the biggest moose or caribou.