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.
Showing posts with label squirrel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label squirrel. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Down Home Cooking
Sometimes the best food comes from regional areas. This is known as down home cooking and it has many different forms. It could be recipes that sprang from backwoods cooking or 300 year old recipes that haven't changed. These are the foods that have been on the American palate from the country's earliest days. Sometimes it mixes indigenous foods with early English cooking techniques. Yet no matter what the era or the century , it' still tasty and filling.
One of the best known recipes is burgoo. This is a stew that had everything in it from squirrel (a major component in this type of cuisine) to mutton. Mostly it is now made with the last meat along with pork and chicken. Red pepper is added to it for seasoning and it is slow cooked like chili and served in a bowl much like it. Burgoo's name could come from two sources - a shortening of the phrase "bird stew" or barbecue. No one is really sure. It is mostly eaten in northern Kentucky and southern Indiana and is a staple of some restaurants.To be honest it's easy to make and you can make it in the morning for dinner that night.
Another down home dish is barbecue. No, not the meats and veggies you toss on the grill but actual spicy sweet barbecue. It's sometimes called pulled pork. This is an amazing dish , usually served best on hamburger roll ( this is known as a "soak")Barbecue starts off with a slow cooked pork butt or shoulder, usually mixed with onions. It is cooked to the point where the meat is so tender you can easily shred it with your fingers. The barbecue is then liberally doused with vinegar its' own juices and any favorite commercial barbecue sauce. It is then put on a hamburger roll or any soft bread. Usually it can be served with fresh, crunchy cole slaw.A better side is extra salty potato chips because they bring out the sweetness of the barbecue and the meat.
What's a perfect ending to this? Why, cobbler , of course. You could also make brown Betty, grunt or buckle. These are all fruit desserts from the Colonial era that came with the colonists. They had to substitute English pears and apples with native American fruits and came up with these yummy desserts (although cobbler was eaten throughout the day). They are easy to make with the fruits of the season such as blackberry or blueberry. A cobbler always tastes best when it has fresh cream or vanilla ice cream on the side.
This is the food that fed America from the 1600's to today/ . Nothing fancy but filling and flavorful. They have survived through the Colonial era getting enjoyed by modern Americans.
One of the best known recipes is burgoo. This is a stew that had everything in it from squirrel (a major component in this type of cuisine) to mutton. Mostly it is now made with the last meat along with pork and chicken. Red pepper is added to it for seasoning and it is slow cooked like chili and served in a bowl much like it. Burgoo's name could come from two sources - a shortening of the phrase "bird stew" or barbecue. No one is really sure. It is mostly eaten in northern Kentucky and southern Indiana and is a staple of some restaurants.To be honest it's easy to make and you can make it in the morning for dinner that night.
Another down home dish is barbecue. No, not the meats and veggies you toss on the grill but actual spicy sweet barbecue. It's sometimes called pulled pork. This is an amazing dish , usually served best on hamburger roll ( this is known as a "soak")Barbecue starts off with a slow cooked pork butt or shoulder, usually mixed with onions. It is cooked to the point where the meat is so tender you can easily shred it with your fingers. The barbecue is then liberally doused with vinegar its' own juices and any favorite commercial barbecue sauce. It is then put on a hamburger roll or any soft bread. Usually it can be served with fresh, crunchy cole slaw.A better side is extra salty potato chips because they bring out the sweetness of the barbecue and the meat.
What's a perfect ending to this? Why, cobbler , of course. You could also make brown Betty, grunt or buckle. These are all fruit desserts from the Colonial era that came with the colonists. They had to substitute English pears and apples with native American fruits and came up with these yummy desserts (although cobbler was eaten throughout the day). They are easy to make with the fruits of the season such as blackberry or blueberry. A cobbler always tastes best when it has fresh cream or vanilla ice cream on the side.
This is the food that fed America from the 1600's to today/ . Nothing fancy but filling and flavorful. They have survived through the Colonial era getting enjoyed by modern Americans.
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