I was sitting here having some quail and wildrice and my wife asked me if I had offerred any quail (he left with me) to my brother in law. I said I told him to learn to cook.

So, how many of you cook?

How many cooks hunt ? I cook

Chuck,
I've always been a big fan of eating! That being said, I figured I'd need to learn to cook the fish and game I harvested after going off to college. I wasn't into junk food-plus a steady diet of junk food cut too much into the beer budget. Therefore, I taught myself, through recipes and experimentation how to cook!

After getting married at about 30 yrs of age, I soon realized that unless I wanted to eat beans and rice every meal, the only thing my wife cooked decently (being from Nicaragua), I'd better teach her to cook wild game and fish. It didn't take too long on that path to realize that I did a better job on the cooking duties than she did.

Although she has turned into a decent cook, I still do the majority of the cooking in our household.

CH

I cook everything I shoot or catch ..... that I don't give away. It's one of the reasons my wife put's up with it all!

Al

Bouvier's situation is very similar to mine. She's pretty good about eating the various critters I drag home but usually cons me into cooking it. I'm pretty easy.

Same as Bouvier but I started only this year as an old man. Results satisfactory and I look forward to next season.

Absolutely. It is fun and a great way to end it all.

Anyone have any favorite recipes or cookbooks?

Alex

My wife went back to work so I could retire early. I figured learning how to cook was the least I could do.

I cook because my wife is working(?) and I am retired. I cooked on fishing boats that I owned for years, unless I had a decent cook. I do cook any game that the dog brings home, providing it was legally shot. I enjoy the cooking when it is done right.

To me it is a dimension of having hunted. I enjoy cooking - in fact cook at least 8 meals a week in our home. I had trouble finding recipes for duck that the kids enjoy but eventually succeeded. Geese and upland game they relish. Wild game dinners with other hunters and their wives are somewhat of a contest to see who can outdo the other. Only those who shot the game are allowed in the kitchen. An opportunity for story telling and reliving the hunts.

Chuck,
Oh yeah. Been cooking since a teenager, when Dad's expertise with steak and spagetti wore thin...after a year or so. My brother and I complained and Dad enacted the hunting camp solution; we had to cook
My wife's a much better cook, and chinese style pheasant and duck is excellent, as is her wild game paella. Mmm.

Spinning off topic....my wife's grandfather (a bigwig in Chiang's army) told of military social occaisons with pheasant and boar hunting in China. He was disappointed and embarrassed with his shooting, all misses. They shot while still mounted on horseback! I didn't say so at the time but the mongol influence is obvious.

I cook everything I take from deer to squirrel and including groundhog. I believe it compliments hunting perfectly.

Kurt

I began cooking as a teenager as my Mother became more and more crippled with rheumatoid arthritis it was a race between my Father and I as to who got home first and cooked dinner, as the other then did the dishes. Pheasant or Quail in Lutheran sauce (Cambell's Cream of Mushroom Soup) was a standard as were stuffed and roasted Ducks. In fact two Pheasants are thawed out and going to hit the pan in a couple of hours. Our absolute favorite wild game dish is the Dove Pie from the Aug-Sep 1991 Shooting Sportsman, pages 74-75.

I was an avid bird hunter from a young age. My mother and grandmother both cooked upland game well. Usually just sauteing some onions till wilted then removing, lightly browning the meat (boneless) and then making a gravy and serving over rice.
When I went away to college I hunted often. I have always felt that anyone who kills game must eat it or they are just killers. I became very interested in cookiing wild game. I started collecting wild game cook books.
I do love to cook. I cook better than my wife and she would not even consider cooking wild game.
I could go on about the subject to some extent. Suffice to say, I love to cook and eat wild game. When done right (which is not hard or complicated) there is nothing better. And, I say that having traveled extensively and eaten in many many fine restraunts. Jake

Most of my cooking is now just the baking on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

My son's still enjoy the "Navy Breakfest" when they are home visiting. I do all the cooking at duck camp.

I think it's funny that son #2 is an active duty sailor, but he wants that "Navy Breakfest" from me when he is home.

Kind regards,

I love to cook, especially wild game. You should use your imagination when cooking. A friend of mine who is an excellent wild game cook taught me that. He always says anyone can cook from a cookbook, you should learn certain principles of cooking and then use your imagination.

Researcher, I've eaten a lot of meals in the Fellowship Halls of Lutheran Churches. I can't recall where covered dishes were mentioned in Luther's Small Catechism, but it must be in there.

The only real trick to cooking wild game is don't cook it very long. (Unless you cook it VERY long such as in a stew.) Wild game is almost always lean. Since there is little or no fat it gets dry real quick. Wild duck should be cooked flat out rare. Upland game just cooked through. People that don't like wild game invariably cook it till it is dry and tough.

I cook everything I that I hunt and kill. I am pretty good at it too. I have taken recipies from both of my grandmothers and used them on venison with great success. I rarely give anything away. I am afraid that it will just go to waste. To much time effort and money goes into hunting to waste the meat. When you figure what you spend on hunting and all that goes into it the meat you bring to the table cost mort than filet mignon or lobster so why waste it on those who will just turn it into shoe leather.

Bill G.

LOL Researcher! My late Grandma Bredvold did her best to ensure that the Campbell's Soup Co. remained profitable.

Been hunting 40 years, been in the food industry professionally 34 years. Hunting and cooking/eating need to go together to really complete the cycle with proper reverence.

There was never a better trophy than the memory of a perfect meal that you brought home from the field.

Jeff

If I shoot it, I cook, eat and enjoy every bite.

OK, one recipe, works with most any medium or larger upland bird-

Fillet breast meat, pound thin, season with a mixture of paprika, salt, black pepper, thyme, onion powder and garlic powder, dredge with flour seasoned with more of the same mix. Saute quickly in olive oil, deglaze pan with some white wine, reduce and whisk in a little butter for a sauce. Or skip the flour part and grill over a hot fire.

Guilty. No recipes. Make it up as I go along, depending on what's available. Other than a few standards for doves and ducks, I experiment and seldom cook the same thing the same way twice. Love to surprise the guys on opening and closing weekends. Nothing going tonight, no ducks in the area. Bummer.

Married a vegetarian for her looks, not for her fried tofu and vegalinks. She was a widow with 3 kids and it took me less than a month till 4 of the 5 of us were chewing on venison chops. Adopted two more and before all got married or left the house it was 6 meat eating hunters to one beautiful mother of the house. My first fathers day the kids gave me a gas grill. That was 17 years ago. I had to cook or starve, my choice. And yes, my bride is still a 10. Randy

RMC,
I have heard that term Randy before. Can't remember what it means but your post has struck a chord. You are randy, right? Er, Randy that is. Loved your post. Regards, Jake

Jake, Thanks for the compliment. Sorta confused, Yes,thats my given name because Sue was already taken. Family had to move out of Ohio in the 70's, cause I grew up looking like the milkman. Just kidding. Hope this helps. Randall

I started hunting because I was in the wine business and wanted game to eat while drinking fine red wines. I wanted to cook game but didn't want to pay the high price for game from a butcher.

25 years later, I don't drink much of anything anymore and if you add up all the money I've spent on guns, ammo, clothes, airfare, gas, etc. I probably could have bought all the game I ever wanted to eat but I'd have never known the feeling of being out in the wild at some ungodly hour to experience the things I have, meet the people I have, appreciate the outdoors and the hunting tradition.

I never kill anything I don't plan to eat and I love to cook it all. Currently have saved up all the pheasant legs and thighs from the past season and will turn them into confit. Then it's on to venison terrine.

My friends and family love it all if properly prepared and I love to prepare classic game dishes.

Will be out in AZ next week chasing javelina. Hopefully javelina in green chile sauce for the Superbowl!

Rob

Since I am retired and live alone and no woman would ever put up with me, I have to cook. I have been making Christmas and Thanksgiving dinner for several years for my son and brother. I have a freezer full of dove, pheasant and rabbit. It is usually a toss up of whether I am not too lazy to cook or eat a TV Dinner. Ain't life grand?

Me too. I'm a pretty good cook; my late Father sometimes said "Man as can't look after himself isn't but half a man". He could put a good if plain meal on the table, so I followed him. Game cookery came as an afterthought.

I use game cookery as a way of introducing the shooting sports to people who have had no experience or exposure to them. My niece, brother in law, and sister in law are all happy to receive a few birds and regard them as a tasty, healthy, treat.

Regards
Eug

I cook all wild game and upland birds in my house, with the exception on rare occasions when my wife cooks quail I have prepared. I have cooked a bit over the years, but really came to enjoy it and try to improve upon it after a knee surgery. I was laid up for three weeks with nothing to do but watch the Food Channel on Dish TV. I was able to hobble around enough to get up into the kitchen and try some of the things I saw. When my wife came home from work, dinner was usually ready. She loved it and I enjoyed it. I now prepare dinner each evening if I get home in time so as to avoid eating after 1830. We sometimes stretch it to 1900, but any later than that and we will have a sandwich, etc. Dinner later than that, at least for me, results in no sleep that night. I usually prepare Sunday brunch if we do not go out. I have equipped myself with good pots and pans, good knives, and good utensils. It makes all the difference in the world

I love to cook wild game. I guess it started when I killed my first rabbit and had to prepare it since my Mother refused. She said (rightly so) that a skinned rabbit looked too much like a cat.

I made goose meatballs last friday night. Delicious. Duck, however, is my favorite meat day in and day out. Grouse, pheasant, chukar and quail are all good, but I get so few that I can't try out new recipes. Duck and goose, on the other hand, fill my freezer.

Here's a recipe for those who claim they don't like duck...give this one a try, at least once:

6 duck breasts, boneless, skinless, fat less
8 strips bacon
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1/2 red wine
flour for dredging
salt and pepper to taste

Crisp the bacon in a large skillet that you can cover
remove bacon and set aside

While bacon is crisping dredge duck breast in flour, season.

Fry duck breast for NO MORE than 2 minutes per side (1 to 1 1/2 would be better)

After both sides are brown add wine and marmalade, reduce to simmer and cover...simmer for 18 minutes, or less.

Serve the duck breast hot, with crumbled bacon on top. There will be a gravy of sorts in the pan, which is fabulous with biscuits.

Todd

Like most here, my Mother and Grandmother would cook and did it well enough so that I enjoyed eating the game we shot and the fish that we caught.
When I got out on my own, I didn't really expect to wind up with a girl who could and would, cook game and not ruin it.
In my home, cooking game is my department. I agree that it is part of the process. The last time I hunted grouse at my Grandparents farm, (over 20 years ago) I walked in the kitchen and threw the birds in the sink, out of habit.
I then realized that Grammie doesn't pick birds anymore.
We are a changed people.

I cook a lot, I think quite well, my wife and dogs agree. My wife bought me a smoker this chrismas and it's by far the best material gift I've recieved.

Best food book I've read/used recently: [url]http://ruhlman.com/books/charcuterie.html[/url]

this recipe website also has wildgame recipes. http://recipes.tasteofhome.com/eRMS/home.aspx

I started cooking at about age 9. My mother never liked to fry, especially squid which tended to pop grease. By college I was a fair cook and by law school I learned that the best way to a woman's heart (and other spots) was through her stomach. I cooked smothered quail and biscuits for a young lady and have now been married to her for 16 years. Wild turkey gumbo made on the duck and andoule (sp) sausage is hard to beat. If you want something the kids will eat, take a wood duck breast sear it in bacon grease and slice it and serve it on saltine crackers. Like someone said earler, venison is fine as long as you age it (see Wayne Nish's earlier comment on dry ageing) and cook it rare or cook it forever in a stew or chilli. Never did the rare woodcock with entrails intact but would not be opposed to it. Here in Alabama we eat most everything although I have never beeen able to cook possum or armidillo. (if someone else did I would try it.)

When Grandpa was engaged to Grandma, he'd drop by her place after a hunt, and gave whatever game he'd shot as a gift. Then he would proudly sit on the pourch and smoke with Great-Grandpa, while Grandma was doing the cooking and Great-Grandma was praising the Lord to have such a breadwinner for a son-in-law. At some point after the marriage, things changed somehow, and by the time I was born, Grandpa had to cook his gane himself. So it was natural for me to cook whatever game I shot. A couple of times before my marriage, I'd impress my wife-to-be by dropping by with a duck, dressing and cooking it there and then, myself. After we got married, though, she'd watch me start cooking a bird or hare, them she'd intervine, saying I'm not doing it right and going to spoil the thing, and she'd take over the kitchen and finish the cooking herself. She cooks better than me, although she claims Iam the better cook... And now that she's started hunting she wouldn't let me get near the birds she'd shot. So-o.. I cook - when my wife lets me

I love grouse hunting. The only thing I love more (excluding My wife) is eating grouse.

Thin strips of grouse lightly sauteed in extra virgin olive oil with salt, pepper, and a dash of cayenne. Served with a Ceasar Salad, mmmmmm!

Nothing like aged vension that is then marinated in olive oil, black pepper, garlic, rosemary and red wine.

Place ALL in a very heavy iron skillet (covered) adding wine as the only fluid addition for about 1 hour. I usually start high heat to brown, go to low and then back to high near the end to crust it some more. But you do want to make sure you have a heavy syrupy reduction

The reduction from this process is so good you'll be tempted to lick the plate.

Pour this over a bed of greens (cooked or raw). Or pour this over rice or pasta.

Then sprinkle on top very finely chopped raw garlic and rosemary and parsley along with fresh cracked pepper.

Serve with smoky, oaky red wine.

If she doesn't want to marry you she will want to at least spend the night...........

Have a canvasback and a redhead in the oven right now. Legs inside the cavity. 275F till done (about 3-4 hrs). Turn a couple times while baking. Save your spices and other junk till the birds are done.

I'm dyslexic and have a hard time reading recipes, but my "play by ear" cooking is usually pretty jazzy. I have to say that I have always had a hard time cooking hunters. They are difficult to harvest, first of all. They tend to carry GUNS! I've always had a tough time keeping their meat from being tough, with all their grisle! Their flavor is not too good, either, since they're full of cr@p, pi$$ and vinegar.

Oh. Oops. Dyslexia, don't you know... Never mind.

Good one!!

With the number of bears we have here in northern NJ, I wonder sometimes if I will become dinner. I don't hunt bear, but last year we had a bear season and I felt better, figuring the bears would be smart enough to stay away from hunters. No bear hunting season this year, our new wonderful governor somehow nixed it.

I thought the Jayhawks were tough enough to eat anything. My brother went to KU 'bout 15-20 yrs ago. 'studied aero under Roskum.