Hi -
Welcome to Wild Bites #4 from Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, a brief biweekly newsletter designed to make you smarter about your wild food. We'll also tell you what we're up to right now - a taste of what's to come on our website, podcast, YouTube, or To The Bone.
~ Hank (the chef) and Holly (the photographer)
Here's what's trending on Hunter Angler Gardener Cook:
Moving up the list: Creole turtle soup (above left). Even if you don't have any turtle to eat, you should check out this post because it's the perfect example of the kind of weird stuff that happens routinely at our house. Also, you can make the recipe with a combination of chicken thighs,
pork shoulder and clams (or alligator, or frog legs) and it will be delicious.
2. Smart Take: Killer Bait
"For ease on guided trips, what I use is Zote Soap, which is cold-pressed Mexican laundry soap. You can buy it at Walmart for like $1.30 a block and you cut little half-inch by half-inch cubes out of it, and you get like 50 baits. It's made with fat, so it's
gonna put off a really long scent trail, and it's got a citronella scent to it. It's what Game and Fish uses when they do catfish surveys.
"I've used hot dogs, I've used garlic, soap, Kool-Aid-dipped hotdogs and gizzards and hearts ... anything to put a scent trail out, and I'm probably up in the thousands of lines I've run on this kind of stuff. I have a better catch rate by probably 50% with Zote Soap than with anything else.
"And it's the least disgusting. You don't have to ferment the bait. Your hands aren't all stinky and gross. It's a killer bait."
-Jonathan Wilkins of Black Duck Revival, on his favorite catfish bait in the latest Hunt Gather Talk Podcast, all about catfish
Not into catfish? The whole podcast is a helluva fun listen, but starting around the 37:30 mark, Hank shares the best places to go saltwater fishing for anglers who are prone to seasickness, as is the case with Jonathan. (This came up when Jonathan talked about how much he enjoyed the ceviche tostadas Hank made
recently when Jonathan happened to be visiting.)
HANK has been cooking up a LOT of fish after a quick trip to SoCal at the end of June to fish for white sea bass and yellowtail. But he wouldn't be Hank if he didn't come home with some of the bait too.
That meant a photo shoot of Hank cleaning market squid was the first thing on Holly's agenda. She is inexplicably enchanted with this gutting shot in particular - gritty, inky, and just a wee bit gross:
The posts from that trip aren't live on HAGC yet, but if you happen to have some squid on hand and are wondering what to do with it, may we recommend squid ink risotto?
HOLLY has been moonlighting for another wild game chef, our good friend the Sporting Chef Scott Leysath, who happens to live about 15 minutes from us. Scott writes regularly for Ducks Unlimited Magazine, and Holly's photography is featured prominently in the latest issue in a feature called, "The Best Duck I Ever Ate,"
which happens to include one of Hank's recipes. If you're not a member, you can read the story online here.
Speaking of Holly's photography, if you tried to click on the link in Wild Bites #3 to her piece about the insane props collection she uses for her food photos, we're sorry it took you to a digital dead-end. Here it is, for real this time.
4. New in Our Shop: Gift Cards!
Not sure which book to choose for your favorite hunter or angler? We now offer gift cards designed to cover the cost of 1, 2, or 3 books, with economy shipping. And because we <3 the readers of Wild Bites, we're offering you 10% off the face value of the card for one week only (now through July 21, 2022).
Coupon code: WILDBITES4
5. Now for Something from Another Hemisphere
Hank loves, loves, loves Mexican food (you probably haven't noticed), but he's begun taking a detour through the Far East in recent weeks. He explains why in our latest post on To The Bone. It's free for all to read and comment on.
Comments?
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