Wild Bites #62: a 6-minute read that makes you smarter about wild food and tells you what's to come on the website,
YouTube, orĀ To The Bone. Ā Ā ~ Hank Ā Sunny and warm on this plate of curry shrimp. Ā Ā Ā Here's what's trendingĀ on Hunter Angler Gardener Cook: - It's winter, so people are making my recipe for Swedish yellow pea soup. Thick, hearty, with bits of smoked pork. It's a fantastic one-pot supper. Ā
- Another hearty soup trending right now is salmon chowder. This is a Pacific Northwest-inspired version of chowder, and works with smoked salmon as well as fresh -- and you can use other fish, too.Ā
- What the heck, one more stew: My venison stew recipe is super popular right now. My rendition takes inspiration from North Africa, and the warm spices really set this recipe apart.Ā
- Winter is the time of year for braised meats, like my classic venison shanks with garlic. You can use shoulder or neck for this, too.Ā
- Want a vegetarian braise? Try my Chinese braised
mushrooms. Crazy good either as a side dish or a meatless meal.Ā
- Jamaican curry shrimp will make you think about warmer places. Sub in fish, crawfish, lobster -- or chicken, rabbit or
squirrel on this one. You'll thank me later.Ā
- Got any pheasant left? Make this homey recipe for pheasant with apples. It's a French classic.Ā
Moving up the list: So cool to see people making my recipe for Persian fesenjan! I use duck or goose, which is traditional, but chicken or pheasant are also great options. If you're not familiar, it's a braise that has a sauce
of walnuts and pomegranates. Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Love these or any of my recipes? Please rate them while you're there so people searching for recipes know they're worth clicking on! Ā Plating a whole lot of plates of black cod with celery root puree.Ā I recently did a pair of dinners in Wisconsin at the Seven Acre Dairy just outside Madison, and it was a blast... although I got sick, which made it physically difficult. I wrote about the whole experience here.Ā Ā But I thought I'd pass along the recipes from the dishes we served, in case you were there and want to replicate them, or in case you just want to see what we cooked up for 100 people. Spoiler alert: Lots of German food because Wisconsin! We did a few other dishes I don't have recipes for online, but one -- a German mushroom goulash -- I will definitely post on Hunter Angler Gardener Cook soon! Ā 3. Death to 'Expiration' Dates!Ā I volunteer at a food pantry here in St Paul, and that work has highlighted an absolutely insane part of our food system: food waste. I'm not the first person to talk about this, but the fact that I routinely collect upwards of 500 pounds of perfectly good food on one day from one supermarket -- food that would otherwise get thrown out -- is
astonishing.Ā Ā I wrote about this, plus the other aspects of "old food" that we hunters, gatherers and anglers face on the regular, over at To the Bone. I hope you find it useful.Ā Ā A request: To the Bone is where I've moved most of my activity because Facebook is dead and Instagram (owned by the same company) has throttled my ability to talk to my readers. Subscribing to To the Bone is the best way to keep up with what I am doing. You can start with a free subscription.Ā Ā Paid subscribers have many benefits, from discounts on my hunts and books, to advance notice about events, and starting soon, a new chat feature that will only be available to paying subscribers. It'll have everything from "ask me anything" sessions to
full online courses on subjects like sausage making.Ā Ā You can subscribe here. Thank you so much for considering it!Ā Ā Brunswick stew is one of the finest stews in America. Ā It's cold. Pretty much everywhere right now. As you read this, I am getting ready for more snow here in St. Paul.
It's what we do in Minnesota in winter, and if the temperature weren't in single digits, or below, we'd all be happy about it. But a big pot of stew is guaranteed to make everyone happy.Ā Ā Let me start with an article I wrote a few years ago about "Making Stew with What You Have," a primer on how to make stew with whatever you have lying around. It's all of my stew knowledge distilled into one place.Ā Ā And these are some of the most popular stews on Hunter Angler Gardener Cook:Ā - Chilindron. The Arch-Stew on HAGC. It's been made a zillion times, and works with either light or red meats. Chilindron is a Spanish dish heavy with roasted red peppers and paprika.Ā
- Venison chili. This is the One Ring of chili, the recipe that has quite possibly won more chili cook-offs than any other recipe anywhere on the internet. And yes, literally any meat works, as do mushrooms for a vegetarian version.Ā
- Chances are you've heard of my
Sardinian Hare Stew. I first made it almost two decades ago, and cooked it for Steve Rinella on his show Meateater. I think he liked it because he ate two bowls. Any red meat works.Ā
- Got duck? Make my duck stew, which is a French garbure, a stew so thick you can stand your spoon in it. Goose is just as good.Ā
- Finally, there's chocolomo. This is a Mexican stew that's fire in a bowl. It is spicy, although not that spicy, it's more that the stew relies on charred and smoked everything to send it into the must-make category.Ā
Ā Arrachera (skirt steak) tacos.Ā Ā Sorry everyone for the absence. This is the longest hiatus I've taken from Wild Bites since I began it years ago, and the reason is because the book is finally getting close to publication! It's been a whirlwind: Finishing the manuscript, which was harder than I'd thought it would be because I had to decide what stays and what
goes. So many great dishes!Ā Ā Recipes are getting tested by readers over at To the Bone -- that is another place where they got first crack at it, and they responded in epic numbers: more than 400 people asked to test a recipe! So far, only a few recipes have needed significant revisions. But I am grateful for that feedback because once Borderlands appears in print, the recipes need to work. Ā We are deep in editing now, and we finally have a publication date: June 15. That's not hard and fast, but it's close. We'll be within a week of that.Ā Ā Up next: cover design, preorders, and book tour. I am starting to plan out my book tour, and I am
looking for places where I can sell at least 50 books, ideally more. Here's the thing: I can't physically do 75 events anymore. It's just too hard on me. So I have to choose my events wisely. If you think you can help, send me an email to hank@huntgathercook.com and we'll take it from there.Ā Ā Exciting times! I plan on restoring Wild Bites to its regular biweekly schedule, so I'll bring you along with me as things unfold. Thank you all for your support, and stay warm!! Ā ~ Hank Ā Comments?Let us know what you think aboutĀ Wild BitesĀ by using our anonymous comment form - we love to hear from you, and we read every single comment. If you have a question, fire away and be sure to share your email address so we can respond. Ā |
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