Outdoor Chef
The best recipes and methods for preparing your wild game.
Pan Roasted Wild Turkey with Caramelized Oranges
It is not a big patch of ground, but it is my patch…kind of. You see, I am willing to walk longer, crawl farther and basically put up with a bunch of access BS to get to the land. My tenacity gets me something special: un-hunted turkeys. An awesome find that only two others know about, and I'll keep it that way. It's these birds I return to each spring -- two per year, no more. They fill[...]
Corned Meat for Reuben Egg Rolls
Right before humans started shooting arrows at animals we started curing meat over a fire. It is a multi-millennia strong tradition. But why? Two reasons, really. The first reason that humans began to cure things is for simple food preservation. Refrigerators and freezers in households are a very recent invention. Prior to these, ice houses and root cellars could keep some items frozen, but at great expense. (Believe it or not, Walden Pond—yes that one from Henry David[...]
Pan Roasted Venison Loin with Cranberry and Port Sauce
Honestly, I am not all that grateful for the Butterball turkey that I eat a small slice of each year. Nor the green beans, nor the stuffing. Those are from the store; I did nothing but buy them off the shelf. While I am happy to have them, and glad for the ability to buy them, I am not grateful for them as they are. They came too easily. But I am thankful for a freezer full of[...]
What to Do With Drumsticks
The gobbler was at the top of a small draw strutting his stuff when I caught him in my binoculars—a respectable Idaho Merriam’s. It had been a frustrating weekend of turkey chasing, with stuck trucks, rainstorms, snowstorms and fog. The birds were there and I could get the toms to gobble, but they would then run in the opposite direction when I called. Eventually, I ditched the tried and true techniques of setting up, calling and hooting like[...]