Every good hunter knows swapping hunting recipes is as normal as sharing mythic accounts of old hunting feats. Generally, the recipes are more grounded in facts.
With deer season fast approaching, hunters should find a reliable cookbook that will serve their many outdoor dietary needs. The “Campsite to Kitchen” cookbook is just the fix.
The smell of sizzling bacon-wrapped-dove on the barbeque filled my house. My dad’s hunting buddies were coming over after a successful Labor Day weekend, and since my parents came to the agreement early in their marriage that if dad killed it, mom cooked it, mom was responsible for making something out of more than 90 dove breasts. Enter the Outdoor Writers Association of America’s “Campsite to Kitchen” cookbook.
Published in 1994, the OWAA’s Secretary-Treasurer 1990 Jim Casada edited the cookbook and provided several narrative passages from his personal experience which punctuate the cooking categories.
Through these personal stories, Casada envelops the reader in the world of hunting and its foundational role in American life. Citing Hemingway and other American writers, Casada brings readers into the hunting fold.
With a shotgun approach to food, Casada includes recipes that cover all wild animal food groups: venison, other game, game birds, waterfowl, fish, and shellfish.
He accommodates hunters of all skill levels, and even includes dishes that don’t require meat. These recipes can be found in the “Day Foods” and “Nature’s Bounty” sections.
These categories, the first and last in the book, cover everything from quick pre-hunt snacks, to more elaborate breakfast feasts. Acorn Waffles, though simple, are a hearty meal. The recipe reminds the reader to boil the tannin out before roasting the acorns and crushing them in with the other ingredients.
As a West Coast native, most of the recipes I grew up enjoying came from the game birds and fish sections. However, since moving to the Midwest, I’ve been able to make some venison dishes to substitute for fine cafeteria dining.
For a relatively inexperienced college cook, the venison steak Madeira recipe from Keith Sutton provides a quick and savory way to prepare venison steaks. Any leftover Madeira for the sauce would pair nicely with the steaks.
The “Campsite to Kitchen” cookbook draws upon the experience of renowned outdoorsman, hunters, fishermen, and outdoor photographers, and bases its recipes on dozens of outdoor professionals’ field knowledge. The book does a fine job of balancing time-consuming and intricate recipes with quick and easy ones to provide all outdoorsmen with the options that best suit the occasion.
If you have an adventurous palate, try the squirrel on a shingle, marinated bear steak, or snapping turtle stew. If you ever wondered what to do with the roadkill raccoon on Barber Rd., see page 77 for a barbecued ‘coon’ how-to.
I’ve yet to indulge in these, but — like a good hunting myth — no meal is too difficult to digest for the experienced outdoorsman.
