By David Draper

If you’re a regular Wild Chef reader but haven’t gotten in on the Food Fight phenomenon, I challenge you to do so. Several readers have answered the call, and we’ve been featuring them here each week. This Friday, we have another new competitor—dyobcire—who just won a Camp Chef cast-iron pan on Wednesday, so let’s see if can he keep up the streak against a strong competitor in SMcCardell.

By David Draper

Back in the December-January issue of Field & Stream, my esteemed colleague T. Edward Nickens wrote a brief missive on his love for the duck sandwich. Nickens take on it included a butterflied duck breast grilled medium rare and pinched between two halves of a ciabatta roll dressed with sun-dried tomato spread. All in all, it sounds utterly delicious.

However, I have duck sandwich favorite of my own, one that takes more of a countrified—or maybe that’s country-fried—turn. Mine starts with one half of a skinned and filleted duck breast off the bone—generally mallard, though a widgeon shows up from time to time. Place that on a cutting board and drape a square of plastic wrap over the top. Now it’s time to tenderize. Some folks have a specially designed mallet or one of those fancy Jaccard tools (see below), but not me. I use the spine of a heavy butcher knife, chopping away in a cross-hatch pattern to break down the proteins and create a thin—about 1/8-inch—filet.

By Jonathan Miles

This recipe appears in the February 2013 issue of Field & Stream, on newsstands now.

The ultimate Super Bowl indulgence: nachos loaded with bubbling cheddar and shredded venison that’s been slow-cooked with chipotles and spices and then quickly seared—in the style of Mexico’s legendary pork carnitas—for some crispy, hyper-flavored edges. You may forget about the game altogether.

By David Draper

When I was in Louisiana a few weeks back hunting with some folks from Ducks Unlimited and learning about the severe loss of marshlands and habitat in region, DU web editor Chris Jennings and I snuck out one afternoon to find some oysters. Unfortunately, we struck out on that hunt when the workers at the oyster house told us they didn’t have any on hand.

Not to be deterred in our efforts to eat local, we picked up some boudin balls from the grocer that had apparently been under the heat lamp for awhile as they were all but inedible (but we ate most of them anyway). That shouldn’t stop you from trying to make your own however, as I’ve since discovered these fried orbs of sausage, liver and rice are incredibly delicious when fresh.