By Colin Kearns

Last week we threw our annual holiday party, which is always a great time because there’s always some great wild game cooked and shared from members of the staff. For this week’s Food Fight, we’re featuring all of the wild dishes from the party (as well as one dessert because, well, it features bacon and bourbon). Vote for your favorite.

By David Draper

My first real attempt at winemaking all started with crabapples. Earlier this fall, I got a hot tip about a crabapple tree that was overloaded with fruit, so I went searching. Sure enough, the tree, in the backyard of some anonymous doublewide, was literally collapsing under the weight of its bounty. Branches the size of my calves had snapped and the boughs were bowing to the ground. I picked a bucketful of fruit and went home not quite sure what to do with them.

By David Draper

After a November that felt more like September in terms of temperatures, much of the country finally got a blast of cold weather this past weekend, along with heavy snow for some of the upper Midwest. Weather like that just begs for some hearty meals—the kinds that slowly cook all day long filling the house with the savory aroma of simmering meat. The list of perfect winter meals is nearly endless, but here are five to try with the wild game in your freezer.

By Michael R. Shea

What is “Meat Week,” you ask? It’s our first (of many, we hope) celebration of wild meat. But not just any cut. No, we’re talking big, majestic meals—the kind that inspire chest thumping. Every day this week, we’ll be posting special recipes, tips, and stories that are big, meaty, and, best of all, delicious. Enjoy. —The Editors

The signal was a text message.* An “OK” from my uncle and I’d start pushing a stand of northeast hardwoods toward him. Fifteen minutes went by. “All set?” I texted. Then 20. “Ready?” Twenty-five, and still no response. I wagered his phone battery died. When I called him in a whisper, he was exasperated, having been standing around for 25 minutes, too: “You haven’t left yet?” he said. “I sent ‘OK’!”