Butchering & Cooking Turkeys, Ducks, Geese, Pheasants, and Quail

Cast Iron Contest: Our Dutch Oven Winner & A New Skillet Up For Grabs

Online Editors — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:40:29 -0500

by Colin Kearns

We had a bunch of terrific entries for the Dutch oven contest. As I read them today, I kept getting hungrier and hungrier. If nothing else, you all proved that the best-tasting and most memorable meals are often enjoyed outdoors.

But, there was one meal that I wanted try more than any other. And it came from Beekeeper:

About 10 years ago on a coastal feral hog hunt, I used my old Dutch oven to make one of the best gumbos I've ever made. A half hour at low tide with a castnet provided fresh white shrimp and five or six blue crabs. I also picked up and shucked out oysters from a small shell bar. Back at camp a simple broth was made from the shrimp heads and shells while I was making a nice dark roux.

Recipe: Dutch Oven Stuffed French Toast

Sarah Smith — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:00:59 -0500

by Colin Kearns

If you haven’t had breakfast yet, you might consider this delicious morning meal, courtesy of new Lodge Cast Iron Cooking cookbook. And, if you haven’t shared your favorite Dutch oven meal, get on it! The Wild Chef reader with the best-sounding dish will win a brand new Lodge Dutch oven.

Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients
- 1 French bread loaf, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 dozen large eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1⁄3 cup maple syrup
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, cut into 1⁄2-inch cubes and softened

Valentine's Day Soup Recipe + Contest Winner Announced

Online Editors — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:12:35 -0500

by David Draper

The Best Field & Stream Reader Photos From January 2012

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:06:52 -0500

Each month, Field & Stream editors review the hundreds of photos submitted by readers to our Trophy Room. If your photo is chosen to be printed in the Game Faces section of the magazine, you’ll win a Rapala Fish ‘N Fillet knife!

Submit your photos here!

Here are the monthly Best Reader Photo Galleries from last year:

Food Fight Friday: Venison Lasagna vs. Fried Catfish & Frog Legs

Sarah Smith — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:15:57 -0500

By Colin Kearns & Michael R. Shea

We’re hungry, so let’s just get right to the fight. What’ll it be: Mike’s lasagna, or Colin’s fried fish and frogs?

No-Fuss Venison Lasagna

We’ve been cooking a lot of venison hamburger lately at the Shea-Nunez house. Earlier this week my girlfriend, Rocio, made this super-easy venison lasagna. And it was delicious. Here’s how she did it:

The Best New Knives of 2012

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:04:49 -0500

There were a staggering number of companies, big and small, showing off their newest knives at SHOT Show this year. We waded through the crowds and pulled out these selections as the best new knives of 2012.

Contest: What’s Your Best Super Bowl Snack?

Sarah Smith — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:08:53 -0500

by David Draper

There are a lot of great ways to get wild on Super Bowl Sunday. You could paint yourself in team colors, go streaking, and post the resulting video (and arrest) on YouTube. Or you could just dip into the larder and cook up a fish or wild-game inspired dish to share with your friends during the game. I’m not going to encourage you to do the former, but I will help you along with the latter by throwing a Super Bowl Snack Contest.

Post your favorite fish or game dish below in the comments section below, along with a few sentences on why it’s the perfect food for this year’s Super Bowl party. The most creative idea will win a box of assorted cooking/food-related goodies from Camp Chef, Hi-Mountain Seasonings, Cabela’s, and other generous folks. To be eligible to win, post your entry by Saturday, February 4 at 6:00 p.m. MST. I’ll announce the winner next week.

New Gear for Waterfowl, Turkey and Upland Bird Hunting in 2012

Online Editors — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:25:15 -0500

While the SHOT Show has taken a tactical shooting turn, there are still some great products for bird hunters. Here are the best gear items we found this year.

National Pheasant Fest and Quail Classic: A Hunting Expo Worth Attending

Sarah Smith — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:11:51 -0500

by Chad Love

The noted French existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre once famously opined that “Hell is other people.” As a lifelong misanthrope, I’ve found that little gem to be not only a great way to kill conversation at dinner parties, but a wholly satisfying life philosophy. It’s not that I don’t like people; it’s just that I try to avoid large numbers of them at all costs.

So when the website informed me that I would be attending SHOT this year with some 65,000 of my closest friends, and that I would even be allowed to wander the show floor unsupervised, I questioned the decision as either a gracious but misguided act of charity or the result of a lost bet.

I took pains to point out to my editors that in matters of tact, wit and other social graces I’m roughly on par with Bat Boy from the Weekly World News. I reminded them, too, that, frankly speaking, I prefer the company of dogs to outdoor industry types, and that as a preferred destination for the third week in January I’ll take a CRP field in Kansas over Las Vegas, Nevada, oh, about ten times out of ten.

Recipe: Super Bowl Duck Spring Rolls

Sarah Smith — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:53:02 -0500

by David Draper

I know there are a lot of football fans who really care which team wins this Sunday’s Super Bowl. But me, I’m just in it for the food. While the rest of America roots for Peyton Manning’s less-funny brother or the guy who’s married to Gisele, I’ll be grazing the spread of cheese dips, bacon-wrapped goose bites, and sliders at the back of the room. I’ll also be judging friends’ reactions to my contribution to the party’s potluck: duck spring rolls.

I first had a version of these at our annual wild game feed and have been looking for a good excuse to make them myself. The recipe I’m passing along calls for fresh duck breasts, but I’ve found spring rolls are also a great way to use up the crispy-skinned leftovers of a roast duck. The recipe also works with goose, venison, pheasant, or any game meat with just a little modification.