Jonathan Miles

Canadian Whiskey: The Camp Comeback

Online Editors — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:12:32 -0500

For whatever reason, I encounter Canadian whiskey at hunting camps way more often than I do in restaurants, bars, or homes. Could be the lower price. Could be the mellow character, which lends itself to long hours of fireside sipping. Or it could just be tradition.

The popularity of Canadian whiskey boomed during and after Prohibition, and as those of us who frequent family hunting camps are aware, Grandpa’s way is often the only way. Problem is, the quality of Canadian whiskey has remained level—that is to say, mostly mediocre.

Recipe: How To Cook Roast Grouse With Mushrooms

Online Editors — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 23:19:17 -0500

Ask any deer camp old-timer for a foolproof recipe, and you're likely to encounter a lot of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup. There is a reason for that: Mushrooms plus cream plus game meat adds up to a perfect trinity of flavors. This recipe chucks the can, and all its high-sodium gloppiness, while retaining the earthy comfort that made mushrooms and cream the go-to sauce for generations of hunters.

Ingredients

Grouse:
4 grouse
4 Tbsp. butter, softened
8 strips bacon

Sauce:

Recipe: How To Cook Green Chile Venison Stew

Online Editors — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 19:38:21 -0400

Here's a flavorful and simple stew inspired by the Native American cooking of the Southwest. The marriage of mild chiles and venison is a classic one, and this is especially good with Apache bread—cornmeal and bacon fat, roasted in a corn husk—crumbled on top. If you're in the Southwest, use the best green chiles you can find. For the rest of us, the canned variety sold in most grocery stores (Old El Paso, etc.) will suffice just fine; figure on four 7-ounce cans, and drain the chiles before adding to the stew.

Directions

Recipe: How To Cook Trucker's Rice With Deer Jerky

Online Editors — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 17:53:47 -0400

Several years ago, on a fishing trip in Brazil, the camp cook served me a mysterious bowl of meat and rice. “We call this arroz de carreteiro,” the cook said, translating that as “trucker's rice” and explaining it this way: The meat was dried beef, or jerky, which, cooked with rice, made for a simple meal for long-haul truckers to prepare when traversing Brazil's wide open spaces, where fresh ingredients can be hard to come by. Easy and addictive, it has since become my camping staple.

Directions

How To Freeze Your Fish In A Block Of Ice

Online Editors — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 23:37:03 -0400

The enemy of successful, long-term freezing is air. When air meets food, dehydration occurs, leading to freezer burn. With delicate proteins like fish, freezer burn can be downright fatal, ruining both texture and flavor. If you don’t own a vacuum sealer, freeze your catch in a block of ice. this locks out any corrupting air by sealing the fish in a familiar element—water. this is best done with fillets, though whole cleaned fish can be frozen this way too. Freeze the Burn keep your fish fresh as the day you caught itwith this preservation method.

Recipe: How To Cook Buttermilk Poached Trout

Online Editors — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 22:33:51 -0400

For me, there's something likable, but not quite lovable, about poached fish: the ultraclean flavor, the melt-away texture, the no-fat virtuousness. But the result is oftentimes bland—a little too clean and virtuous, like spa food. After a solid day of fishing, I'm craving something hearty. That's where a jug of buttermilk comes in. Poaching fish in buttermilk yields the luscious texture and pure flavor, but with a more substantial richness and a poaching liquid you'll want to lap up with a spoon.

Directions

Recipe: Buttermilk Poached Trout with Bacon-Spiked Greens

colinkearns — Fri, 21 May 2010 11:05:58 -0400

Recipe: How To Cook Root Beer Glazed Duck Breast

Online Editors — Sat, 15 May 2010 20:33:04 -0400

The rich flavors of duck meat have always attracted sweet, fruit-based sauces. Witness duck à l'orange, for instance. In this recipe, we forgo the fruit for something darker, woodsier, but no less sweet: root beer. Once it is reduced down to a saucy glaze, the root beer offers a tangy new twist on the classic combination. It's incredibly easy, but more than elegant enough to serve guests. And when they take their first bites, ask to see if they can guess the secret ingredient.

DIRECTIONS

How to Cook Roasted Leg of Venison

Online Editors — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:21:52 -0500

Here's one for your inner caveman: a whole roasted venison leg, just like Fred Flintstone would've cooked it. This is game cookery at its most primal and dramatic, and the results are a showpiece—which is good, as you'll need a crowd to help you eat it. Because the meat is only mildly doctored—with a classic wet rub of olive oil, thyme, rosemary, garlic, and juniper berries—and cooked in an unforgiving manner, the key to success here is a prime hunk of meat ideally from a younger deer, field dressed impeccably, and aged if possible.

How To Cook Salmi Of Wild Duck

Online Editors — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:52:28 -0500

A salmi is an oldfangled, richly flavored game stew—often served, like chipped beef, over toast—that was a delicacy popular in the 1890s. This modern version is a luscious, soul-satisfying use for whole ducks.

DIRECTIONS: