Passport to Texas

Holly Heyser and Hank Shaw at McKinney Falls State Park

Food Week: Respect for Wild Protein Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is Passport to Texas Food Week

Journalist Holly Heyser didn’t grow up in a hunting family. She took up the sport to spend more time with her boyfriend who is a hunter, author and chef.

I got sick of being alone on weekends when he was out duck hunting all day long. He would get up at two in the morning and be out forever….well…it didn’t take that for me to join him. What it took was for him to cooking a lot of ducks, and wild ducks, especially where we live in the Sacramento Valley. Amazing. Really great food.

It seems appropriate that on Thanksgiving, Holly shares how she gained new appreciation and respect for all animals—not just wild game—and the meat they provide.

Since I started hunting, I am so much less wasteful of meat. Even if I’m at a restaurant, if there’s a burger on my plate, I will not leave one single bite of meat on my plate, because I know an animal died for that. And when it’s animals you hunt, especially…we invest a lot of time. We can spend 12 hours and a lot of money on gas, to go and maybe get two ducks one day. That’s a precious gift, and you don’t waste it. So it’s really made me understand the value of the food we eat. And, I appreciate it a lot more than I ever used to. And the fact that it’s wild food and it’s absolutely delicious is icing on the cake.

Wild game is free range, organic, sustainable, and nutritious. Find game recipes on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

Happy Thanksgiving and bon appetit from all of us at Passport to Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.