Passport to Texas

Solana Ranch near Salado, TX. Photos for TPW Magazine story “Hunting with Chef Marcus”

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Marcus Paslay, chef and owner of Clay Pigeon Food and Drink in Fort Worth, says he started hunting in Texas when he was around eight years old.

You know, I’d go with my Dad and my Granddad. We’d go hunt and fish. And then, you know, as I got older, and a little more responsible, I was allowed to hunt on my own. [laughs]

The restaurant offers a changing seasonal menu of made from scratch dishes that often include game.

Being a hunter, and using game, it just gives you a deeper appreciation for the ingredients in its raw state. You become a little bit more sensitive to throwing stuff away when you’ve seen it alive. And that’s what we do at Clay Pigeon. You know we’re a from scratch kitchen, so we’re buying everything in its whole, raw state. So, it’s just one of those deals that allows us, you know, a little bit more responsibility with our food.

Reid Wittliff wrote an article for the October issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine where he invited Chef Paslay to bow hunt on the Solana Ranch in Central Texas.

Any time that I can go out and hunt, and we can make a deal of it, where it’s eating what we hunted the next day, I mean, that’s pretty cool. And to be able to put that in an article for people to hear about it pretty awesome.

The October issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine is on newsstands now, and includes Chef Marcus Paslay’s recipes from the hunt.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Hunters patiently waiting.

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There is a registration fee of $50 for the New Hunter Workshop to cover costs, which includes lunch.
For more information or to register for the workshop, contact Bill Balboa at bill.balboa@ag.tamu.edu or call 979-245-4100.

This is Passport to Texas

A growing interest in the origin of the food they eat led some people, who’ve never hunted before, to seek out hunting opportunities.

And so what we’re trying to do is get them started from the very basics.

Bill Balboa, of Agrilife Extension, says a New Hunter Workshop, October 15, in collaboration with Texas Parks and Wildlife, will introduce interested foodies to hunting basics.

There’s not going to be any hunting, but there will be some firearm safety and some target practice with some .22s that Texas Parks and Wildlife Hunter Ed is going to loan us. And, they’re going to have some of their Hunter Ed safety instructors out there to help us. But there won’t be any hunting at this point. But, people will be provided all the information they need to sign up for public hunts in Texas.

Minimum age to participate is nine, accompanied by an adult.

What I’m hoping is, all folks who have the desire to do the field to table experience—we’re looking for those new hunters that don’t have much experience—particularly with the processing with the animal. The seminar is going to be heavily slanted in that direction. So, we would like to get those folks out—anyone who would like to come out and do that. New hunters in general.

The New Hunter Workshop, October 15, is at the Nannie M. Stringfellow Wildlife Management Area in Brazoria County. It’s limited to 30 people. Find a link to registration information at passporttotexas.org.

The Wildlife Restoration program supports our series.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

New Hunter Workshop

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When families began to migrate from rural Texas to urban Texas, they left behind some of their traditions.

There are a lot of younger folks who weren’t introduced to hunting, and they would like to hunt. So, what we’re trying to do is get them started from the very basics.

Bill Balboa, Matagorda County Marine Extension Agent, is collaborating with Texas Parks and Wildlife to offer a New Hunter Workshop on October 15 at the Nannie M. Stringfellow Wildlife Management Area in Brazoria County.

So, what we’re trying to do is get them started from the very basics: where you can hunt in Texas, public lands access, what you need to hunt in Texas to be legal. What kind of firearms you might need to hunt certain types of big game. Then, we’re actually going to do some hands on field dressing and skinning and processing.

No experience required, just a desire to learn this time honored tradition of humane harvest.

There was a need for this, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Biologists agreed with me. So, that’s why we’re partnering to do this. And it’s going to be focused primarily on feral hogs, because they’re a nuisance. But dual purpose—food and eliminating the nuisance. So, that’s the gist of the whole deal.

The workshop is limited to the first 30 people. The cost is $50, which includes lunch. We have details at passporttotexas.org.

The Wildlife Restoration program supports our series.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Quail, cauliflower mash, and pickled onion from a previous Central Market Cooking School & Texas Parks and Wildlife Wild Game and Fish Cooking Class.

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Summer temperatures are still taunting us—but fall hunting season starts this month, and with it opportunities to cook wild game.

For five years Texas Parks and Wildlife’s worked with Central Market Cooking Schools to offer statewide, hands-on public cooking classes featuring preparation of wild game and fish at home.

A Texas Parks and Wildlife representative is always on hand to provide attendees with background on the agency, conservation, and information about the species on their plates.

Everyone loves bacon wrapped dove breasts on the grill, fish tacos, or venison in a slow cooker in Italian dressing. But it’s nice to have new recipes to put the “wow” in your next wild game and fish dinner.

In past classes attendees learned how to make Venison Medallions with Juniper-Black Pepper Brandy Sauce, Pot Roasted Pheasant with Cider and Bacon; Vietnamese style baked Snapper; and Braised Rabbit with Wild Mushrooms, to name a few.

Folks who register for the Tuesday, September 13, Texas Parks and Wildlife & Central Market Wild Game Cooking Class will prepare and eat Wild Boar Sausage Patties; Quail with Wild Rice Pilaf; and Duck Gumbo. Perfect fall foods-even if it still feels like summer.

Find registration information at passporttotexas.org.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife, I’m Cecilia Nasti.

Register for a class near you:

• Austin
• Dallas
• Fort Worth
• Houston
• Plano
• San Antonio
• Southlake

Feral Hogs at the Kerry Wildlife Management Area

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This is Passport to Texas

It’s ironic that sodium nitrite, a preservative used in sausage-making, might one day aid in the control of feral swine in Texas.

11- Sodium nitrite gives cured meat a red color, improves the flavor; we eat it all the time in bacon, ham and any cured meat.

Biologist Donnie Frels works out of the Kerr Wildlife Management Area. Sodium nitrite can reduce the blood’s ability to carry oxygen throughout the body. Humans and most mammals have an enzyme which efficiently reverses this process: swine cannot.

10- We are attempting to take advantage of that and exploit that in order to use sodium nitrite as a possible control measure in feral swine.

Exotic feral hogs compete with native wildlife for food and destroy habitat. Researchers are working with professional chemists to stabilize the sodium nitrite so they can successfully place it into a “bait matrix”.

12- Which can then be used in a specific feeder which only hogs can gain access to. That way we ensure that other non-target animals are not exposed to the toxicant bait.

Researchers at the Kerr have been investigating sodium nitrite as possible control for feral swine since 2010 (in a secure 12 acre research facility); while it looks promising, Frels says it may be several more years before an effective toxic bait is available commercially.

The Wildlife Restoration Program supports our series.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.