Passport to Texas

Wild turkey cooked and ready to enjoy.

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This is Passport to Texas

Don’t give up on eating wild game and fish because you think it tastes funny.

Most wild game and fish, if it’s off-tasting, is ruined between the kill and the kitchen, and not in the kitchen, itself.

Susan Ebert is a hunter, angler, forager and cook; she wrote the book Field to Table, a guide to growing, procuring, and preparing seasonal foods—including wild proteins.

As good as the recipe might be, unless people know how to care for that game from the time it’s harvested, to the time that they’re ready to cook with it, they’re going to be disappointed with the results.

Starts with a clean kill, proper field dressing and getting everything on ice as soon as possible. Once you have the meat at home…

Venison and wild duck—I will dry age those. Maybe 48 hours. Set them over a drip pan, on a rack. And let them just dry age in the refrigerator uncovered, with air circulating around them.

Ebert recommends brining rabbit and feral hog; brine can be as simple as sugar and salt dissolved in water.

Let that brine for a couple of days. Then, sear it over the grill and then either move it over indirect heat or put in it the smoker at a low temperature…

Until it is succulent. Find a recipe from Susan Ebert’s book Field to Table at passporttotexas.org

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

Redbud Blossom Jelly
Yields 6 half-pints

Ingredients

• About a gallon ZipLoc bag of rebud blossoms
• 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, strained
• 5 teaspoons Pomona Pectin© calcium water
• 5 teaspoons Pomona Pectin© pectin powder
• 2 1/2 cups organic sugar

Instructions

1. Rinse and drain the redbud blossoms, and pick out any wooden stems and bugs. Pack loosely into a half-gallon container with a tightly fitting lid and cover completely with boiling water. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight.
2. Strain through a fine mesh sieve or double cheesecloth in the morning, pressing lightly with a wooden spoon (don’t squeeze too hard, or you will get a bitter flavor).
3. Add water, if necessary, to make 5 cups redbud juice. Pour into a large stockpot, and add the lemon juice and calcium water.
4. Prepare your hot-water-bath canner, and wash 6 half-pint jars, lids, and bands in hot, soapy water. When the canner begins to boil, put the jars in it so they stay hot. Heat the lids and bands in a small saucepan; do not boil.
5. Combine the sugar and pectin powder in a small bowl, and stir thoroughly to blend. Bring the juice to a full boil over high heat, then drift in the sugar/pectin mixture a bit at a time, stirring vigorously. Continue to stir until the mixture comes to a second boil.
6. Pour into jars, release bubbles with a plastic spatula, affix lids, and finger-tighten bands. Process for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let the jars remain in the canner for 5 minutes. Remove them to a folded towel, and let sit overnight to completely set up.
7. Store for up to a year in a cool, dark place.

Recipe from Susan Ebert, The Field to Table Cookbook

Biking in Brazos Bend burns off the pre and post holiday calories.

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This is Passport to Texas

We’re standing at the threshold of the holiday season; once we cross over, we’ll encounter sweet and savory goodies with which to indulge our taste buds—both at home and at work. But we can balance out excess calorie consumption by visiting nearby state parks and engaging in outdoor activities before those treats touch our lips.

Yes. It’s really funny you say that. A lot of our parks, that’s a part of their activities and events that they’re putting on. The pre-Thanksgiving hikes and paddles and biking events…just to kind of get you ready for that whole holiday family and fun and food and all that.

Aaron Friar is with Texas State Parks. Except for rare occasions—like fire and flood—parks never close. So even after the biggest feeding frenzy of the season known as Thanksgiving, Texas State Parks stand ready to help all of us digest.

After you’ve had a good time with the family and ate your fill, and you’re wanting to get out there and be a little active afterwards, we have parks that are doing hikes and some really cool events to get you out there—to get you a little active—after those holiday feasts, you could say.

Don’t take Thanksgiving overindulgence lying down. Find a complete list of pre and post-Thanksgiving activities at state parks when you log onto the calendar & events section of the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

That’s our show… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram

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

South Texas Antelope, chipotle risotto, grilled okra, espresso red wine reduction; photo courtesy Alcalde Grill, Gonzales, Texas

Scroll down to find a seasonal game recipe from Chef Austin Brown.

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Hunters are beginning to fill their freezers with venison.

07—Most people will make stew out of it or they’ll grind up what’s left over and they’ll make sausage out of it.

Those traditional preparations are tasty, but Chef Austin Brown, owner of the Alcalde Grill in Gonzales challenges home cooks to get out of their comfort zones. And that means not using this common culinary crutch.

15— Get away from the Italian dressings and use brines. A heavily salted water with some sort of acid—maybe a little flavored vinegar in it—lemon juice, lime juices. Those things do the exact same thing as a marinade.

He says home cooks default to stews and sausages because those recipes mask the meat’s perceived gamy flavor. But Chef Brown says a properly cooked venison back strap or leg filet, for example, is sublime.

20— I would brine it in salt water and cut it into individual steaks; season it with just salt and pepper…a little bit of garlic and a little bit of butter, and grill it on the grill. Or sear it in a pan, cooking it to about medium rare and eating it that way. Some of the best deer that you can eat is just seasoned with salt and pepper and seared in a pan.

Find a recipe from Chef Austin Brown at passporttotexas.org.

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

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Sea Salt Quail, Chef Austin Brown

CRISPY SEA SALT QUAIL with Roasted Red pepper aioli

For the Aioli

• 2 egg yolks
• 4 cups of oil (use a neutral oil like canola or grapeseed)
• 1 cup of ice water
• 2 red peppers
• 1 smashed garlic clove

Over an open flame, roast the peppers until black on all sides. Place them in a Ziploc bag for about ten minutes to steam. Remove from back and peel off burn skin, and remove seeds.

In a blender combine egg yolks, peppers, 2 tablespoons of water and the garlic clove. Blend until smooth. slowly add the oil in a fine stream until a thin mayonnaise consistency is reached. More or less of the oil can be used. Once thickened, season with salt and pepper.

For the Quail

• 20 quail legs skin on
• 5 cups of flour
• Sea salt
• Cracked pepper
• Cilantro bunch( optional)
• 1 quart of canola oil
• Heavily season the flour with salt and pepper.

Wash quail to remove any leftover feathers. Pat dry with a paper towel and toss in flour to coat.

Over medium heat, heat about a 3/8 of an inch of canola oil in the bottom of a cast iron skillet.

Fry the legs turning only once to a golden brown. Be sure to not over crowd the pan, the name of the game is cooking these guys over really high heat so they are still juicy on the inside.

The hotter the oil, the crispier they turn out. Once finished place quail on a paper towel to soak up any remaining oil and season again with sea salt and cracked pepper

Serve with the red pepper aioli and garnish with cilantro.

Image courtesy of http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/

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This is Passport to Texas

This week we commemorate the first Thanksgiving. While our turkeys come from the store, Pilgrims hunted for theirs. Did you know that prior to the Pilgrim’s arrival in 1620 few of them had ever hunted wild game?

10—The first people to come over wouldn’t have been able to hunt [in England] because the land was owned by the rich and that’s where you hunted. So, when they came to America and were able to hunt anywhere, it was actually a real expression of their new lives.

Simon Majumdar is a hunter, food writer and judge on Food Network TV competitions. He says along with being deeply rooted in the American identity, hunting puts good food on the table.

13—I’m a great believer if you hunt for food that you’re going to eat some really amazing dishes. I mean, I’ve hunted many times in the UK: deer, wild birds…rabbit. I do a lot of rabbit hunting in the United Kingdom. And I think the food often just tastes better.

Plus, he says, you know its origins. Simon Majumdar, author of Fed, White and Blue: Finding America with My Fork says despite our long history with hunting and eating wild game, some Americans remain reticent.

10—I always blame Walt Disney. Walt Disney has a lot to answer for because everyone thinks of like Bambi and Thumper. And they’re really just sources of food. So, I’m very unsentimental with it.

Be sentimental when giving thanks this season, and pass the turkey.

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

Simon Majumdar. Image courtesy http://www.simonmajumdar.com/

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Simon Majumdar is an author, food writer, and judge on Food Network TV cooking competitions. This British born food lover also hunts and eats wild game.

12—I love hunting. And hunting really speaks to the American identity, because without the first Pilgrims coming here and being taught how to hunt by the Native Americans, the Wampanoags, America wouldn’t exist.

Based on personal invitations, Majumdar traveled the US exploring regional food traditions for his latest book Fed, White and Blue: Finding America with My Fork.

11—I did actually do a little bit of hunting in Mississippi; I went out into the delta, and it was dove hunting season. We did some wild hog hunting. We didn’t catch much. I say, no animals were harmed during the making of my book.

For Majumdar, hunting is about putting meat on the table.

14—I would never go hunting just for sport. But if it’s to put food on the table… And actually, during the economic downturn, I have friends all over the country who used hunting to fill their families stomachs. And again, that proves it is part of the American identity.

I asked Food Network TV’s Simon Majumdar if he would ever hunt in Texas.

09—Well, I go wherever I’m invited. So, if people invite me, then I’ll go. I’m not claiming to be any good. But I’m safe. And I love doing it. I love the companionship of hunting.

Simon Majumdar is great company in the field and in the kitchen.

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