Passport to Texas

This is passport to Texas

Jesse Griffiths, a hunter and professional chef in Austin, held a class where he taught folks how to efficiently process their own deer.

You know, there’s just a lot of reasons why doing it yourself is so much better… because, you don’t know what they’re mixing it with. Maybe you’re not even getting your own deer back. Maybe the people that they’re mixing your deer with –they didn’t take very good care of their deer. Maybe they did the whole, carry it around on the top of their Suburban in some hot weather for awhile. So, you don’t really know. And by putting it in your own hands, it’s really going to do everybody a little more good.

When you process your own animal you minimize waste and maximize flavor potential, because you can use every part of it. Nothing is wasted.

We’re going to use the liver and the kidneys and the bones, and the neck—everything today. I just want to show people how good that stuff is and if you’re taking the time to kill it, then take the time to enjoy every little bit of it, too.

In short order, this perfect protein was transformed into usable cuts of meat. Tomorrow the best cooking methods for game…

I want to get people beyond the bacon, jalapeno situation that most game cooking is in.

Find one of Chef Griffith’s venison recipes at passporttotexas.org.

That’s our show…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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Venison Chorizo
Recipe by Chef Jesse Griffiths from Dai Due Supper Club in Austin, Texas

Ingredients

5 pounds of venison
-or-
3 pounds venison
2 pounds fatty pork

1 1/4 ounces Kosher salt
1 Tablespoon cumin seed
1 Tablespoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon Mexican Oregano
3 Tablespoons dried chili powder (i.e. bolsa, chipotle, ancho, paprika, etc.)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

Preparation

Season the venison (or venison and pork) with the salt and set aside. Grind the spices in a spice or coffee grinder and add to the meat with the vinegar. Toss well and grind through a medium plate. Use as bulk sausage.

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This is Passport to Texas

December’s Parks and Wildlife TV Series offers segments on rare breeds, including the endangered whooping crane. Producer, Ron Kabele.

The whooping cranes have two problems. One is that they are all centrally located into one area. So, if a hurricane come s up, or any other major storm, it could wipe out the entire population. So, what biologists want to do, is they want to create different places along the coast where the whooping cranes will nest. This has proven to be a pretty daunting task. But it’s a good idea. The other problem is one that people probably don’t think about. As the rivers come down, we divert more and more of that water for agriculture, for cities, and that decreases what’s called freshwater inflow. And this robs the bay of the nutrients that the whooping cranes need.

Another rare breed is the Texas Game Warden.

They have to be as much a diplomat as a law enforcement officer. Another thing, too, that’s cool about the wardens that I learned is not all of their contact with the public is in a negative way. They have to be as much a diplomat as a law enforcement officer. Who would have thought that law enforcement would be a basically a huge networking game? And that’s what it is for the game wardens. If they don’t have the contacts with landowners and the hunters and just everyone else—they’re going to be very limited in how they do their job.

That’s our show… we receive support from the Sport Fish Restoration program…which funds fisheries research in Texas.

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

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This is Passport to Texas

Trees are habitat for wildlife. And if you’re adding new trees to your landscape, you need to know the rules.

People frequently ask how close they can put a tree to the house, because shade on the house obviously is a huge energy savings. The general rule of thumb is you go no closer to the house than the eaves are high. So, if you measure up to the eaves of your house, and it’s ten feet high, then you need to get ten feet back from the house.

Scott Harris, a certified arborist in Austin, recommends planting only native specimens.

You always want to plant your trees at the exact level they were in the pot. Don’t dig a big deep hole, dig a big wide hole. Always use the same soil you took out to backfill. But, you can put your compost underneath the mulch, and then all of that organic goodness will dribble down in the way that nature intended.

By watering infrequently and deeply, we can help new trees develop extensive root systems.

If you just have a little bit of water in one area, that’s where the roots are going to go. But if you water very deeply, it’ll spread into the surrounding soil, and the roots will follow that moisture out.

Strong root systems help trees remain strong and withstand drought.

That’s our show…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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This is passport to Texas

Now is an ideal time to plant trees throughout most of Texas…and you might wonder why.

Two reasons: the two most important constituents in tree planting—the people planting the trees and the trees. It’s just much easier on them.

Scott Harris is a certified arborist in Austin. Tree planting season in Texas started in October and continues through March.

Getting the trees in the ground in the fall [and winter], they have the entire cool season, dormant season, to spread roots out before the big demands on roots and water start in the spring.

Just because a tree will grow in Texas, doesn’t mean it should grow here. Harris advises that we all exercise caution about what we plant in our yards.

The biggest thing to avoid is non-natives. Our natives have all of the features you would want, but they’ve spent thousands and thousands of years getting used to being here, and with all of the wildlife used to having them, too. It’s all a web, and you can’t tell which string you can pull out without upsetting things.

Tomorrow we’ll have a few tree planting tips to help you and your newly planted tree enjoy a long and happy life together.

That’s our show…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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This is Passport to Texas

There is something magical about how stars peer through the bare branches of trees in winter. [Twinkle SFX] And Monument Hill & Kreische Brewery State Historic Sites in La Grange duplicate this celestial wonder during their annual trail of lights.

The park is lit up with very beautiful lights all around the trail—it’s about a quarter mile walking trail, including a trip through the house—the old Kreische House—where we have entertainment, and refreshments, and Santa Claus is here; and all the families and kids can come and enjoy a beautiful setting for a Christmas Celebration.

Site superintendent, Dennis Smith, says the park’s location adds a special feature to the trail of lights.

Our park sits on a 200-foot bluff that overlooks the river and overlooks the City of La Grange. And just the night view from up here, looking over down to La Grange, and the beautiful setting of the lights in the park are absolutely spectacular.

A generation of Texans has enjoyed this holiday event, and so can you.

Our trail of lights program is open to the public. There’s a cost: three dollars per person thirteen years old and older, and one dollar for children between the ages of three and twelve.

Children under the age of three get in free. The trail is open December 5, 11, 12, 18 and 19. Visit passportotexas.org for complete details.

That’s our show… For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.
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December 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 2009 — Monument Hill & Kreische Brewery SHS — Trail of Lights — Enjoy a fantastic quarter-mile trail illuminated with thousands of lights that decorate the Monument Hill and Kreische House portions of our park. Walk a trail overlooking the town of La Grange. Experience the more traditionally decorated 1850s-era German home of H.L. Kreische, bedecked in Christmas splendor, in a Texas-German style. Bring your children to tell secrets to Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus and enjoy the genuine seasonal hospitality of the Friends of Monument Hill and Kreische Brewery, who sponsor the event. No pets please. 6-7:45 p.m.; fees $3 adults, $1 children 12 and under (979) 968-5658.

CLICK HERE to watch a video about the park.

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