Hank Shaw's Blog, page 76

I don’t think I go a month without someone asking me about food safety and wild game, and by far the most common questions are about trichinosis, notably in relation to wild boar and bear meat. I’ve studied this issue for several years, and I find no real issue — provided you know a few […]

Finally, after all these years writing Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, I am starting a newsletter. The reasons are several, and I'll detail them in this post, but I am hoping you will sign up for it as a favor to me.

Honey Lime Sriracha Duck Legs. You want these, yes you do. This is a party appetizer, snack or Paleo bonanza that has it all: Sweet. Sour. Spicy. Savory. Crispy. Make more than you think you can eat, and you will see the limits of your stomach...

As much as I like Indian curries, I like Thai curries even more. This is a bright, spicy Thai green curry done with pheasant breasts. It's actually a lot easier to make than it looks.

One of the earliest greens to appear in spring, the various docks -- curly dock and Western dock chief among them -- are easy to identify and taste like a cross between spinach and rhubarb.

Virtually all of the best soups in this world are somehow interactive -- broth and goodies surrounded by an array of condiments you can pick and choose from. Vietnamese pho is a classic case. Why not take that idea, but use cold climate ingredients?

This is an Italian classic, sugo d'anatra, or duck ragu. It's a meaty pasta sauce that uses slow-cooked duck legs or wings for the meat, and is damn good with any pasta or polenta, but especially good with pumpkin-ricotta gnocchi.

Venison steaks served with a fantastic wild rice pilaf. It's an unusual pilaf, made when I decided to play a game of bouncing flavors, colors and textures off each other. Want to learn how to do this? Read on.

It is Super Bowl Sunday. Every year before the Big Game, I watch the movie "Any Given Sunday," which happens to contain the greatest motivational speech I have ever heard. It's about the inches between success and failure, between being great and failing. Those inches matter in all things, not just football.

This is my homage to the North Country, where wild rice and pike, walleye and perch are king. These fish cakes are made with pike from Manitoba, but you could use any white fish. Mixed with mustard, herbs and wild rice, they are easy to make and wonderful to eat.