What I’d invite you to consider today, at least hypothetically, even from a distance, is roadkill, and why it isn’t as taboo or foul as it’s made out to be. Contrary to the jokes and stigma culture would have us believe, eating roadkill is completely safe with a basic knowledge of food safety, and…
Small Game
Squirrel is a great small game. I also like woodchucks and rabbits.
Small game, or things like rabbits, squirrels, woodchucks, and others are great eating, and I eat them as often as I can. If you're new here, make sure to see my selection of Rabbit Recipes, as well as off-the beaten path things like Simple Woodchuck Stew.
Boneless Rabbit Roulade
When I worked under the former personal chef to the princess of Monaco, boneless rabbit roulade was one of the dishes on my station. Essentially it’s a roll of rabbit, without bones, stuffed with a slice of prosciutto or other charcuterie that’s cooked and sliced, and served warm or cold. It takes some skill with…
Buttermilk Fried Rabbit
I’ve cooked rabbits a lot of different ways over the years, but buttermilk fried rabbit is, without a doubt, a contender for being one of the best rabbit recipes ever. It is everything you know and love about fried chicken, just a tiny bit different. Domestic vs wild Heck, with the domestic rabbits I used,…
Tuscan Fettucine with Squirrel Giblets
Here’s a great recipe for an evening after a squirrel or rabbit hunt, especially if you have nice fat grey squirrels around like I do. When I butcher a deer or lamb, I usually save some offal, but, with limited freezer space I do have to pick and choose, and I don’t usually keep every…
Acorn Crusted Squirrel with Wild Mushroom-Giblet Gravy
Acorn crusted squirrel is one of the best things I’ve made with tree ninjas. Period. A few years ago, I had Daniel Vitalis of Wild Fed and his entourage out to film an episode for his show. We took a week to hunt things around Minnesota and Wisconsin, and put everything together for a nice…
Woodchuck Stew with Garden Vegetables
The giant, beautiful gardens on the farm are home to all kinds of plants and vegetables, and they attract the attention of plenty of critters. If you have a garden that’s ever been visited by a woodchuck, you know they can be very disruptive. How I approach woodchucks is a good example of my approach…
Rabbit Chasseur with Wild Mushrooms
I planted my first plant ever this year-a squash. Well, I should say that I anger planted squash by scattering them around late in the season after I killed my skirret by planting it on the side of an old road, and not keeping a close enough eye on it. Either way, I think I…
WildFed: The Pigeon Hunt
Pigeons were the first fowl domesticated by man, but we’ve moved a long way from what they used to be: companions used for communication, and sustenance. Only 200 years ago, owning a few breeds of “fancy” pigeons would have been seen as a worthwhile hobby like falconry, as well as fashionable, in the Victorian era….
How to Cut up a Rabbit
I’ve shared a bunch of recipes for rabbits here, and within those are some butchering and processing tricks that are really useful, but you have to go in and really look at the posts and images to understand them or know that they’re there. I had a couple requests for really basic breakdowns of how…
Woodchuck Salad with Hickory Nut Oil and Squash
When I was in Costa Rica I ordered a tuna salad at a little restaurant and throwing the cautionary tales of eating only cooked food to the wind (which I later paid for after drinking a couple drinks with ice) in order to have as big a variety of local food as possible. The salad…
How to Stuff a Rabbit Saddle
When I get rabbits in, the process starts with butchering and then portioning out into how the orders will be served. At home it’s great to take the whole bunny in pieces and cook it for the family, but if you’re going to sell them to guests, you need to think about attractive-looking portion sizes…
A Groundhog Stew
Each year I try to cook a new critter, or a part of something I haven’t before. After cooking thousands of pounds of chicken, fish, beef, duck, pork, lamb and all the usual suspects, somewhere along the line I started to crave the knowledge of meat I hadn’t cooked before. This year I had planned…
Hunting Squirrels with Madison Parker
“Always take the crazy journey” is something my Father says, and is one of the most important pieces of advice I’ve learned from him. Life has been a roller coaster the last few years, but through all the work I have managed to sneak in some fun. My favorite encounter work was work related, but…