Cooking on the Wild Side Chefs lead the way as we learn how to do more than wrap around quail.

By Cecilia Nasti

he local food movement, — such as "pink slime" used Whether home cooks pur- which is gaining momen- in processed products — chase farm-raised Ttum in urban areas, is consumers rethink the origins and fish from the market beginning to embrace what of their food and what they're (which still raises the question longtime hunters and anglers feeding their families. They of living conditions), or harvest have known for generations: want to know where their food their own from the wild, an wild game and fish are healthy, comes from and understand important issue remains: how sustainable and delicious how their food choices affect to minimize potential gaminess sources of quality protein. the overall . while enhancing natural flavor When news reports surface Because of this, wild-harvest- and nutritional benefits during of unsanitary conditions or ed , feral hog, water- cooking. The most important inhumane treatment of live- fowl and fish have emerged as part of that equation happens stock at factory farms and viable and flavorsome alter- in the field with the hunters and feedlots, or when dubious natives to their commercially anglers and whether they’ve food additives come to light packaged counterparts. handled the meat in a safe and

TEXAS PARKS & WILDLIFE * 63 64 * SEPTEMBER 2012 Braised QuaiL

4 quail, cleaned and feathered 1 garlic clove, minced 1 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 4 ounces sliced white mushrooms 2 ounces chicken broth 1/2 tablespoon grapeseed oil 2 teaspoons rendered bacon fat 4 ounces (liquid measure) heavy whipping cream 1/4 sweet yellow onion, diced 3 ounces dry white wine 3 tablespoons crème fraiche 2 teaspoons minced shallots Pinch of garlic salt 1 egg yolk, beaten In a shallow pan, lightly sauté quail and yellow onion in the butter and grapeseed oil for 5 minutes on medium heat. If using an electric range instead of gas, medium-low heat will work best. After approximately 5 minutes, remove quail from pan, and set aside. Add minced shallots and garlic to the pan and sauté for 2 minutes. Next, add in the mushrooms and bacon fat. Sauté until all moisture/water is cooked out of the mushrooms (around 4 minutes) and then deglaze the pan with 2 ounces dry white wine. Put the quail back into the pan and season with sea salt and black pepper, adding a pinch of garlic salt. Keep heat at a gentle simmer. Evenly distribute all-purpose flour over the birds. Add remaining dry white wine and chicken broth, cover pan and simmer on low, gentle heat. Combine heavy whipping cream, crème fraiche and beaten egg yolk in a small bowl and whisk together. When the birds are cooked thoroughly, at least 15 minutes, gently whisk the cream, crème fraiche and egg yolk mixture into the pan. Cover the pan again and gently simmer for 6-7 minutes until gravy/sauce thickens and is heated throughout. From Louis Ortiz thoughtful manner immediate- Before he was 8 years old, not trophies, and always ate ly after harvest. Louis Ortiz, a culinary instruc- what they killed. He became a The remaining culinary cal- tor at H-E-B/Central Market in chef for no reason other than culus is up to the home cook Austin, was a "seasoned" he liked to eat. "I'm not really to decipher. coastal angler; it was an activity passionate about food, but I Bacon and Italian dressing are he pursued regularly with his am passionate about eating," standard ingredients for prepar- older cousin. Growing up in he laughs. ing game: They're familiar and Victoria, in the post-oak region Although he had a sister four simple to use, and infuse the of the state near the coast, years his senior, it was Ortiz and lean protein with flavor and Ortiz was in perfect proximity to his mother who took responsi- needed fat. Yet, as more self- abundant angling and hunting bility for cooking the game he proclaimed "foodies" add wild- opportunities, pursuits he still and his stepfather brought harvested to the menu, enjoys today. By the time he home. "My mom and I would their culinary creativity and turned 8, Ortiz was trudging mess around with different pre- curiosity move them to experi- alongside his stepfather in sentations and recipes until we ment with new preparations. South Texas scrubland hunting came up with something we Fortunately, they can draw white-tailed deer and feral hogs. both liked." In fact, he says, the inspiration from professional He shot his first deer, he says, braised quail recipe in this arti- chefs who hunt and fish. when he was only 9. cle is one he and his mother His family hunted for meat, developed years ago. "I mod- ■■■■

TEXAS PARKS & WILDLIFE * 65 CRISPY SEA SALT QUAIL with Roasted Red Pepper Aioli

Aioli: Quail: 2 red peppers 4 cups of oil 20 quail leg quarters, skin on 1 bunch cilantro (optional) 2 egg yolks 5 cups all-purpose flour 1 quart of canola oil 1 cup of ice water Sea salt 1 smashed garlic clove Cracked pepper Aioli: Roast the peppers over an open flame until black on all sides. If you do not have an open flame, you may broil, turning the peppers until they are black on all sides. Place blackened peppers in a sealable plastic bag, or in a bowl covered with plastic wrap, for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, peel off burnt skin, and remove stems and seeds. In a blender, combine egg yolks, peppers, 2 tablespoons of ice water and the garlic clove. Blend until smooth. Slowly add the oil in a fine stream until it reach- es a thin mayonnaise consistency. Use more or less oil per your thickness preference. Once the aioli is thickened, season with salt and pepper. Quail: Heavily season 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 3/8 of an inch of canola oil in the bottom of a cast iron skillet. Fry the leg quarters, turning only once to a golden brown. Do not overcrowd the pan — you want to cook the leg quarters over high heat so they are still juicy on the inside; the hotter the oil, the crispier they turn out. Once cooked through, about 5 minutes, place them on a paper towel to drain any remaining oil, and season again with sea salt and cracked pepper. Serve with the red pepper aioli and garnish with a sprig of cilantro.

From Austin Brown ernized it somewhat. Now I use out in the woods." the market. crème fraiche; she used to use Ortiz is affable, energetic and The 41-year-old Ortiz regularly sour cream, which still works. engaging, and when he teaches oversees most of these sold-out The other thing, too, is I wanted cooking classes, participants demonstrations and hands-on to write the recipe in such a way cannot help but get excited. In opportunities at the Central that everything was all inclusive December 2011, the Texas Austin store. His wife, Christina, in one pot. That was a tricky Parks and Wildlife Department regularly sits in. thing to do.” The quail is taken entered into a partnership with As an avid outdoorsman, out of the pan and put back in, Central Market Cooking professional chef and full-time but everything else stays in. Schools statewide to present a graduate student at the He says the reason his series of wild game and fish University of Texas at Austin recipe works is that he stress- cookery classes to help urban- studying continuing adult edu- es a low gentle simmer ites understand the nuances of cation, he's able to share throughout. "Cooking game is preparing these perfect pro- methods for preparing and like hunting game — you've teins. A TPWD staff member is serving game as well as got to take your time. If you try usually on hand to support the important messages about to cook everything fast, it's class and to answer questions conservation and manage- never as good. You have to attendees might have. ment of the various species force yourself to slow down, The classes also bring a on the menu. "It's gratifying to just like you do when you go new group of consumers into see the light bulbs go off in a

66 * SEPTEMBER 2012 Venison BurGers

1 ½ pounds ground venison 1 tablespoon olive oil Sliced dill pickles 6 ounces bacon or pancetta, ground 4 slices Emmentaler cheese A handful of arugula Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 good-quality hamburger buns, toasted or grilled 4 egg yolks Coarse ground mustard Dash (or more) Worcestershire sauce Mayonnaise 1. Build a really hot fire in a grill or preheat a large cast-iron pan over high heat. 2. In a bowl, combine the venison, bacon, salt, pep- per, egg yolks and Worcestershire sauce, mixing well. Divide the meat into four balls and form four large, 1½-inch-thick . 3. Brush the grill or pan with a little oil and grill or sear the patties until very well browned on one side, about 5 minutes. Flip the burgers and add the cheese to the top. Cook about 3 minutes more for medium-rare to medium. Serve on buns with mustard, mayonnaise, pickles and arugula.

From Jesse Griffiths

TEXAS PARKS & WILDLIFE * 67 class when people make the old executive chef at Bay Flats she has several tattoos. "She's connection, maybe for the Lodge in Seadrift on San the coolest grandma ever!" first time, between what's on Antonio Bay. Raised in While he tries to get into the their plate, where it came from Gonzales, he grew up hunting field whenever possible, and how they fit into the over- with his father and other fami- Brown admits he spends all picture of conservation. It ly members, and developed most of his time these days in becomes about more than his love of cooking by spend- the lodge's kitchen preparing just a good meal." ing time in the cafe operated game and fish caught by Attendees leave Ortiz's class- by his grandmother Mary guests. "Because I work at a es with full bellies and a richer Martha Ehrig, affectionately hunting and fishing lodge, I understanding of the natural called Motzie. "My grand- cook a lot of wild duck and world and their role as its mother was huge influence on fish. Guests might go out for stewards. The size and enthu- me. She's a self-taught cook, the day and come back with a siasm of the cooking classes, and would watch everything bunch of , and from that and the waiting lists to attend she could on Food Network I may end up making them a in most of the stores, under- and PBS cooking shows and Texas trout cake with crab score a hunger among the then replicate what she saw, and , or a grilled trout public for this knowledge. giving each recipe her own salad with citrus vinaigrette. special twist. She was, and is, Ducks might end up in gumbo Austin Brown■■■■is the 23-year- fearless." He also mentions or on the grill — depending on

68 * SEPTEMBER 2012 OniOn SOup with VeniSOn ShankS (Serves 4)

4 venison shanks (about 4 pounds), cut into 6- to 8-inch pieces ¼ cup sherry or balsamic vinegar Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 slices of good bread 4 tablespoons olive oil 4 thick slices of Gruyère or Emmentaler cheese 10 large onions, sliced 2 bay leaves This is a classic French onion soup with the addition of rich, long-cooked venison shanks. By cooking the oft-discarded skinny shanks of the venison in this way, you extract not only the rich stock from the bones, but utilize the scant but valuable meat from the legs. The long cooking process melds the sweetness of the copious onions and the meatiness of the venison, making this a perfect cold-weather dish. Use the best Gruyère you can get your hands on. 1. Season the venison shanks with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and brown the shanks well, about 8 minutes. 2. Transfer the shanks to a plate, lower the heat to medium, add the onions and bay leaves, and cook, stirring often, until deeply browned and caramelized, about 30 minutes. 3. Add the sherry or balsamic vinegar, shanks and enough water to cover by 4 inches, and bring to a sim-

mer. Lower the heat and cook the venison until it is very tender, about 5 hours, adding more water, if necessary, to keep the shanks covered. Alternatively, the mixture can be cooked in a slow cooker on low heat for 4 to 6 hours, until tender. 4. Preheat the broiler. Lightly toast the bread. Cover each slice of toast with a slice of cheese, and broil until the cheese is melted, browned and bubbling. 5. Season the soup with salt and lots of pepper, and then divide the shanks and soup among four large bowls. Place a piece of toast, covered with melted cheese, in each bowl and serve immediately with a simple salad and red wine.

From Jesse Griffiths the species." and pepper, maybe a little ple, they're usually successful – Brown, an upbeat, enthusi- olive oil and herbs, and you're and that's awesome." astic and charmingly cocky good to go. If you want, you young man, received classical can dress it up on the plate." Chef Jesse■■■■ Griffiths has training from Le Cordon Bleu's Hunters and anglers who been hunting the last five of Texas Culinary Academy in wander into the Bay Flats his 37 years. "We didn't have Austin, and further honed his Lodge kitchen when Brown is hunters in my immediate fam- skills and techniques at high- in action are pleasantly sur- ily, but we did have anglers," end eateries in the capital city prised to discover the meth- the Denton native says. before moving to the coast. He ods he uses are uncomplicat- Griffiths, an only child, grew uses what he's learned to ed, something home cooks up fishing, but always had a transform game into sumptu- with modest skills can dupli- yearning to go afield. ous gourmet fare. Yet, for all cate on their own. Without a mentor, Griffiths the haute goodness of his "After eating my food or turned to the Internet. "I read dishes, Brown says he likes to spending a little time in my everything I could find on web- keep preparations simple. "To kitchen, a lot of my customers sites and forums. I asked ques- me, when you have a good go home with the rest of their tions. I analyzed information piece of game meat, it doesn't harvest, ready to reproduce and techniques. I just educated need marinating or other spe- what they ate here. Because myself," he says. cial preparations. Just add salt most of what I do is fairly sim- As he tells it, the worst thing

TEXAS PARKS & WILDLIFE * 69 GRilled GAdwAll BReAsts with Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce

4 skinless Gadwall breasts 8 slices of bacon 1 tablespoon oil 1/2 cup raspberry vinegar 1 cup sea salt Sea salt 1/4 cup small diced onion 3/4 cup sugar 4 cups water Cracked pepper 2 teaspoons minced garlic 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 toothpicks 1 tablespoon chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped 2 pints fresh raspberries, rinsed

Brine: Combine in a bowl one cup of salt and 4 cups of water, stir to dissolve all salt, add the duck breasts and allow to brine, covered in the refrigerator for six hours. Preparing the breasts for cooking: Dry off breasts with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Arrange two pieces of bacon parallel to each other on a cutting board. Place a breast on the bacon perpendicular to the bacon. Wrap the duck breast tightly with the bacon. Take a toothpick and weave it in and out of the flesh of both meats to secure the bacon. Repeat with remaining breasts. Cooking the breasts: In a sauté pan over low heat, render the bacon fat from the wrapped breasts (this will reduce flare-up when you take the breasts to the grill). Over very high heat, grill the duck breasts until they are medium or feel firm to the touch. Allow the breasts to sit for 10 minutes before slicing. This allows the juices in the meat to reabsorb, so they do not run out leaving your duck breast less juicy. Slice each breast width-wise and fan over plate. Garnish with roasted raspberry chipotle sauce. Raspberry chipotle sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring until soft and slightly caramelized; this should take about 4 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan (being careful not to burn the garlic) and sauté for 1 minute. Add the chipotles and cook, stirring continuously, for 1 minute. Add the rasp- berries and cook until soft, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the vinegar and stir to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to get up all those wonderful tidbits. Add the sugar and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until thickened and reduced by half, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain through a strainer to remove some of the seeds. Spoon over grilled duck breasts. From Austin Brown that could possibly have hap- caught. "I wouldn't even accept last three years offered deer pened to a first-time hunter fish from friends who offered, and hog schools at the happened to him during dove because I only wanted to cook Madroño Ranch in Medina. "I season five years ago: "I took the ones I caught," he laughs. "I felt there was a need for this aim at the first dove that flew guess I really liked the feeling of kind of intensive immersion, up, and I hit it with a single shot being so intimately connected and I was right. The response from my 20-gauge! Then I to the source of my food." has been huge!" With a tone of missed the next 50. That first Griffiths and his wife, Tamara urgency, he adds, "People know shot had a million-to-one odds, Mayfield, own and operate Dai how to hunt and almost cate- but it hooked me." Due Shop and Supper gorically don't know what to do Griffiths is also a self-taught Club, which focus on traditional, with the meat afterward." cook. At 16 years old, he had local and sustainable approach- Griffiths believes it is critical to his first restaurant job in es to food in the Central Texas teach people who have spent Denton, and says he learned region. He works with and time and money hunting and from everyone on the line. By serves only locally sourced pro- harvesting these animals how the time he was 21, he was duce, meat and dairy. to care for them in the field and cooking professionally, and In addition to selling artisanal in the kitchen. "We have a cul- never looked back. meats, condiments and pre- ture of hunting game, but not of The cooking that gave him the serves at farmers' markets, he's eating game. These people biggest thrill early on was fed hundreds of people at his know they want to eat what preparing the fish he had supper clubs, and has in the they harvest, but not how to go

70 * SEPTEMBER 2012

about it." "I write about white , of hunting.” He says it's not just During deer and hog school, crappie, doves, pigs and deer. ... for "good old country boys." He Griffiths goes into the field with I take a real pragmatic adds that just as he did, anyone participants, but not as a guide. approach to regional fishing can come to hunting (and fish- He has staff "more skilled than and hunting with recipes ing) late in life — even when liv- me" for that. Because he's rela- designed to be approachable to ing in the city. "Fish and game tively new to the hunting life, he impressive." belong to everyone," he says. feels he’s still learning, and so The kind of hunting Griffiths As far as cooking goes, his perspective is similar to that proposes is available on public Griffiths says to forget myths of the students attending the lands where the game is abun- you may have heard about schools. "I'm just the chef guy dant. "The cooking in Afield is game meat being inedible who points at a deer or hog and stripped down, without a long because it is too gamey or says shoot that one because it ingredients list. The emphasis is tough. "With a little bit of care looks delicious." on simplicity. I offer techniques it is totally possible to have a This September, Griffiths' first for best practices. My hope is great meal with a lot of mean- book will be released. It’s called the outcome is so good it will ing to it. At this point in time, Afield: A Chef’s Guide to convince people that cooking with agencies like Texas Parks Preparing and Cooking Wild game isn't a hard, time-con- and Wildlife, and books and Game and Fish. He says he suming and impossible task." the Internet, it's never been wrote it for "the 99 percent – Griffiths says not to be intimi- easier to become a hunter or the average citizen.” dated by “the perceived culture to cook dinner." *

TEXAS PARKS & WILDLIFE * 71