Antler & Fin: Recent Episodes
Harvesting Nature
Antlers and fins are the parts of the animals that you don’t normally eat but many still chase. This podcast celebrates the irony in that name by sharing recipes for the parts of wild fish and game that you do eat. Cook along with us as we share our favorite wild fish and game recipes with you!
On a recent Harvesting Nature Field to Fork wild pig camp in Texas, butcher extraordinaire Adam Steele and I were driving from the Dallas-Fort Worth airport to Jacksboro where the camp was being held. We were both feeling quite peckish, so I had Adam look up a potential spot to stop for lunch along the way. “How about a Texas roadhouse?” he asked. Bingo. We grabbed a table under the watchful eyes of mounted deer and longhorn cattle heads and looked around at walls festooned with Lone Star flags and Texas memorabilia. We decided to get a Texan kind of meal, so we ordered some sweet teas, a big bowl of queso, and some chicken fried steaks. I intimated to the waitress that I’d never had chicken fried steak before, and she let out a big whoop, drawing the attention of the rest of the staff. The thought of a Canadian who had never even tried the dish before tickled them pink, and they all stood there and watched me take my first bite – delicious! The dish I made here is a nod to that lunch and to Texas as a whole. I combined both parts of our meal, the steak, and the queso, and made it wild-based with elk bottom round steaks. I turned the queso into a gravy, which gets poured over the chicken fried elk, replacing the traditional white gravy usually served with it. Feel free to swap the elk out with any lean red meat. Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Adam Berkelmans (The Intrepid Eater) Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Buy our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Chicken Fried Steak Chicken fried steak is a Southern American dish (not a South American dish!) consisting of a cube steak, dredged in flour, dipped in egg wash, dredged in flour a second time, and then fried in lard or oil, ideally in a cast iron skillet. It is most often served in the aforementioned white gravy, with mashed potatoes on the side. For those listeners unfamiliar with what a cube steak is, it is generally a thin piece of top round or sirloin that has been pounded and tenderized in a process called cubing - so called due to the square indentations left on the meat. This is usually done by a mechanical tenderizer these days. Cube steak is also sometimes known as bucket steak, named for the cardboard buckets in which the steaks are sometimes sold, or minute steaks, named for the amount of time needed to cook them. Northerners and Canadians like me might be most familiar with the minute steak moniker. The reason it is called chicken fried steak is due to the way in which it is prepared and cooked - much like southern fried chicken. You can actually even find chicken fried chicken in the South as well. What could that possibly be??? Chicken fried chicken points to chicken prepared like chicken fried steak, which in turn points to steak prepared like fried chicken. Confused yet? Where normal fried chicken will usually be bone-in pieces of chicken, chicken fried chicken will be a flattened tenderized piece of boneless chicken that was dredged in flour, dunked in egg wash, dredged again, then fried… just like chicken fried steak. Don’t worry, it took a while for me to wrap my head around it too. About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose-to-tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Shawn West - I was fortunate enough to cross a “bucket-list” hunt off my list this past November when I went on a layout-boat duck hunt near Long Point on Lake Erie. Big water diving ducks were birds that I had not had a chance to hunt in the thirty years that I’d been waterfowling, and I snapped at the chance when a friend proposed and organized the opportunity. Being run out to the layout boats at the crack of dawn, I was literally vibrating with nervous energy. Our guide gestured to huge rafts of redheads in the outer bay as we settled into the UFO boats, and despite warning us that a potentially slow, calm, bluebird day was in the cards, I only heard “huge rafts of redheads”. I had always wanted to take a stud drake redhead, and that day looked like the chance to do so. The first group decoyed perfectly just after dawn broke, and we scratched down a drake apiece, and throughout the day we whittled our way through a two-person limit, finishing the hunt as the sun slipped below the horizon behind us and a near-full moon rose in front of us. As we took some photos and packed up back at the wharf, I was already thinking of how to prepare the birds we had on hand. Since I had a handful of redheads, I decided to make one of my favourite “red” dishes; a wild game take on General Tso’s chicken. Diver ducks can be dogged by a reputation as tasting “fishy” or “muddy” but I experienced none of that. Instead, I found myself devouring crispy, tender duck bites in a sticky sauce that perfectly balances sweet, salty, and spicy. This dish was immediately addictive, with the duck adding a pleasantly rich, and might I say, more aggressive flavour than just bland old chicken. Serve this with sesame seeds, over rice and stir-fried broccoli, and try not to eat it all by yourself. Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Shawn West Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Buy our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About General Tso’s Chicken: General Tso’s chicken is an interesting dish. It’s named after the Chinese war leader Tso Zong-tang, who grew up in Hunan province. Strangely, old general Tso never actually tasted this dish, nor can it even be found in Hunan or even China at all! Although several claim to have created the dish, many point to Peng Chang Kuei, a Taiwanese based immigrant who moved to New York in the 70’s, as the originator. He created the dish at his restaurant and altered it by adding a fair amount of sugar to make it more palatable to white Americans. He named it after the folk hero general tso because he too was originally from the Hunan province. The dish was a success and quickly became famous, spreading through restaurants all over the States, and eventually the world. Peng later opened a restaurant in Hunan province in the 1990s, trying to sell his famous dish there, but the restaurant quickly failed. The reason? Locals thought the dish was way too sweet. About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose-to-tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Since moving to northern Virginia, I have noticed there is a large amount of eastern cuisine around me serving Indian, Afghan and Pakistani dishes. There are a lot of new plates to try and so far, I have yet to find anything I don’t like. One of my favorite dishes is curry; Indian or Thai. Indian curry is usually darker than its Thai equivalent due to the different herbs and cooking time. Although liver is one of the highest sources of nutrients providing iron, copper, vitamin A, B, folic acid, and CoQ10 which helps heart health, it is not always common to find someone who loves liver. There is a common misconception that the liver stores all of the toxins, when in fact it has been scientifically proven the liver has no higher toxin levels than the rest of the body. This recipe is an attempt to educate those on the fence about eating liver; because with the right preparation, anyone can enjoy the taste of venison liver. This is my take on Kaleji Masala which means liver cooked in spices. TIP: If liver is too strong, try soaking in milk for up to an hour before preparation. This will neutralize the flavor; however, it will remove a lot of the nutrients. Curry can be made multiple ways, with red meat such as lamb or beef, light meat such as chicken or even with shrimp. The curry we will be preparing in this recipe will serve one person, so multiply the ingredients accordingly. This curry will be prepared over a bowl of white rice garnished with cilantro and enjoyed with wheat pita bread or a fork. Some ingredients can be substituted for taste so I will notate that in the ingredients list. Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Dustyn Carroll. Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Buy our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
I’m a mushroom lover and foraging for them is a new favorite pastime. I recently packed up my wife and daughter and traveled from Fargo, North Dakota to Olympic National Park in Washington for 10 days of tent camping, hiking, and foraging. Oyster mushrooms were easy to find and easy to identify, growing on trees and logs right along many of the hiking trails. The most abundant spot was in the Hoh Rain Forest near Forks, Washington. Within minutes, we had filled a quart-size bag to take home. This recipe is perfect for your next Taco Tuesday. It has traditional taco ingredients, but also lets the mushrooms shine, turning them crispy and meaty. When our daughter tasted them, she swore it was chicken. Just a note – you want to fry them longer than you think – for about 6 or 7 minutes. For the Chipotle Mayo, you’ll see I used a little Taco Bell Chipotle Sauce instead of opening up an entire can of Chipotle peppers. That’s because I don’t like opening an entire can of peppers if I only need a little bit, and then see the remaining peppers go unused and moldy in the back of the fridge. I’ve tried freezing what’s left in the can. But then I just find the tiny bag of peppers 2 years later, hidden under a package of deer shanks. Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Jeff Benda. Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Buy our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
I am not really sure what cuisine category this dish falls into. Maybe International Fusion? It is part German, part Italian, and part Tunisian. Whatever you label it, it is delicious. For the beer, I recommend using a beer that is not too bitter or hoppy. Those flavors will come through heavily in the sauce. If the sauce does end up a little bitter you can cut it with more honey. I served it all over pasta, but you could easily serve it over mashed potatoes or even a bed of French fries. Get creative! This is the world of international wild food fusion, right? If you love pork as much as I do then you need to sign up for one of our Wild Pig Field to Fork Camps down in Texas. Click here to learn more Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Justin Townsend.
Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Buy our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This take on an iconic American dish is the perfect combination of sweet and savory. The double-dredged fried dove breasts are extremely crispy, have a hint of Jalapeno heat and pair fantastically with the soft and fluffy cinnamon-infused Belgian waffles. Finally, the spicy bourbon maple syrup adds a bold and flavorful finish to this comfort food classic. Dove is a lean meat that is high in protein, tastes great and is fun to hunt. If dove hunting is still something on your to do list it doesn’t require a long list of special equipment and is a simple as getting out and finding a location where doves feed or congregate such as corn silage fields, sunflower fields or hay fields/pasture that are stocked full of grass and weed seeds. Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by LC Hunter. Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Buy our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This Chinese inspired shredded duck recipe can be as simple or as in-depth as you’d like. Depending on how much time you have, this dish can work as an easy midweek meal with tortillas, or it can be a fun couple of hours in the kitchen getting a little bit messy and trying something different with the bao buns. Either way, the simple but aromatic Asian flavors that explode from this dish will have you craving even more time at the duck blind stockpiling provisions. If you’re making the bao buns, which I highly recommend doing at least once, you’ll want to start a little ahead of time to allow the dough to rise. You’ll also need a large bamboo steamer basket, which can be found at most Asian supermarkets. If not, you can use small flour tortillas as a substitute and skip ahead to the duck prep in step 5. Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Trevor McDavid. Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Buy our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website
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This Chinese inspired shredded duck recipe can be as simple or as in-depth as you’d like. Depending on how much time you have, this dish can work as an easy midweek meal with tortillas, or it can be a fun couple of hours in the kitchen getting a little bit messy and trying something different with the bao buns. Either way, the simple but aromatic Asian flavors that explode from this dish will have you craving even more time at the duck blind stockpiling provisions. If you’re making the bao buns, which I highly recommend doing at least once, you’ll want to start a little ahead of time to allow the dough to rise. You’ll also need a large bamboo steamer basket, which can be found at most Asian supermarkets. If not, you can use small flour tortillas as a substitute and skip ahead to the duck prep in step 5. Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Trevor McDavid. Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Buy our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website
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This recipe is an absolutely delicious way to enjoy those goose gizzards you brought back from the hunt and puts those gas station chicken gizzards to shame. Simmering them for 3 hours (or overnight in the crockpot) will result in tender meat that bears no resemblance to the chewy gizzards you may have tried in the past. Frying them until crispy and smothering them in sausage gravy only makes them better. I served them with a vinegary coleslaw laced with horseradish to cut through all of that savory richness, but you could do something like mashed potatoes instead. After trying this recipe, you’ll not only be sure to bring every gizzard home with you from now on, you’ll be begging your friends for theirs too! Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Adam. Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Buy our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This recipe is an absolutely delicious way to enjoy those goose gizzards you brought back from the hunt and puts those gas station chicken gizzards to shame. Simmering them for 3 hours (or overnight in the crockpot) will result in tender meat that bears no resemblance to the chewy gizzards you may have tried in the past. Frying them until crispy and smothering them in sausage gravy only makes them better. I served them with a vinegary coleslaw laced with horseradish to cut through all of that savory richness, but you could do something like mashed potatoes instead. After trying this recipe, you’ll not only be sure to bring every gizzard home with you from now on, you’ll be begging your friends for theirs too! Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Adam. Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Buy our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Did I really just suggest fish on grilled cheese? Yes I did! Now wait a moment before you leave this recipe and just hear me out. I too was hesitant and distrusting of this notion of fish on a grilled cheese sandwich. Fish and cheese has never been a pairing that comes to my mind, but this Smoked Trout and Pear Grilled Cheese Sandwich is amazing! The use of mascarpone for the cheese in the sandwich is the perfect canvas to start your creation on. And what smoked fish is complete without some dill to add that bite of fresh? The smoked trout is just the slightest bit sweet from the white wine and brown sugar glaze that is smoked to a satisfyingly slightly chewy but still firm state. The pears also enhance that subtle sweetness just a tad more. Add the kick of heat from the horseradish to balance out that sweet and you have one delicious sandwich in your hand. Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Lindsey Marshall. Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Check out our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Did I really just suggest fish on grilled cheese? Yes I did! Now wait a moment before you leave this recipe and just hear me out. I too was hesitant and distrusting of this notion of fish on a grilled cheese sandwich. Fish and cheese has never been a pairing that comes to my mind, but this Smoked Trout and Pear Grilled Cheese Sandwich is amazing! The use of mascarpone for the cheese in the sandwich is the perfect canvas to start your creation on. And what smoked fish is complete without some dill to add that bite of fresh? The smoked trout is just the slightest bit sweet from the white wine and brown sugar glaze that is smoked to a satisfyingly slightly chewy but still firm state. The pears also enhance that subtle sweetness just a tad more. Add the kick of heat from the horseradish to balance out that sweet and you have one delicious sandwich in your hand. Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Lindsey Marshall. Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Check out our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
These bagels make for a hearty handheld meal and are truly delicious. If you’re into a high stack of meat on your sandwich, allot ½ lb of venison per person. If you’d prefer a normal amount of meat, do ¼ lb instead. If you’re going to be making a bagel sandwich this special, it is well worth it to find a bakery that sells freshly made bagels. I find the smoky wood-fired Montreal-style bagels go particularly well with the venison, but it’s up to you. A meat slicer would be very helpful with this recipe, but if like me you don’t have one, just strive to slice the meat as thinly as possible. If you happen to have some flaky finishing salt around, knock some over the venison after you’ve shaved it to amplify those meaty flavors even more! Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Adam Berkelmans. Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Check out our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
These bagels make for a hearty handheld meal and are truly delicious. If you’re into a high stack of meat on your sandwich, allot ½ lb of venison per person. If you’d prefer a normal amount of meat, do ¼ lb instead. If you’re going to be making a bagel sandwich this special, it is well worth it to find a bakery that sells freshly made bagels. I find the smoky wood-fired Montreal-style bagels go particularly well with the venison, but it’s up to you. A meat slicer would be very helpful with this recipe, but if like me you don’t have one, just strive to slice the meat as thinly as possible. If you happen to have some flaky finishing salt around, knock some over the venison after you’ve shaved it to amplify those meaty flavors even more! Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Adam Berkelmans. Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Check out our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
There are worse things in life than kicking back on the boat on a gorgeous spring morning while the downriggers troll a small squid bait in the vicinity of a kokanee school. Birds are nesting and singing. Trees and flowers are in full bloom, casting brilliant hues from the lake canyon walls. You notice a sizable blob appear on the depth-finder and prepare for the strike. Moments later, you reel up a kokanee, chrome-bright and destined for the cooler. You can already taste that bold blend of curry-like flavors, coriander, chili pepper, with a sharp hint of lime. Paired with a crisp rose or chardonnay, the complexity of flavors puts this recipe at the top of the list to share with friends and family, or not, as kokanee are a prize not to be squandered. Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Brad Trumbo, Field Staff Writer at Harvesting Nature Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Check out our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends
About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
There are worse things in life than kicking back on the boat on a gorgeous spring morning while the downriggers troll a small squid bait in the vicinity of a kokanee school. Birds are nesting and singing. Trees and flowers are in full bloom, casting brilliant hues from the lake canyon walls. You notice a sizable blob appear on the depth-finder and prepare for the strike. Moments later, you reel up a kokanee, chrome-bright and destined for the cooler. You can already taste that bold blend of curry-like flavors, coriander, chili pepper, with a sharp hint of lime. Paired with a crisp rose or chardonnay, the complexity of flavors puts this recipe at the top of the list to share with friends and family, or not, as kokanee are a prize not to be squandered. Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Brad Trumbo, Field Staff Writer at Harvesting Nature Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Check out our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends
About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
I once laid over in London while traveling to Morocco and spent the night in a lovely cottage that had an amazing pub downstairs. It was something you have seen in the movies. A dark room with stone clad walls and a crackling fireplace. I am pretty sure it was lit only by candle and oil lamp. I grabbed a fresh pint of beer and sat at a table next to the fire. I squinted in the firelight as I read each menu item line by line. The one item that caught my attention was a beef and ale pie, aka pot pie or meat pie. I ordered the pie and happily sipped my beer staring into the abyss of the cozy tavern. Within just a few minutes the server bounced over and served me my pie. I was very happy to crack through the crispy crust and dip my spoon into the rich dark gravy beneath. As I spooned in the first bite, I was consumed by this dish. Perfectly cooked vegetables, firm but tender meat, rich hoppy gravy. I was in love and ate the whole meal without breaking for a breath. This dish is inspired by that moment and has hung around in my mind since that night. Feel free to use Phyllo dough or puff pastry for this meat pie. I also cooked mine on the smoker which added some smoky flavors to the entire dish. If you don’t like ale then sub a dark porter or stout. I would lean away from hoppy beers for this dish. Think rich, balanced, and comforting… more cozy British tavern and less summertime BBQ. Cheers! Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Justin Townsend, Editor-in-Chief at Harvesting Nature Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Check out our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
I once laid over in London while traveling to Morocco and spent the night in a lovely cottage that had an amazing pub downstairs. It was something you have seen in the movies. A dark room with stone clad walls and a crackling fireplace. I am pretty sure it was lit only by candle and oil lamp. I grabbed a fresh pint of beer and sat at a table next to the fire. I squinted in the firelight as I read each menu item line by line. The one item that caught my attention was a beef and ale pie, aka pot pie or meat pie. I ordered the pie and happily sipped my beer staring into the abyss of the cozy tavern. Within just a few minutes the server bounced over and served me my pie. I was very happy to crack through the crispy crust and dip my spoon into the rich dark gravy beneath. As I spooned in the first bite, I was consumed by this dish. Perfectly cooked vegetables, firm but tender meat, rich hoppy gravy. I was in love and ate the whole meal without breaking for a breath. This dish is inspired by that moment and has hung around in my mind since that night. Feel free to use Phyllo dough or puff pastry for this meat pie. I also cooked mine on the smoker which added some smoky flavors to the entire dish. If you don’t like ale then sub a dark porter or stout. I would lean away from hoppy beers for this dish. Think rich, balanced, and comforting… more cozy British tavern and less summertime BBQ. Cheers! Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Justin Townsend, Editor-in-Chief at Harvesting Nature Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Check out our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This recipe combines separate classic techniques to make an ultra-crispy delicious meal, reminiscent of your favorite Chinese take-out dishes, but even better. Venison strips get fried until crispy, then dressed in one of my favorite condiments – Lao Gan Ma Chili Crisp. This sauce is basically a not-too-spicy chili oil full of delectable crispy bits. It is insanely tasty and addictive and is magical when paired with venison. Find it in any Asian grocery store, or order it online. The crispy venison then gets piled onto fried chow mein noodles nests, doubling the crisp factor and making it a fun meal for the whole family. Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Adam Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Check out our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website
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This recipe combines separate classic techniques to make an ultra-crispy delicious meal, reminiscent of your favorite Chinese take-out dishes, but even better. Venison strips get fried until crispy, then dressed in one of my favorite condiments – Lao Gan Ma Chili Crisp. This sauce is basically a not-too-spicy chili oil full of delectable crispy bits. It is insanely tasty and addictive and is magical when paired with venison. Find it in any Asian grocery store, or order it online. The crispy venison then gets piled onto fried chow mein noodles nests, doubling the crisp factor and making it a fun meal for the whole family. Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Adam Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Check out our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website
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This is my take on the classic South Philadelphia Hot Beef Sandwich, except I’m using beaver. Yes, that’s correct, beaver. Beaver is often an overlooked wild game meat, but trust me, as long as you avoid the castor glands when skinning and butchering, it is excellent. Among the game meats I’ve used for this recipe, it ranks up there with bear and is far superior to venison. I smoked the meat for about 1-1/2 hours and then put everything in a cast iron Dutch oven and slowly braised it on the pellet grill until the meat fell apart, which took an additional 3 hours or so. This is a delicious, but sloppy, sandwich so be sure to have plenty of napkins on hand. Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Field Staff Writer John Vile Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Check out our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This is my take on the classic South Philadelphia Hot Beef Sandwich, except I’m using beaver. Yes, that’s correct, beaver. Beaver is often an overlooked wild game meat, but trust me, as long as you avoid the castor glands when skinning and butchering, it is excellent. Among the game meats I’ve used for this recipe, it ranks up there with bear and is far superior to venison. I smoked the meat for about 1-1/2 hours and then put everything in a cast iron Dutch oven and slowly braised it on the pellet grill until the meat fell apart, which took an additional 3 hours or so. This is a delicious, but sloppy, sandwich so be sure to have plenty of napkins on hand. Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Field Staff Writer John Vile Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Check out our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Recipe originally prepared by Field Staff Writer Jason Thornton. Shepherd’s pie originated in the mid-1800s. In its original form, it consists of a red meat cooked in a gravy topped off with mashed potatoes and baked to form somewhat of a casserole. My version utilized ground venison stuffed into a mashed potato “ball” and fried to a golden brown. The ingredients are easy enough, the process is the tricky part. Regardless, this ultra-comfort food is not only unique but extremely satisfying. Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Field Staff Writer Jason Thornton. Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Check out our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Recipe originally prepared by Field Staff Writer Jason Thornton. Shepherd’s pie originated in the mid-1800s. In its original form, it consists of a red meat cooked in a gravy topped off with mashed potatoes and baked to form somewhat of a casserole. My version utilized ground venison stuffed into a mashed potato “ball” and fried to a golden brown. The ingredients are easy enough, the process is the tricky part. Regardless, this ultra-comfort food is not only unique but extremely satisfying. Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Field Staff Writer Jason Thornton. Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Check out our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Recipe originally prepared by Field Staff Writer Shawn West There is just something about stew that appeals to me as a hunter. Warm, soothing comfort food, with complex and layered flavours built through the alchemy of slow braising, stews are how I imagine the earliest hunters rewarded themselves. Some will argue that primal cuts roasted over an open fire represent the origins of wild-game cooking, and that is probably right from a technical sense, but I like to imagine our hunting ancestors started doing what many of us do when we cook; they began experimenting. I picture chopped meat slowly simmering and the hunter and their families adding in whatever else they felt would enhance the taste, only to discover that it made for an amazing meal. Roasted meat was protein procurement. Stews were culinary. As proof, I offer to look no further than every literal food culture in the world. They almost all universally have some kind of staple stew. They go by many names and preparations across cultures: ghoulash, birria, stroganoff, curry, tajine, or in this case, rogan josh. Yet every one of those dishes can be distilled down to simply meat, regionally available vegetables, and spices, all of which are boiled and simmered until delicious. Stews are truly a unifying human cultural symbol. I made this dish out of a large, rectangular hip roast carved from the young whitetail buck that I was fortunate enough to shoot this past November. On a deer, the legs do the work and those cuts can sometimes be tough, which is why I opted to go with a stew. As I cubed the meat, though, I was simultaneously pleased and disappointed that the knife was gliding so smoothly. This was no tough hip muscle from a wily old bruiser, but a quite tender chunk of meat from a one-and-a-half-year-old deer that was cruising after a doe when my crosshairs found his shoulder. I could have just as easily breaded and chicken-fried these cuts, and they likely would have been amazing, but the payoff after a long braise in spices, onions, garlic, and ginger was melt in your mouth venison with a richly spiced, aromatic gravy. Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Field Staff Writer Shawn West Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Check out our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends
About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Recipe originally prepared by Field Staff Writer Shawn West There is just something about stew that appeals to me as a hunter. Warm, soothing comfort food, with complex and layered flavours built through the alchemy of slow braising, stews are how I imagine the earliest hunters rewarded themselves. Some will argue that primal cuts roasted over an open fire represent the origins of wild-game cooking, and that is probably right from a technical sense, but I like to imagine our hunting ancestors started doing what many of us do when we cook; they began experimenting. I picture chopped meat slowly simmering and the hunter and their families adding in whatever else they felt would enhance the taste, only to discover that it made for an amazing meal. Roasted meat was protein procurement. Stews were culinary. As proof, I offer to look no further than every literal food culture in the world. They almost all universally have some kind of staple stew. They go by many names and preparations across cultures: ghoulash, birria, stroganoff, curry, tajine, or in this case, rogan josh. Yet every one of those dishes can be distilled down to simply meat, regionally available vegetables, and spices, all of which are boiled and simmered until delicious. Stews are truly a unifying human cultural symbol. I made this dish out of a large, rectangular hip roast carved from the young whitetail buck that I was fortunate enough to shoot this past November. On a deer, the legs do the work and those cuts can sometimes be tough, which is why I opted to go with a stew. As I cubed the meat, though, I was simultaneously pleased and disappointed that the knife was gliding so smoothly. This was no tough hip muscle from a wily old bruiser, but a quite tender chunk of meat from a one-and-a-half-year-old deer that was cruising after a doe when my crosshairs found his shoulder. I could have just as easily breaded and chicken-fried these cuts, and they likely would have been amazing, but the payoff after a long braise in spices, onions, garlic, and ginger was melt in your mouth venison with a richly spiced, aromatic gravy. Read the written version of this recipe as prepared by Field Staff Writer Shawn West Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Check out our Small Batch Wild Food Spice Blends
About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This was honestly the best fish sandwich I’ve ever eaten. Using a slightly modified take on the now-classic Nashville Hot Chicken recipe, I subbed in pike fillets (tasty and tender, yet firm), and put it all on a bun. I used sorrel instead of lettuce because I like the way the tartness cuts through the richness of the fried fish and sauce, much like the lemon or vinegar you get with fish and chips, but you can use regular iceberg or romaine lettuce instead. This isn’t a healthy recipe by any means, so make it a treat and go all in for the heavy oily goodness of the hot sauce that the fried pike gets smothered in! Read the written version of this recipe Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Buy us a cup of coffee to say thanks for the great work
About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This was honestly the best fish sandwich I’ve ever eaten. Using a slightly modified take on the now-classic Nashville Hot Chicken recipe, I subbed in pike fillets (tasty and tender, yet firm), and put it all on a bun. I used sorrel instead of lettuce because I like the way the tartness cuts through the richness of the fried fish and sauce, much like the lemon or vinegar you get with fish and chips, but you can use regular iceberg or romaine lettuce instead. This isn’t a healthy recipe by any means, so make it a treat and go all in for the heavy oily goodness of the hot sauce that the fried pike gets smothered in! Read the written version of this recipe Rate this Podcast Listen to our other podcasts here Buy us a cup of coffee to say thanks for the great work
About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Visit the Intrepid Eater website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This hearty and delicious soup was inspired by Japanese miso ramen, one of the three types of basic ramen soup in Japan. I made my version by adding white miso paste (available in most large grocery stores these days) to venison bone broth along with aromatics, and water used to reconstitute dried shiitake mushrooms. Dried mushrooms and their soaking liquid add something special to the dish but if you can’t find them feel free to use fresh, though you’ll have to sauté them first. I must say, the flavour of rich meaty venison broth mixing with the freshly seared venison steak was phenomenal and a nice change from the more common braised meat you find in soups. Have fun with the garnishes. You’ll definitely want a jammy egg in there, but customize the rest of your ramen by adding any or all of the garnishes I’ve suggested, or you can come up with some of your own! Read the written version of this recipe Listen to our other podcasts here Buy us a cup of coffee to say thanks for the great work About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This hearty and delicious soup was inspired by Japanese miso ramen, one of the three types of basic ramen soup in Japan. I made my version by adding white miso paste (available in most large grocery stores these days) to venison bone broth along with aromatics, and water used to reconstitute dried shiitake mushrooms. Dried mushrooms and their soaking liquid add something special to the dish but if you can’t find them feel free to use fresh, though you’ll have to sauté them first. I must say, the flavour of rich meaty venison broth mixing with the freshly seared venison steak was phenomenal and a nice change from the more common braised meat you find in soups. Have fun with the garnishes. You’ll definitely want a jammy egg in there, but customize the rest of your ramen by adding any or all of the garnishes I’ve suggested, or you can come up with some of your own! Read the written version of this recipe Listen to our other podcasts here Buy us a cup of coffee to say thanks for the great work About Adam Berkelmans: Adam Berkelmans, also known as The Intrepid Eater, is a passionate ambassador for real food and a proponent of nose to tail eating. He spends his time between Ottawa and a cozy lake house north of Kingston, Ontario. When not cooking, he can be found hunting, fishing, foraging, gardening, reading, traveling, and discovering new ways to find and eat food. Follow Adam on Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This meal is straight up comfort food. Its cheesy and creamy and oh so delicious. The meal reminded me of eating hamburger helper as a child, but so much better. I would certainly recommend serving this meal to your entire family as it is filling and easy to make. My 8-year-old crushed the plate you see in the photo. Don’t worry about those jalapenos. Once they are roasted, they lose much of the spiciness. I just roasted mine on the stovetop in a pan, rotating them once the skin became blackened. If you wanted to add some extra flavor to this meal then you could substitute the stock for beer and stir in a little German mustard. Enjoy! Click here to get the written form of the recipe Listen to our other podcasts here Buy us a cup of coffee to say thanks for the great work Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
As hunters it’s our responsibility to utilize as much of the game we harvest. Most of us would like a deer made up entirely of back straps and tenderloins but unfortunately that is not the case. There is plenty of good eating on a deer from nose to tail; one of the highly overlooked but incredibly tasty parts of the animal is the heart. We have been making a conscious effort to save more of the animal, to include the organs. This recipe is a great way to showcase the heart in a delicious and visually appeasing method. Click here to get the written form of the recipe Listen to our other podcasts here Buy us a cup of coffee to say thanks for the great work Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Don't be nervous about trying new methods of cooking wild game. This delicious goose recipe by Kory is a prime example that you just have to pull the trigger sometimes and go for it. The goose was so good that he sliced it thin and ate it like steak right off the smoker. The leftovers he put on a sandwich with avocado, grilled peppers, lettuce, and some Assault sauce. Click here to get the written form of the recipe Listen to our other podcasts here Buy us a cup of coffee to say thanks for the great work Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Egg rolls are basically little fried burritos and we absolutely love them! Enjoy Justin’s wild version of the classic egg roll recipe using venison instead of pork. Click here to get the written form of the recipe Listen to our other podcasts here Buy us a cup of coffee to say thanks for the great work Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The sweetness of the mango, the spicy habanero and fresh yellowtail really bring a perfect balance of flavors in this ceviche. Whip up a fresh batch of tortilla chips or baked pita chips and you can have it as a salsa or you can put it inside a fresh tortilla and have Ceviche tacos. We have also placed it on top of a bed of lettuce and had an amazing ceviche salad. With so many ways to eat it, it’s bound to be a hit at your next party. Click here to get the written form of the recipe Listen to our other podcasts here Buy us a cup of coffee to say thanks for the great work Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Welcome to our first ever wild food audio cookbook. We invite you into our kitchen to cook our favorite wild game recipes as we go like by line and item by item. You can pause, play, and repeat as needed to ultimately prepare a delicious wild meal for your family and friends. Check out our other podcasts here Buy us a cup of coffee to say thanks for the great content! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices