Community Interest in Hunting

Monday I was on the plane coming home from Boston and settled in to read through the USA Today newspaper that was left at my hotel doorstep the night prior. I love USA Today when I’m traveling. It’s a quick read and tends to be sort of ‘middle of the road’ in terms of content. Not too heavy into politics on the one hand, and not People magazine on the other.

One of the most interesting sections is the state-by-state highlight of daily events. If you haven’t read it, this section has every state listed and one or two sentences regarding something of significance in a particular city in that state. Often it is related to a traumatic accident, Mother Nature, some politician in trouble (lots of those), or any other top-line story.

So as I ordered my third glass of red wine, sprawled out in first class (no, it’s not the norm - I just burned some miles), I began making my way through the state alphabet soup.

Toward the end of the page, I came upon the state of Wisconsin and read this:

“Madison - Ducks are healthy and abundant heading into the autumn hunt, state wildlife experts said. Bird ecologist Kent Van Horn said ducks are so plentiful that hunters can enjoy the maximum 60-day season allowed by federal regulations.”

A big smile came across my face and I let out an audible chuckle. “Imagine that”, I thought. “A dispassionate, unbiased, nonsensationalized reference to the upcoming hunting season. Go figure.”

It reminded me of my youth when autumn would bring an array of community references to the hunting season. Whether it was the annual absence note to my teachers the day before we left for deer camp, or the café and bar banners that read “Welcome Hunters” in every postage stamp town across middle America. Those were the days when the importance of hunting helped define our community.

Those references bring back memories of early morning adventures as a kid, rolling down the highway in my dad’s truck with Willie on the radio and the scent of dew-laden weeds coming through the vents. The smell of country we used to call it.

Those were the days when we would hunt for a couple of hours then pick up our decoys and head into the closest town for a gut-busting breakfast. Walking into the local café was like going to a camouflage clothing convention. Everyone slouched over the counter looked exactly like you, and you were glad for it. The pretty waitresses were happy to see you and had the coffee poured before you were settled in your booth.

Even though I am only 39 (yes, the big 4-0 is later this year), I can fondly recall when hunting season was a defining event that people marked on their calendars and communities celebrated widely. Where did those days go? Dr. James Swan - the author of In Defense of Hunting - wrote a nice piece for ESPN last month that talks about the importance of a positive public image for hunting. These are the types of messages that we need to support.

In my last post I referenced several articles on hunting and the media. And, in fact, most of us have grown sensitive to the fact that the media does more headline-selling articles regarding hunting than celebrating our long held sport.

But something about that USA Today article reached out and triggered a fond memory of days gone by. I know it was a fleeting mention buried deep in a national newspaper. But I can hope. Hope that on this one day we can chalk up a win for the season to come.

Does your hometown still celebrate the hunting season? If so, how? I’d love to hear your experiences.

Anti-hunting Ammunition?

As I sat in my hotel room on a recent business trip having finished the newest Field and Stream and Gun Dog magazines, I decided to start surfing the net to see if I could discover something interesting. No, not that you dirty birds.

I ended up at a popular video hosting site and promptly entered a search for “hunting videos”. I was pleasantly surprised to find a large number of videos encompassing a spectrum of talent. Some were simply ‘the boys’ out in the field (sorry ladies - no huntress videos), while others were quasi-professionally produced by worldwide outfitters and guides.

I have to be honest that a couple of the videos disturbed me, and at times, I winced at their content. The images in question had nothing to do with kill shots or cleaning game. Rather, they had to do with hunter behavior.

Now please understand, the road I am about to go down is not an indictment of those involved. Believe me, I am the last person who is entitled to pass judgment.

But, having watched these videos then read Kristin’s post at Gun Safety Innovations on how the media sensationalizes hunting, I started to wonder if we - as the hunting community - aren’t our own worst enemy in these situations with providing the anti-hunting establishment with the ammunition with which they aim at us.

Holly at Nor Cal Cazadora and many others have written extensively about the perceptions of hunting in the media, on television, and in print. The collection of those articles came rushing to my mind as I sat and watched these two young men toy with a wounded Canada goose that they had dropped but not cleanly killed. I couldn’t help but think to myself, “What the hell?”

I am also reminded that we have this wonderful liberty called the First Amendment (ironically next to the most cherished one in my book – the Second Amendment), that guarantees our ability to say what we like in the public realm without retribution.

In a world filled with camera phones, digital video recorders the size of a Budweiser can, and an anti-hunting force that is building a war chest equal to the national debt, my question to you is; do we have a responsibility to police ourselves in how we portray hunting to the public? Moreover, should we also encourage one another to actually behave that same way when no one else is looking? Or, is there any real harm in simply sharing our personal hunting adventures on a world stage through video, no matter what others may think?

I am interested in what you think, fire away.

In the meantime I am going online to search for a new HD camcorder for capturing this fall’s hunting adventures.

Pan-Seared Duck Breasts with Bourbon Butter Sauce

Wow, The Sporting Chef really out-did himself in creating this amazing recipe especially for Hunt, Eat, Live! What could be better than ducks, butter, and bourbon!

OK, this recipe comes with a warning. Pay attention. Anytime you add alcohol to a hot pan, there’s going to be fire. While I know that making fire is a fun, it’s also dangerous.
Serves 4

8 duck breast fillets, skin on or off
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves, minced
1/4 cup bourbon
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Dash of Tabasco

Combine kosher salt, pepper and sugar and rub over ducks. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and place ducks, breast side down, in skillet. Cook until browned, turn over. Add 2 tablespoons butter, onions, garlic and rosemary to the pan and continue cooking until duck breasts are medium-rare, about another 4 minutes. Remove duck from pan and keep warm.

In a small bowl, combine bourbon, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Remove pan from heat and add bourbon mixture. Return pan to medium-high heat and reduce liquid by one-half. Add a dash or two of Tabasco and stir in butter until melted. Remove pan from heat. Arrange ducks sliced breasts and spoon sauce over.

Enjoy!

Hunt, Eat, Live! would like to thank Scott Leysath for his willingness to be interviewed for this blog as well as for creating this wonderful recipe. To learn more about Scott, visit HuntFishCook.

The Sporting Chef Interview, Part II

Scott and Donny decided that the standard hunting shows were a dime-a-dozen. So they ventured out to do something unique. HuntFishCook is the result, which is now viewed in over 36 million homes. The show combines a taped hunt through the harvest and then focuses the majority of the time on preparing the dishes.

Scott is as free with his recipes as he is with his one-liners. There are over 400 of Scott’s favorite recipes on HuntFishCook.com along with another 270 in his 2007 re-release of The Sporting Chef Cookbook. I asked Scott if he was worried about going broke by trying to sell cookbooks then turning around and offering them online for free? “You can’t make a living selling cookbooks,” he replied.

In addition to TV and the cookbook, Scott also performs live demonstrations and private events where he enjoys interacting with his fans. When asked if he has any good groupie stories, Leysath laughs, “Only if you count 90-year old ladies chasing me around the kitchen.”

One of Scott’s obvious missions in life is to help spread the gospel of properly prepared wild game. “I get asked all the time, ‘How do I get that livery taste out of my ducks (or geese, venison, elk, etc)?’ If I only had a dollar for every time I’ve been asked that question,” he says.

Scott says that, for the most part, game doesn’t taste livery. “Oh sure, there are a few notable exceptions, but if your duck tastes like liver, don’t blame the duck.”

There are a few things that will drastically increase the odds that your harvested game will taste its best at the table, particularly fowl.

“First, place your birds, whole or in parts, into brine consisting of 1 gallon water and 1 cup kosher salt. Put a cup of the water into a saucepan, add the salt and heat until dissolved. Add the rest of the water, submerge the ducks and refrigerate for 6 – 12 hours.” Scott says that brining replaces duck blood with a mild salt solution. Pat the brined ducks with paper towels, rub with some olive oil, salt and pepper and slap them on the grill,” says Leysath.

“The second trick”, says Scott, “is to cook your ducks in parts.” To make a point, Scott points to the leftovers at any duck dinner. If the ducks have been cooked either split or whole until the breasts are medium-rare, the legs are not, in his opinion, fit to eat.

“Medium-rare duck legs are tough and chewy. However, ducks breasts cooked to the same temperature - between 125 and 135 degrees - are tender, moist and not the least bit gamy.” The secret to making the best of both parts? During the season, cut off the legs and thighs and freeze them separately. When you get enough legs saved up, brown them in a skillet and then slow cook them in braising liquid like red wine, herbs, garlic and onions. After a few hours the legs are tender enough so that the meat can be easily eaten "with only a pile of clean bones left behind," testifies Scott.

On the other hand, “I prefer to cook breasts quickly – well-browned on the outside and rare to medium-rare in the center,” says Scott. Two different preparation methods for two different parts of the animal.

“Finally, and most important of all, don’t overcook your game, especially ducks,” says Leysath. “Overcooking makes game tough and muttony. Prove it to yourself. Cut a duck breast or other game in half and cook one piece until medium-rare. Cook the other half all the way through until it’s gray in the center. Now give them both a taste test. Amazing isn’t it?”

Tune in for Part III of the Leysath interview for a wonderful Pan Seared Duck recipe with Bourbon Butter Sauce, prepared especially for Hunt, Eat, Live!

An Interview with The Sporting Chef, Scott Leysath

If you Google the name ‘Scott Leysath’ you will be quick to discover that most consider him America’s premier wild game chef. But as I turned into Scott’s neighborhood in the quiet, middle class cul-de-sac in Folsom, California you would scratch your head and wonder if you had followed your Map Quest directions correctly.

As I rang the bell and waited for Scott and the obvious gang of hounds to answer the door, I recalled in my mind the last time I talked with him and how it didn’t surprise me that I was in Northern California suburbia rather than Beverly Hills.

Born to an Alabama farm boy and raised in the Washington DC beltway, Scott is as down-to-earth and unpretentious as they come. A regular Joe that chuckles at the notion that he is now a celebrity. “Celebrity?” Scott laughs, “To say anything I do is celebrity is just silly.”

The Sporting Chef has certainly racked up enough accomplishments in his “unchosen career path” to qualify as celebrity. This high school rock-n-roll singer and psychology degree toting culinary expert is an accomplished restaurant and catering business owner, author, TV host, producer, food photographer, and speaker. Oh, and he is also a devoted father, husband, and avid hunter.

Scott first entered the professional cooking scene after owning a restaurant in a small Northern California town where he specialized in wild game. One day the phone rang and the California Waterfowl Association (CWA) asked Scott to cater one of their fundraising events. Shortly thereafter, his catering business - Silver Sage Catering - was born and he was off to the races on the dinner circuit for local conservation organizations such as CWA, Ducks Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and others.

While working the wild game feed road shows, Scott was noticed and received a call from HGTV. He was invited to host and produce a series entitled “Home Grown Cooking with Paul James”. As part of that process, Scott also was able to produce The Sporting Chef show, which is also the name of his cookbook. Scott admits that he loves cooking in front of the camera most out of all his experiences. “In one show you end up with two segments of 9 minutes each in which to prepare two full dishes from start to finish”, says Leysath. “So you need to be prepared and entertaining.”

Scott learned early on in his television career that he didn’t want to produce the typical hunting or fishing show that already occupied the airwaves. As a result, he created a concept he calls “short attention span cooking”. The concept incorporates a fast-paced approach to showing the traditional hunting scene with Scott and partners harvesting the highlighted game, then cutting to game preparation and signature dishes prepared within the 30-minute show timeframe.

“You have to keep it interesting and different,” says Leysath, “because just around the corner is the next guy – younger, better looking, and more entertaining.”

These days, Scott is focused on a couple of interesting projects. He spends one week out of the month traveling to Alabama where he teams up with veteran outdoor host Donny McElvoy. The two of them plus Donny's wife produce an entertaining television series called HuntFishCook. Scott says he and Donny don't make the usual hunting and fishing video where all you see is hunters calling birds, shooting birds, retreiving birds, repeat.

Subscribe to Hunt, Eat, Live! to read Part II of The Sporting Chef interview. Learn about the re-release of his best selling cookbook plus receive a special recipe from Scott prepared especially for Hunt, Eat, Live!