Share the bounty
Phil Taunton
Friday, December 26, 2008
It might be just a bit too early to be making New Year’s resolutions, but there is one thing I am going to be sure to put on my list — not to ask Wifeus what she is going to fix for dinner the day after she planned and fixed a big feast such as a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. The woman just can’t take a joke. Goodness gracious, she went into such a tirade, you would have thought I was asking her to quit golf or she just got the news another root canal was in order. I can’t understand it. I did my part by making the chip dip and I’m sure I ran to the store a couple of times for this and that. I’ll just need to be more candid with what I ask for in 2009. After 40 years of marriage, I guess she believes food isn’t the way to a man’s heart after all! I don’t know why she would get so out of sorts considering all the things I do for her. It might be hard to believe, but on our last pheasant hunting trip to Mitchell County, I missed a wild, hard-flying, wily rooster on purpose, just so she could harvest her first bird! Her little Benelli 20-gauge spoke true and what a shot she made. Oh, she has had her chances and put quail in the vest before, but this was the first time she got a pheasant. She sure was excited — almost as excited as when she bags a birdie on the golf course!
One thing we agreed on, even before this latest Christmas dinner, was to try and keep the contents of the refrigerator and freezer minimized to current, up-to-date edibles. Things we can identify anyway!
I still consider it a prize worth its weight in gold when I find a container of frozen crappie filets lurking way back on a shelf deep in the freezer, properly stored and labeled. Finding a turkey harvested on April 28, 2008, that came strutting and gobbling all the way to the decoys brings back fond memories of a successful hunt. But finding freezer burned goods, meat shrunk in size and turning a flaky white is a waste and pretty disheartening. It doesn’t need to be that way.
The fall hunting season has been underway for several months now and a new Kansas fishing season is just around the corner. With so many people in need and the economy as it is across the country, now might be a good time for all hunters and fishermen alike to take an inventory of what they have on hand and share their bounty with a community food bank or soup kitchen such as the Salvation Army as long as the meat is still of good quality. The gift of giving isn’t limited to just the Christmas season. Some people have the misconception wild game isn’t good to eat and kids will never go for it, but this is far from the truth. I once organized an archery and air-rifle shooting sports program for a local youth organization as an introduction to these exciting, fun activities. The director of this organization wanted to know if I had any preference to what we could fix the kids to eat as part of the event.
Since I participate in National Shoot to Retrieve Association competitions with my pointing dogs, I am privileged to get all the “reared to release” quail I want to cook and suggested we fix marinated bacon-wrapped grilled quail for the kids. “Quail,” she said. “Isn’t that wild game? The kids will never eat that!”
So I suggested she bring the standard hamburgers and hot dogs, and I would prepare the quail for grilling, and we would let the kids decide. I mean to tell you, we threw away a lot of half-eaten hamburgers and hot dogs after the smoke cleared, but all the quail was gone and the kids were asking for more. Since Wifeus was able to harvest a pheasant, I’ll put it with one I found while cleaning out the freezer and try a recipe passed on to Outdoors Adventures by Don and P. Kay Duncan called Pheasant Jambalaya. What a hearty meal fit for a wintery cold day!
Ingredients:
-2 pheasants cut in pieces. (Chicken can be substituted if your upland game bird hunting has been as poor as mine)
• 1/2 pound cubed ham
• 3 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 large onion
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp each of thyme,
pepper and Tabasco sauce
• 3 cups hot water
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
• Salt to taste
Preparation
Brown pheasant and ham in oil; remove meat from oil and sauté pepper, onion and garlic for 5 minutes over low heat. Add seasonings and water: simmer for 10 minutes. Add rice and meat and cook covered over low heat for 25 more minutes. Fluff rice with fork and cook for another five minutes.