400 Field-and Kitchen-Tested Recipes
By Jim and Ann Casida
Soft cover 264 pages
Available from Rowman & Littlefield
1-800-462-6920
$24.95 + $5 Shipping
Now that every deer hunter’s freezer is hopefully full at the close of deer season the age old question of how to prepare it arises.
A very lean meat, venison has been known to dry out when improperly cooked and that causes some people to view its preparation with some trepidation. Typically the hunter turns the venison over to his wife who does not find venison in her cook books. That’s where this book comes in with over 400 recipes sure to tempt anyone who loves cooking and give the rest plenty of options on how to prepare venison for the table. It sure puts an end to the cry of “I don’t know how to cook it.”
The book begins with tips on shot placement, field dressing, aging the meat, processing and packaging, culminating with all the reasons venison is such a healthy meat to eat. This is followed by chapters on fancy fixings (showing just how fancy a gourmet dish venison can be), ground venison and cubed steak, crock pot cookery, venison on the grill, soups and stews, forgotten portions and unusual approaches, and health smart venison cookery.
This is gourmet cooking approaching the level of Canada’s Cree Indians who put the finest French chef’s to shame with their elaborate dishes of beaver and other wild game.
There will be found something to satisfy everyone with all these choices regardless of whether they want simple or elaborate recipes. If your wife enjoys cooking then she should love this book and all you have to do is provide the deer.—Jim Dickson
