By Staff
Jan. 12, 2001
Beginning in October with the first weeks of archery season for deer, hunting families hereabouts find themselves with freezers bulging with venison.
This happy state is the result of a healthy herd of whitetail deer across the region due to good game management practices and an adaptable game animal, beloved throughout history for its cunning, beauty and nutritious meat.
The question of what to do with all that venison has traditionally been answered by turning much of it into sausage and the rest into various cuts, some of which may remain unused until the next deer season and eventually be thrown out due to "freezer burn."
Wild Bounty'
A remedy for avoiding the waste is to cook the venison in a variety of ways that excite the taste buds and entice family members to cry for more.
Accomplishing this is a snap with the new game cookbook "Wild Bounty" by Jim and Ann Casada published by the North American Hunting Club of Minnetonka, Minn.
Jim, a favorite American outdoor writer, and perhaps the most allegiant to the use of the eloquent words in our language, earlier co-authored another cookbook with his wife, "The Complete Venison Cookbook."
Further, the two have contributed to several other volumes on wild game cooking.
This work consists of 160 pages divided into segments titled Venison, Wild Turkey, Upland Birds, Upland Game, Waterfowl, Soups, Stews and Chili and Feasts and Flavors from Nature's Garden.
Fits the South, too
The Casadas, South Carolinians, have authored a book that fits the game taken by hunters in the South and the wild nuts, fruits, berries, mushrooms and vegetables that grow here.
Because I have an abundance of fresh venison, I read the entire section on preparing this popular meat. It is difficult to decide which recipe to try first.
What I liked most is that practically all ingredients are those I already have in the kitchen. No outlandish dishes here. Instead there are plenty that are easy to prepare with readily available seasonings and yet offer bold approaches that promise flavor and succulence.
This is a hardback coffee table book that doubles as a cookbook. Almost every page has outstanding color photography. And for those fans of Casada's prose, he and Ann have interspersed informative commentary in half-page blocks throughout the book.
Order inscribed copies of Wild Bounty from Jim and Ann Casada, 1250 Yorkdale Drive, Rock Hill, SC 29730. The cost is $20 plus $4 shipping and handling.
Otha Barham is Outdoors Editor of The Meridian Star. E-mail him at olbarham1@aol.com.