Fiduccia - The wild game cookbook: simple and delicious ways to prepare venison, waterfowl, fish, turkey, and small game

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my husband, Peter, and our son, Cody, who always give their faithful support for all my endeavors, endure my experimental dishes and recipes whipped up on a whim, and reliably leave me room in the goose blind.

Copyright 2018 by Kate Fiduccia

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Mona Lin

Cover image credit: iStockphoto

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-4143-0

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-4144-7

Printed in China

A ccording to United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USF&WS) statistics, most people are introduced to big-game hunting by grandparents, parents, extended family, significant others, or friends. No one in my immediate or extended family, or any one of my friends, that I was aware of, ever hunted deer or other big game. My exposure came from a fella I was dating. Its an interesting story, at least to me, that perhaps will provide you with a background how I eventually wrote several wild game cookbooks and had a long career in the outdoor industry.

My introduction to hunting began in the spring of 1979 when I returned home to Sterling Forest, a hamlet outside of Tuxedo, New York. I had spent the preceding year studying in Stockholm, Sweden, as part of a high school student exchange program. My plan was to work over the summer before leaving for the University of Michigan to pursue a bachelors degree in music. What transpired between my well-laid-out strategy and the old adage about the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry (adapted from a Robert Burns poem) ended up quite differently. The alterations of my plans not only changed my college intentions at the time, but also my plans for the immediate future.

I was scheduled to leave for Michigan in the fall of 1979. But, through a combination of unplanned occurrences and interesting career deviations, I ended up attending Cornell Universitys Hotel School instead. I graduated from Cornell University with a bachelors degree in hotel administration. After graduation, I lived with my parents in southern Orange County, New York, and worked in New York City for Morgan Guaranty Trust.

During my time at Cornell I began dating a fella who, at that time, and still is, an avid deer hunter. Although I had actually never gone hunting, I had no negative feelings about it. At one point PJ, as he was called back then, asked me if I would consider going hunting with him. I agreed. In fact, I was quite interested to learn if I would enjoy hunting deer.

Over my first weekend of deer hunting I saw nothing but gray squirrels, chipmunks, and birds. To console me, PJ explained that not every outing ends up with a hunter actually seeing or taking a deer. The comment didnt quell my frustration. Not seeing a single deer over an entire weekend after sitting on a cold, hard rock in the woods of Sterling Forest was far less exciting than I had anticipated. Unfortunately, the same scenario was repeated the following weekend. By then, I was getting completely disheartened after being skunked two weekends in a row, and was left wondering if all hunters tell big tales about their deer huntswhether they see deer or not. PJ was quick, however, to assure me that was not the case. On the last weekend of the New York deer season, he gave me some sage advice about how to spot a deer in the woods and he was reasonably sure I would see a deer if I followed his suggestions. PJ was right. I shot my first buck, a spike, shortly after sunrise that Saturday.

What really captivated me about the hunt was what followed after I shot my buck. The first thing PJ said after seeing my buck was, Congratulations, Im very proud of you. On the heels of that statement was, But now comes the work part of deer hunting. I watched him as he carefully eviscerated the deer, dragged it out of the woods (he was sturdy enough back then to do that), and then said, Lets get it home so I can begin butchering it tonight. Whaaa? Butcher it? What the heck is he going to ask me to do next, eat it too? And of course, he did. I reluctantly took a bite of a grilled steak PJ made the following day and, to my amazement, I thoroughly enjoyed every single morsel. I was hooked. From that point on I was a huntress. This experience was yet another one that would significantly alter my life in so many unexpected waysbut I am getting ahead of myself here, so more on that part of the narrative later.

I come from a family who enjoyed preparing all types of foods, particularly bakery items, and a variety of delicious appetizers and entrees. My mom was always eager to put out a nice spread of table-fare for guests who came over. She also would never fail to make sure her meals were accompanied by the proper selection of wine. On any given weekend you could find my mom coming up with some traditional or even exotic recipe for me and my two sisters (Patricia, a.k.a. Pat, and Christine, a.k.a. Chrisi) to enjoy. So because my grandma Elizabeth and my mother Mary were good cooks, I inevitably inherited their desire to cook different types of baked goods and foods. As time went on, I eventually developed my own culinary skills as well.

After eating my first venison steak, I realized I not only wanted to enjoy the hunt itself, I wanted to excel in preparing a wide variety of scrumptious deer and other wild game meals. With each passing deer season, I found a deep connection I never suspected I had to hunting and, more interesting, to all the other parts that come after taking a deer. During following deer seasons, I learned to field dress a deer by myself, drag it from the woods (with a little help now and then from PJ), butcher it, and, best of all, prepare venison in a variety of mouthwatering ways. Many times over the last thirty-four years I have been privileged and happy to have received rave reviews about my wild game meals made for people who steadfastly swore they hated the taste of venison.

Eating my first meal of venison acted as the catalyst that changed my life and career path yet again. I enjoyed hunting to such a degree that it launched a thirty-four-year career in the outdoor industry. In 1984, I was the cohost one of the first big-game hunting shows on television Woods N Water Big Game Adventures. In fact, I am proud to say that I was likely one of the very first women on television to hunt deer and other big game. Over the following decades, I was privileged to hunt and fish all across North America and enjoy a special trip to South Africa. Through these adventures, I have been able to enjoy numerous delectable delights from freshly caught brown trout along the banks of the Bighorn River in Wyoming, savory pheasant potpie from Nilo Farms (of Winchester-Olin) in Brighton, Illinois, to grilled kudu loin in KwaZulu, South Africa.