In her new cookbook, Game & Gatherings, Rachel Carrie advocates a field-to-table lifestyle through her savory, delectable game recipes.
Rachel Carrie is a passionate woman – passionate about educating people about the importance of hunting as it relates to conservation. With her cookbook, Game & Gatherings, she puts into action the fruits of her skilled shooting, one delicious dish at a time.
Growing up in the U.K. as an avowed vegetarian – insert eye-roll from her Mum – until her father had him join her and their Harris hawk to hunt rabbits. The art of the hunt pricked in her an untapped wildness that she grew to embrace, sometimes to the dismay of her childhood friends, chasing them about the backyard with bits and pieces of a soon-to-hit-the-pot wild hare. She credits her mum with introducing her to deliciously prepared rabbit and has since translated that love into cooking far more adventurous game like muntjac, moose and plenty of pigeon.
In fact, she says that pigeon is the ideal game to start your edible field-to-fork journey, as it is the easiest to pluck. Similarly, her recipes range in complexity of flavor from the simple (pigeon poppers, not unlike the ubiquitous hunting camp variety of bacon-wrapped, game-filled jalapeño peppers) to the dinner-party-worthy (wild boar ragú or pheasant katsu curry). When asked who she wrote the book for, Carrie replies “My book is for everyone from seasoned hunters to those who have never seen a shotgun or rifle or even a deer for that matter. One aim of the book was to try and bring game into the modern kitchen and to highlight to those who don’t already have an appreciation for game and how diverse, healthy and ethical game meat is.”
Carrie advocates foraging as well as hunting, when stocking the larder, reminding readers that “what grows together, goes together,” an adage that underscores why wild garlic pairs beautifully with the deer that feed nearby or why grouse baked with wild heather is simply delectable. While many of the recipes are decidedly British in nature, there is a worldly quality to the book that translates across boundaries. “America has much of the same game species that we do [in the U.K.] – pheasants, pigeons, rabbits, wildfowl – and the venison dishes can be easily adapted to suit the American deer species. When I go on my hunting travels, I always bring back a recipe from camp. That is the beauty of the hunting community: we are a global, multicultural and diverse.” Her recipe for the South African staple, biltong, made with venison, is one such example.
When asked who inspires her afield and in the kitchen, Carrie replies “I’ve been very fortunate to have some really great mentors in my life. My father has been a huge inspiration to me in the field as he really is an exceptional shooter, teaching me about being sporting and how to shoot those really tall pheasants. In the kitchen, it was my mum and grandma who taught me all I needed to know about cooking – they brought up children on tight budgets, so it was all about wholesome family meals made from scratch with minimal waste and not being fussy!”
Hours afield or in the kitchen is time to think and not be distracted from the pinging electronics of everyday. When asked who she’s thought it would be great to cook for, Carrie answers easily and thoughtfully, “I’d love to have sat down for dinner with Teddy Roosevelt. I’m such a huge fan of the American national park system, as well as his hunting and conservation models. I’d also love to have my grandma around for dinner; she passed away before I really got into my cooking and I’d love to repay her for all of the wonderful meals she made for me growing up!”
When asked how often she gets to shoot, Carrie responds, “Well, I work full-time in the environmental consultancy industry. Our family has a waste management company with multiple large waste processing facilities (yes, like the Sopranos!) and I have a teenage son so my plate’s pretty full. But I spend my weekends shooting and hunting – without exception – whether it’s clays or game, it’s just what I love to do! A few people think I must be a full-time chef to write my cookbook, but one of the misconceptions I wanted to smash with my book is that game is not complicated to cook and you don’t have to be a chef! All of the other game cookbooks out there were written by professional chefs and much of the dishes are dishes that you just wouldn’t cook for your family. I wanted to address that and prove if I can cook game, anyone can.”
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