Hot fish (crab) dip
Ingredients
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 pound of pre-cooked fish (I par boil my fish and shred into lumps)
- 1 cup cheddar cheese
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 2 green onion, chopped
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
How to make
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together mayonnaise and cream cheese until creamy
- Stir in garlic powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder, horse radish, and hot sauce
- Fold in cheddar cheese, fish, green onions, and capers
- Dish out into a lightly greased casserole dish (I like using a 12” cast iron skillet).
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Serve with crackers on baguettes.
Chef’s note
Lump crab meat can be substituted for the fish. This would make a great topping on grilled backstrap or a baked potato.
Creamy jalapeno dip
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 4 medium jalapenos sliced (remove seeds if you don’t want the heat)
- 4 oz can of chopped green chilis
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 oz package of ranch dressing mix
- ½ tsp minced garlic
Process:
Mix all ingredients together in blender. Process until smooth. Refrigerate overnight.
Chef’s note: This dip is great with chips or on any Mexican dish especially tacos.
Wild Turkey Tuscan Pasta
Ingredients
- 12 oz angel hair pasta
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 side of the wild turkey breast
- 6 slices bacon
- 2 cloves chopped garlic
- ¼ cup chopped mushrooms
- 3 tbsp chopped sundried tomatoes
- 2 cups diced tomatoes
- 3 cups baby spinach
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup chicken stock (or wild turkey stock if available)
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup fresh chopped basil
- Salt and pepper
How to make
- In a large pot, cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain.
- Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven over medium heat, add oil. Season turkey with salt and pepper and cook until golden on each side. Remove from skillet. Let rest for 5 minutes and chop into bite size pieces.
- In the same Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon, and pat dry with paper towels. Then chop bacon into small pieces. Drain out half of the rendered bacon grease from skillet.
- Add garlic, diced tomatoes, and spinach to skillet and cook over medium heat until the spinach is wilted. Season with salt and pepper, then add heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, stock, mushrooms, and sun dried tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add cooked pasta and toss until fully coated, then add the turkey and bacon and combine thoroughly.
- Garnish with basil and additional cheese.
Chef’s Note: Pheasant or chicken may be substituted for turkey.
Pecan Pie Balls
We, here in the south, are just coming off of our “pecan picking” season. The trees can be found all over south Louisiana. Fortunate for me, I don’t have to travel far for my pecan foraging. I can see two beautiful mature trees from my office window. The staff here can often times find me under those trees during my lunch break. Pecan pie balls are one of my favorite things to make with these golden nuggets of goodness.
Special Equipment
Food Processor
Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 3 cups chopped pecans
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 12 oz (1 1/2 stick) melted butter
- 1 cup can syrup (maple or corn syrup will work)
- 1 20 oz package of chocolate almond bark
- 1 tsp salt
Process
- Place chopped pecans in food processor and pulse 3 times. You want the pecans to be finely chopped.
- Combine pecans, graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, vanilla, maple syrup, melted butter, and salt into a large mixing bowl.
- Place bowl in freezer for 10 minutes to let harden.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove from freezer and scoop pecan mixture into 1 inch balls.
- Place each ball on the parchment lined cookie sheet and place into the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Melt almond bark according to the directions on the package.
- Remove the balls from the freezer and coat thoroughly in the melted chocolate.
- Return the balls back to the parchment paper and let sit.
Chef’s Notes: You can substitute rum for the vanilla plus a little bit extra for and added kick. These balls keep nicely in an air tight container in the refrigerator.
Deer Tongue Pâté
“Use the entire animal.” Those are the words that I kept replaying in my head this last hunting season. Those are the words that I heard echo from my grandfather year after year, successful hunt after successful hunt. His sentiment was derived from the tail end of the great depression when no protein was wasted. And of course, 40 years ago it referred to the hearts, gizzards, and liver of every duck that we shot. To this day, I still retain the wobbly bits of all game birds from dove to turkey. Fast forward to the 2019 – 2020 hunting season. I was determined to put into practice my grandfather’s very words as it pertained to whitetail deer. I have always been one to keep the hearts of each deer, but I didn’t practice keeping the liver much less the tongue until this past hunting season. Liver is used to create the classical pâté, but I’m a Cajun and we do things a bit differently. For this recipe, I used deer tongues to create the classic French dish. This recipe will have me keeping tongues for years to come, and I may even snatch the tongues from my hunting companions that aren’t as sophisticated as I.
Serves: 6 as an appetizer
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 4 hours
Special Equipment: food processor
Ingredients:
3 deer tongues
1 onion chopped
1 tbs olive oil
1 stick of butter
1 cup of heavy cream
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
Smoked paprika
Serve with:
Cracker of your choice or
Bruschetta
Tongue Preparation:
- Simmer in salted water for 4 hours
- Remove tongues and immediately submerge in ice bath
- Peel and discard the skin from the tongue
- Chop into dice sized chunks
Pâté Preparation:
- Sauté onions in olive oil until tender
- Place onions, tongue, and remaining ingredients into a food processor
- Pulse until you get a smooth and creamy consistency (you may need to add more cream to achieve this or less cream if you prefer it a bit chunky)
- Remove from the processor and let set in the refrigerator for 8 hours to set
- Serve in a ramekin and garnish with smoked paprika
Chef’s note: As “Redneck” as it may sound, I prefer this served on a Ritz cracker…
Crawfish stuffed venison backstrap
I first discovered this wonderful blend of flavors a few years back. It was a combination of a successful late season archery hunt on public land and the remainder of tails from a crawfish boil for my birthday. After peeling several pounds of tails, I began to think…this would be really good paired with some backtrap. The seed had been planted. Ever since that day, I reserve this recipe for special occasions. It’s easy to do but just takes a bit of time and patience to perfect. You are sure to impress your friends and family with this recipe. It pairs well with both red wine or cold beer.
Saute your onions and bell peppers in butter until softened. Then add your crawfish tails to warm though. Next add plain bread crumbs and enough water to get the consistency of thick oatmeal. Season your stuffing according to your specific taste. You will need to let the mixture cool long enough so that you can use your bare fingers to stuff the backstrap. You also don’t want to start cooking the meat with hot stuffing.
You will need to make a pocket into the thick end of your backstrap. I like using a filet knife for this work. Make sure that you don’t cut all the way through to the bottom of the backstrap. Season the meat really well. Spray a disposable meatloaf tin with non-stick spray. Place the backstrap into the tin. You will then begin to fill the pocket with your stuffing.
Place your dish into a pre heated 350 degree oven. Bake uncovered for approximately 18 minutes for a nice medium rare temperature. This will vary depending on the size of your backstrap and the amount of stuffing that you use. I suggest that you err on the side of medium rare. Enjoy.
½ length of backstrap (the large end)
2 Tbs butter
¼ cup Guidry’s mix
½ lb Louisiana crawfish tails
½ cup plain bread crumbs
¼ cup water
Seasoning to taste
Chef’s Note: You can substitute shrimp for crawfish
Fried Fish Cakes
Ingredients
- 12 medium fish filets (crappie, redfish, or speckled trout)
- 3 cups of water
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 cap full liquid crab boil
- 2 teaspoons old bay seasoning
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon plain bread crumbs
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 cups vegetable oil
Preparation
- Par boil fish filets in water and crab boil for 3 minutes.
- Remove the fish from the water, pat dry with paper towels, and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Using two forks, shred the fish fillets into manageable lumps.
- Combine fish, mayonnaise, mustard, egg, plain bread crumbs, and seasoning.
- Form patties using a handful of fish mixture.
- Layer the panko bread crumbs in a shallow dish.
- Coat each fish cake by gently patting them into the panko crumbs.
- Refrigerate the cakes for 20 minutes so that they come together.
- Heat vegetable oil to 350 degrees in cast iron skillet
- Cook each cake until golden brown.
Chef’s Notes:
Crab, shrimp, or crawfish can be substituted for the fish.
These cakes make excellent sandwiches.
Seafood chowder (easy)
Seafood Chowder
Ingredients
- 2 10 ½ oz cans Cream of Potato Soup
- 2 10 ½ oz cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 2 14 ¾ oz cans Cream Style Corn
- 1 12 oz can Evaporated Milk
- 1 shallot chopped finely
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup seafood stock
- 1 capful of Zatarain’s liquid Crab Boil
- 2 lbs seafood of choice
- Seasoning of choice
How to Prepare
- In a large pot, melt butter and sauté the chopped shallot over medium heat.
- Add all other ingredients with the exception of the seafood and seasoning.
- Reduce heat to a medium/low setting and cook for 20 minutes.
- Add desired seafood and continue cooking until the seafood is completely cooked through. Seafood cooks quickly, it shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes or so for this to be cooked.
- Season to taste.
Chef’s Notes
I prefer crab and/or shrimp with this chowder.
I like to serve this in a bread bowl.
If you prefer your chowder a bit thinner, just add more stock.
Sandhill Crane (Coq Au Vin)
Last year I traveled to Oklahoma to hunt the magnificent sandhill crane. These audibly majestic creatures are known as “ribeye in the sky”. After hearing the reports of how wonderful the table fare is, nothing was going to stop me from harvesting this bird and trying the delicacy for myself. The hunt was very familiar to me…set up in a flyway, put out a large decoy spread, and call accordingly. It was just like any of the dozens of past goose hunts that I have participated in. Same blinds, same shotgun, and same shells. The only real difference between the hunts are the protective goggles that the dogs wear so that their eyes aren’t impaled by the 5 inch dagger known as a crane beak. After harvesting several (you are allowed 3 per day in Oklahoma), I went home with a cooler of fine eats and plenty of great memories. Coq au Vin is a rustic French dish that translates into “cock with wine.” It was served to Julius Caesar and is rumored to be one of his favorite meals. For this recipe, I used sandhill crane legs and thighs (I wouldn’t dare use the breast in a braising recipe) but it would be good for any large birds to include geese and turkey. When choosing a wine to cook with, a restaurant friend once told me “if you don’t want to drink it, don’t cook with it.” I have headed his advice throughout the years and have yet to be disappointed.
Serves: 2
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 3 hours
Special Equipment: Dutch oven
Ingredients:
4 legs and 4 thighs (sandhill crane or turkey)
1 onion chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
4 slices of bacon chopped
½ cup sliced button mushrooms
1 tbsp thyme
1 cup chicken stock
3 cups quality red wine
½ cup brandy
1 tbsp flour mixed into warm water
Seasoning of your choice
Onion tops or parsley for garnish
Serve with:
Mashed potatoes
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- In a dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until browned. Remove bacon pieces and set aside. Retain the bacon drippings in the dutch oven.
- Season legs and thighs liberally with a seasoning of your choice. Brown legs and thighs on both sides. Cook these pieces in batches to avoid crowding the dutch oven. Remove and set aside.
- Add chopped onions and bell pepper and cook until tender.
- Add back the legs and thighs and whatever juices that have accumulated on the platter back to the dutch oven.
- Cover with wine, brandy, and chicken stock. Add thyme, cooked bacon from earlier, and mushrooms. Cover and bring to a gentle boil.
- Place the pot into the oven and cook for 2 hours.
- Remove from oven and add flour slurry, stir constantly to thicken.
- Serve over mashed potatoes and garnish with onion tops.
Cajun Speckled Trout Almondine
Ingredients
- 6 medium speckled trout filets
- 2 cups all-purpose flour seasoned to your liking
- 8 tablespoons butter divided in half
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 small shallot chopped
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- Seasoning to taste
Preparation
- Heat 4 tablespoons of butter and olive oil in a non-stick skillet
- Dust and coat each fish filet with seasoned flour
- Cook each filet in the butter/oil until golden on each side and cooked throughout (the time will vary depending on the size of the fish)
- In a separate skillet, saute shallots in white wine.
- Add remaining butter to the shallots.
- Cook almonds in the wine and butter until lightly browned.
- Plate fish and pour almond sauce over the fish.
- Season to taste.
Chef’s Note: This meal can be prepared with most types of fish from crappie (sac-a-lait) to bass to redfish
