German Stew

First, a little background information…

I grew up in a city, completely unexposed to any sort of hunting culture. I didn’t have any friends or family members that went hunting. I heard stories of people hunting and fishing, but it was so distant that it was never really apart of my reality.

Then, I moved to the Northwest. I made friends with people who had grown up fully immersed in a hunting culture. I remember the first time I walked into someone’s house that decorated by displaying their prized game on the walls. I felt so out of place, so removed from home. Though I’m only a plane ride from home, the people here speak the same language, we dress and act similarly, the hunting and fishing aspect of life has served as a reminder that things are just a little bit different around here.

So, it was a little unexpected when I married someone that enjoys hunting and fishing quite a bit. Last weekend he went out hunting with his dad and on their way home he sent me a text telling me he was bringing pheasant, huns, and quail home. (I didn’t even know what a hun was.) He asked if it would be OK to cook them up. I responded with, “Well, I’m willing to try, but I wouldn’t want to ruin something you worked so hard for.” In my head that read, “I want to be a loving and supportive wife, but it’d probably be best for everyone if your mom or dad just cooked them up.” In his head however, it read, “Bring them on home, I’d love to cook them.”

It’s probably for the best that I agreed to make them, I actually learned a lot through the experience. For one, I came across the website http://honest-food.net/, which is a great website devoted to growing plants, foraging and hunting. The recipes and tips on there look like great pieces of information I plan to keep nearby. There were numerous recipes to pick from, I actually found myself having a hard time deciding which recipe to follow because several looked delicious. I let my husband make the ultimate decision (I was still a little unsure how I felt about eating the birds). He chose this German Rabbit Stew Recipe which it said you could substitute pheasant and quail for the rabbit.

His recipe is wonderful and though I adapted it to work for the birds, I didn’t change a whole lot. I omitted capers simply out of my own preference and the fact I didn’t have any at home. My husband and I also decided we preferred it without sour cream, so when we ate left overs for lunches that week we did not put sour cream in those servings.