Book Review: Hunting for Food – Guide to Harvesting, Field Dressing and Cooking Wild Game

Jenny Nguyen and Rick Wheatley, authors of the blog Hunting for Food have released Hunting For Food: Guide to Harvesting, Field Dressing and Cooking Wild Game .  Their work and recreation in the outdoors has provided them ample opportunity to compile great tips and recipes across the wild game spectrum, from deer and wild turkey to fish, frogs, and even turtle.

Nguyen and Wheatley start with deer, one of the most widely recognized game animals – represented in everything from cave drawings to Disney movies. The chapter starts off with the biology of the species, moves into firearms, archery, and other equipment used in deer hunting. It continues to the hunt itself and culminates in a section called Field to Table that encompasses field dressing, processing, and cooking.

Each subsequent chapter focuses on another animal species and follows a similar path, from biology to the hunt to the table. What I like most about this book is its ability to provide general information on specific animals in a very short amount of space. The book provides just the basics and does not attempt to become too detailed in any one aspect of hunting, which I find refreshing. There are so many books devoted to just one species, but in Hunting for Food, one can get a quick lesson on hunting several species.

And the recipes? Who doesn’t want to try Vietnamese-Style Catfish? Or Buttermilk Fried Rabbit that tastes better than any fried chicken I’ve ever eaten?

The pictures in this book illustrate shot placement and accompany step-by-step instructions on cleaning, dressing, and butchering. This is certainly a useful book – keep it handy during hunting season!