Fair Chase Kitchen

Tammy Wood

Sossy Outdoors

Tammy Wood is a wild game and seafood chef, author, and international huntress. When her husband of 18 years was killed in a workplace accident, she was left with their five children and a sixth on the way. It was then that she began to hunt to feed her family – and her love of wild game cooking blossomed. She competed in Master Chef Canada, finishing in the top ten before publishing her first recipe collection, The Venison Cookbook. She’s a contributor to the food editorial in BC Outdoors Magazine, is a Pro Staffer for Cabela’s Canada, and is an ambassador for Browning Firearms. Her TV show, Sossy Outdoors, began airing on the Canadian Sportsmen Channel in January 2020. She loves welcoming newcomers, youth and women to the outdoor lifestyle and participates on the board of SCI West Coast, and presents on sportsman show stages across BC and beyond.

It is a nice change to step out from the ordinary way meals are prepared and add a bit of smoke into your life!

The first time I ever used a smoker was about 25 years ago. My dad used a Little Chief brand smoker back in the day and the smell of smoked fish used to fill the air during sockeye fishing. He wound up giving it to me and I started smoking different varieties of fish, experimenting with different brines. I used it so much that it literally fell apart! At that point I decided it was time to see what was out there for smokers.

I came across the Bradley Smoker and invested in a 4-rack model to start my smoking journey. I loved it because I didn’t have to worry about filling wood chips and watching for when they turned to cinder and when I would need to remove them and start fresh again. The wood pucks or “bisquettes,” were fed into a tube and automatically pushed into the smoker, burning for twenty minutes, and then pushed into a water bowl. This technology allowed fresh smoke to be used continuously throughout the process. I loved my first smoker so much that I later purchased a 6-rack digital model that allowed me to manage the smoke time and temperature electronically which created more even results.

I started experimenting with all types of wild meat, cheeses, spices, nuts, vegetables, pasta dishes and an array of other proteins. When I became a Pro Staff for Cabela’s Canada,

I started doing Bradley Smoker demonstrations outside of the store, feeding customers and showing them how easy these smokers are to use.

I had an opportunity to go to Kall, Sweden on a moose hunt

with Arctic Nature and take part in the Vastgard Game Fair. The fair is quite similar to our Sportsmen Shows. Bradley Smokers arranged to have a smoker delivered to my Swedish location. I set up in front of our booth located outside with our backdrop of Laplander teepees, reindeer hide covered seats, and a roaring fire with cowboy coffee ready for the patrons. During the five days I smoked reindeer, moose, salmon, wild boar, and beef. Everyone kept coming back for more, and some wanted to buy my smoker on the spot!

Fast forward to 2020, and 24 years later, I am still a Bradley fan and want to share a recipe with you! During this uncertain time, the kids have been home since March, and have gotten involved with me, learning different ways to smoke our bear meat. They have created smoked corned bear, smoked bear skewers, smoked bear roasts, and smoked bear sausage and pepperoni. The recipes are endless, and the varieties of wood flavours are amazing.

Bradley has multiple models available, some that connect to your phone so you can keep track of the temperature while you are away from home, and a new Professional P10 (1000w) series.

If you are interested in checking them out, visit their online store at www.bradleysmoker.com. Use the special promo code MHUNTER10 to receive 10% off until October 31, 2020.

Now – let’s get smoking!

Pecan Smoked Butt Steaks

...with a Sossy Rub!

In this recipe I used pork butt steaks, but you can use any type of steaks you wish. Substitutions of bear, moose, elk, deer, cougar, or sheep will all work very well.

List of Ingredients

• 4 pork butt steaks • 1 tbsp garlic • 1 tbsp cumin • 2 tbsp brown sugar • 1 tbsp kosher salt

Mix all dry rub ingredients together in a bowl. Generously rub steaks and leave in the fridge overnight. A rub needs time to work its flavour magic, but a two-hour rest should be ok.

Pre heat your smoker to 225˚, using pecan wood. Once up to temperature, simply lay your steaks directly on the racks and smoke until the internal temperature reaches 185˚.

I love using pecan wood for pork. It creates a wonderful nutty, sweet undertone, lighter smoke than hickory or mesquite, creating a smoky profile you will use again and again!

Once your steaks are finished, you can either lather them with your favourite barbeque sauce or finish them off in a frying pan with melted butter to create a crispy, buttery shell.

• 1 tsp cracked pepper • 1 tbsp coriander • 1 tbsp smoked paprika • 2 tsp clove powder