Celebrity Chef Andrew Zimmern's Wild Game Kitchen

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OUTDOOR CHANNEL

By April Neale

Famous chefs are everywhere, but the relevant ones keep it interesting, reinventing themselves—fueled not only by their love of good food, but of their interest in people and culture that inform their projects on television and beyond. Chef Andrew Zimmern’s new series, “Andrew Zimmern’s Wild Game Kitchen” on the Outdoor Channel, is the latest from the man who has given us “Bizarre Foods,” “Delicious Destinations,” and so many more hit series via his Intuitive Content production company. Intuitive in that the content Zimmern produces is valuable and plugs seamlessly into daily life for the end user with a widely accessible infotainment factor.

“Andrew Zimmern’s Wild Game Kitchen” is a technique builder for those who perk up during tailgate season, want to cook wild game from a hunting trip, or forage off the land. “Wild Game Kitchen” has a distinctly rustic huntsman feel. Zimmern shows you how to manage the heat fields and the coals of an outdoor grill, cook wild game, or try foraged vegetation. He’s all charisma and a natural people person who pays attention to every detail as he gives tips for sourcing, butchering, and preparing surprisingly easy yet elevated meals. For Zimmern, simple is always best when you have great ingredients.

Chef Andrew Zimmern cooks outdoors in his new series, Andrew Zimmern’s Wild Game Kitchen for the Outdoor Channel.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OUTDOOR CHANNEL

Zimmern has stayed away from stir and dump shows, informed years ago by a colleague who told him to “be the only” in food TV. “There are some great hunting and fishing outdoor shows where cooking takes place, but not at the level sufficient to excite many people who are firmly planted in the modern food and cooking revolution,” he said.

He hopes to appeal to an urbanite who would never think to cook pheasant or grill at a level that might be intimidating initially. “There are a lot of shows that teach people to cook over live fire. So what’s the ‘only’ for me? Well, the ‘only’ for me is that I’m doing it in a very food-forward way with wild meat,” he said. “Now I don’t want to turn off anyone. I want this show to appeal to people who live in a brownstone in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and people who live out on the planes in South Dakota that hunt at night for their meals as often as possible.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OUTDOOR CHANNEL

Idaho and the Pacific Northwest are familiar grounds for Zimmern, a hunter and sport fisherman. “The first time I ever went hunting was in college—deer hunting at my friend’s family’s farm up in Western New York—and I loved it. Then, two years later, I went goose hunting with my friend, Nathaniel Kramer, out on Long Island for the first time. I loved that too, and I never stopped,” he said. “We hunted every season for about ten years until I moved to Minnesota. And then I got here with love for it. When I opened my French bistro restaurant, we had guests who would say to me, ‘Hey, what are you doing this weekend?’ And I would tell them that we’re going down to Iowa–pheasant hunting.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OUTDOOR CHANNEL

This revelation from Zimmern would lead to invitations from his patrons to accompany him, as everyone loves a dedicated chef at the party. But, he quipped, “Everyone wants to bring chefs hunting because the hope is that their buddy won’t throw the pheasants in the Crockpot.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OUTDOOR CHANNEL

Another tenet of the new series is channeling the classic French housewife philosophy of not letting anything go to waste in the kitchen, which Zimmern strongly believes in. “I don’t throw anything away. And this allows me to talk about concepts of waste. And how you can get more out of your kitchen, which saves money. We’re all cost-conscious,” he said. “On these [hunting] trips, I would spend all afternoon and evening in the kitchen making dinner. And frequently, especially with the little ducks, [my hunting group] would breast them out after hanging them and then throw away the rest of the carcass. And I would say, ‘Wait for a second! We can make duck stock with that! We can braise the legs and make a curry with it, and everybody can take home duck confit to use all year long. Or shred the meat for hash the next morning.’”

Zimmern’s new series for the Outdoor Channel takes the mystique out of outdoor cooking techniques for preparing any game or fish with simple yet elevated recipes.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE OUTDOOR CHANNEL

Above all, Zimmern wants to see people try and experiment with outdoor cooking to see what they can accomplish. “I try to create simple recipes. They may look fancy, but they have a limited number of ingredients, found anywhere or sent to you online. Another pillar of the show is that you can make every recipe with a wild product or something you got at your supermarket,” he said. “For example, the pheasant recipe with the apple brandy, the apples, apple cider vinegar, pan-seared meat, and then braised for 20 minutes in a quick pan sauce poured over the pheasant breast. You can do that recipe with chicken or quail, duck or turkey pieces—whatever you like. You can do the bison recipe with beef, pork tenderloin, or even swordfish. It’s the principle of it. So that means on ‘Wild Game Kitchen,’ I have to explain the cooking technique very well, and I love passing on that expertise.”

Spicy Fried Bison Bites With Two Dipping Sauces

by Andrew Zimmern

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDREW ZIMMERN

THE BISON

Cut several pounds of bison into 1 inch to 1.5 inch cubes (allow for 8-10 ounces per person as a game day snack or lunch item). Let the meat come to room temperature.

Toss generously to coat with spice mix and let sit for 10 minutes.

Fry the meat in several quarts of oil heated to 400 degrees without crowding the pan (work in batches, if needed). In just a few minutes, the cubes will develop a great crust and be almost medium rare.

Fish out the batches when they are medium rare at most and toss with more of the seasoning blend. Set aside to keep warm and serve with the two sauces.

THE SEASONING BLEND

Make this batch of versatile seasoning blend and keep on hand for noodles, stir fries, etc.

5T Sichuan peppercorns

8T cumin seeds

3T fennel seeds

4T coriander seeds

3T white peppercorns

2T ground cinnamon

2T sea salt

1/3 cup dried chiles (arbols are readily available and work well)

Combine everything but cinnamon and salt in a small pan and toast over medium heat.

Pulse to grind well in a spice grinder, adding the cinnamon and salt.

HUNAN PEANUT SAUCE

¼ cup roasted ground peanuts

2T peanut oil

3 minced garlic cloves

1T hot chili paste

4T tomato paste

1 cup chicken broth

1 t sugar

2T peanut butter

1/2 cup hoisin sauce

1 fresh red chili, seeded and thinly sliced

Heat the oil in a small pan and add the garlic, chili paste, and tomato paste. Fry until the garlic turns light golden brown.

Add the broth, peanut butter, hoisin, and sugar and simmer for 3 minutes.

Cool and add the peanuts and chiles.

TAMARIND SAUCE

2 bunches fresh cilantro

2 bunches fresh mint

3T lime juice

½ cup tamarind purée

2 tsp sea salt

3T brown sugar

1 jalapeno chile

Purée in a blender by pulsing until just homogenous; don’t over mix.

Taste and adjust for tamarind/sweetness and salt.