Monthly Archives: February 2017

Wild Game – Partridgeberry Cumberland Sauce

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Ok now you’ve got some game meat that is tender and juicy but you want to heighten the palate to a new level as I do. You want to serve it to your finest guests and to family and make the meal memorable without question. That is how I feel when I am cooking, if it is worth doing for your guests it is worth doing it so it is memorable.

I found such a sauce. It is entitled Cumberland Sauce, named after the Duke of Cumberland in the late 1800’s also known as Crown Prince of Hanover. It’s derivation however is not English, it is of German origin. It has a puckering wine-citrus sweet-sour fruit bouquet that enhances any wild game to a whole new level by tingling your taste buds. Great with wild boar, venison, duck, goose or wild turkey.

Cumberland Sauce traditionally uses red currant preserve (not easy to find) as its fruit base but here I am going to substitute lingonberry or partridgeberry Preserve with Blueberries as the Newfoundlanders do.  Partridgeberry is a low bush cranberry found in the maritime provinces of Canada and Newfoundland and identical to the Lingonberry of Denmark and Sweden. My wife and I love the partridgeberries of Newfoundland where her family originated. Accordingly we will call it Partridgeberry Cumberland Sauce

Image result for partridge berry of newfoundland

Partridgeberry Cumberland Sauce

Ingredients:

Rind from 1 orange zested or sliced and julienned

Rind from 1 lemon zested or sliced and Julienned

1/2 jar (6 oz) of Lingonberry or Partridgeberry Preserve.

Or 6 oz cranberry sauce

 

2 TBSP of Blueberries (fresh or frozen) Wild Newfoundland blueberries are better

1/2 cup of Port Wine

The juice of 1 large orange (approx. 1/4 cup)

The juice of 1 lemon (about 1/8 cup)

1/2 TBSP Dijon Mustard

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger.

Directions:

Cook the rind, boil the orange and lemon zest or julienned rind over high heat in 1.5 cups water and boil/blanch for 2 minutes for zest and 5 minutes for the rind. (Save a pinch of zest or boiled rind for a garnish at the end.) Strain and toss out the water. The resultant rind and residue will retain citric kick but tender.

 

To an empty pan add port wine, blueberries, Lingonberry/Partridgeberry Preserve, orange juice, lemon juice ( I used a hand operated squeezer to make the juice) mustard and ginger and brought to a boil. Once the blueberries burst they added the bright red color I desired (about 3 to 5 minutes). Strain through a fine sieve or cheese cloth.

Simmer with cooked orange and lemon rind until thickening appears on a spoon.

 

 

Serve in its own dipping cup with garnish. It can be served hot or cold. I like mine warm for dipping.

Makes just over a cup for a meal for 4 as a dip. The recipe can be doubled if desired. Refrigerate any remaining…you wont want to lose a drop.

Variants of berries can be substituted to create your very own Cumberland Sauce.

Have some fun! A cookbook may be in the works….

Wow!

© Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved.

 

 

 

Why Hunt Russian Boar?

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Why hunt Russian boar in Maine woods, like I did at Skinner Bog Hunt Park? I answered that when I put 100 pounds of the best meat I have eaten, in my freezer and to provide for my family and friends.

This high fence hunt is a way to keep interest in the ability to kill for food and understand that someone must kill for you to live. Might as well be me! And I love to cook and eat what I catch too! Skinner Bog has deer and elk too.

http://www.skinnerbogdeerfarm.com/russian-boar-hunts/

I prefer to hunt deer, bear, turkey and other large game but when my budget and time off work are meager, I will do what I love best, one way or another. I just love to Hunt!

I like to eat what I kill, my dad taught me to garden and to hunt to self provide. He and his parents lived through the depression and the protein menu was often beans and what game you brought home of any and all types.

Russian Boar hunting in a high fence hunt often provides an opportunity to shoot but, in my opinion, it is not a guarantee. You, the hunter, must have a measure of skill. It can be harder or easier to kill your boar depending on how you like to hunt such as stand hunts over food where you wait for the boar to come to you. Still Hunting in the dead of winter is my favorite time and method because you are using your senses of sight, sound and smell. It takes more skill to still hunt in thick cover where you have to read sign and determine the age of the tracks and droppings. I hope to hunt them next with my bow to up the challenge.

The chances of getting a  shot at these boar are extremely good in high fence hunting because of forage and silage provide to feed these boar create windows of going to or coming from a feeding area in the deep woods.

Ok, so why high fence hunt these animals at all? Why not just get your pork at the supermarket? First of all the meat is darker and redder than pork so you can’t get it at the local store.  It is for the same reason that a hunter hunts deer. Hunters like me like to hunt and they like to eat and cook (chef) what they catch or harvest and I like to know what my animal ate, how it lived in a wild setting, and see that this animal was harvested and utilized fully for its nutrition. I was doubly rewarded when I decide to butcher the animal at home and cut it up to my liking and of course I learned so much about the meat and use of the fat.

I highly recommend a hunt of this type if you want to provide for yourself instead of the supermarket because your chances of bringing home the some of the best meat you will ever eat are so terrific.

Good Hunting!

© 2017

Whatya do with 35 pounds of Russian Boar Fat Trimmings? By Ed Hale

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I was just amazed at the quantity and quality of fat from my very hairy Russian Boar.

Of course I have boasted about the quality of meat a bit, but here I could have just thrown that beautiful fat in the trash as a byproduct of the butchering process.

That is not me, I love to experiment! Accordingly, I read up on the rendering process and what I could do with the resultant lard. For the record, the fat does not smell much, the wet rendering process creates little odor in the kitchen that my wife was concerned about. “Wet rendering” is a hot water bath in a large pot that renders (pulls the fat as a liquid) the fat so that as the fat melts, it will not burn.

Below are 2 pots that have slowly heated water, beginning the process. Some folks, I did not think of it, will put the fat through a meat grinder which speeds up the rendering process significantly.  I turned the stove vent on low to ensure little odor.

The next best thing was to cut up the fat in the pot with scissors.

After 3 hours, the fat was somewhat liquified at a temperature of 275ºF measured with my candy thermometer.

I could tell when the water which boils at 212 F was gone because the temperature of the liquid rose slowly above 212 to the 275 mark. I was patient to heat the fat slowly over my natural gas stove so I did not burn it.

Here I am pouring the fat into wide mouth canning jars.

After cooling for several hours the fat now called Lard has solidified and off to the freezer. The lard is good enough for making fine pastry dough or for frying foods such as chicken, fish, seafood, french fries or even to make donuts or fried dough. The good fats in this lard are abundant but like everything, moderation is key.

Below is a neat article suggesting that Lard is the new health food. It is a fun read or the saturated-fat-healthy article below that.

http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/lard-the-new-health-food

http://greatist.com/health/saturated-fat-healthy

So don’t throw out that fat, render it. I now give a tiny bit to my dogs in their food. They love it. I can’t wait to fry with it too.

Here is the fat in my freezer below. I did not mention the left over fat solids are called crackle and can be used in salads etc. I have yet to use the crackle but saved some for a later use.

© 2017 All Rights Reserved

 

 

Carving My Russian Boar at Home? How’s it Going? by Ed Hale

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If you have butchered your own game then making the jump to a large skinned and quartered wild boar is just simply more to cut-up but you need refrigerator space or a very cold garage to store meat while cutting.

I have stored the quarters of meat in my cooler in very cold February winter garage at around 15 to 20 degrees F until I got to them to cut up. Below are the ribs laying on the large rear leg roasts. Look at the fat on the base of the ribs!

I have had the meat home for one week and have literally just one piece left to cut up, a rear leg,and I might just leave it whole and freeze it. Below my LEM Grinder.

I have created nearly 100 pounds of vacuum sealed meat such as Chops, Stew meat, Roasts, Steaks, Boar Burger, Breakfast Sausage, Italian Sweet Sausage, Chorizo Sausage, and mild Apple and Leek Sausage.

I used the book “Home Sausage Making” 3rd Edition by Susan Mahnke Peery and Charles G. Reavis by Storey Puiblishing. It is a simple straight forward book. I like it!

https://www.amazon.com/Home-Sausage-Making-How-Techniques/dp/158017471X 

below breakfast sausage patties on left, Italian sausage links on right and coarse grind meat below.

I have grilled a few chops, they are soooo good and the sausage is fantastic!.

 

Made a boar stew that was so good that I shared it only with my family.

 

My wife loves the Apple and Leek sausage perhaps the most but the breakfast sausage patties are fabulous too. Much of the sausage I did in 2 pound increments so if I liked it, could make more or didn’t like it, I lost 2 pounds meat in the test.

My boar burger is rough ground and works “the nuts” in my Chili Recipe. Honestly, I have been a hunter for over 50 years and this Russian Boar, a female, is the best eating game animal I have ever experienced so I am taking care to vacuum seal every morsel.

I have yet to use any tenderizer methods on this meat! Wow!!

Good Hunting and Good Eating!

© 2017

Russian Boar Shield No Match for Nosler E-Tips by Ed Hale

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Long before the bullet entered my 300 lb plus Russian boar at Skinner Bog, the bullet encountered the “Shield” at 15 yards. The “Shield” is an unbelievably thick leather like gristle in the hide itself perhaps 3 inches thick that protects the vitals of these boar. The shield is for protection in battle for mating purposes, to prevent the tusks of an aggressor boar (some as large as 5 inches) from entering the vitals.  Having said that, the 168 grain copper bullet was designed to  “E”xpand and it did just that on the shield placing 2700 ft-lbs on a half inch area. The Energy Expansion tip E²Cavity™ video below.

 

As the E² Cavity fully expanded on the boar shield hide it set up a 2700 fps supersonic shock wave that created radial blood vessel damage of more than 6 inches in my giant boar with a quarter size entry wound in the image below and completely wrecked the lungs and heart. It collected some tissue with it and punched a 2 inch exit hole in the ribs and blew through the shield on the other side. Wow!! Talk about making a hole!

Yes it’s original design was for lead free zones but I like the fact that it does not come apart, exhibits no lead and keeps on trucking! When I was in the Navy, we used the term, “make a hole” to get through a crowded room. This new term “Make A Hole” is given new meaning with the E-Tip exit hole below.

In conclusion, I did lose some rib meat to the radial damage but the bullet exited fully expanded and intact after breaking the shield and ribs on both sides.

Regular copper jacketed lead bullets in 30 caliber would have mushroomed completely “at that speed” with likely jacket separation and lead fragmentation.

The only other bullet that can take this punishment and not come apart is a bonded bullet where the lead and copper are bonded together like the Nosler AccuBond.

So if you are like me and serving your game to friends and family the E- Tip is a fabulous choice and the best choice for me.

Good Hunting!

© 2017

 

 

 

Skinner Bog Hunt Rating

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It is important to give a rating or report card on my Skinner Bog Hunt

Accommodation Grade: A+

Shower Available? Yes

Bathroom part of my room. A+

Food and Beverage: Full Service: A+

Guide Service by Owner: A+

Animals I desired to hunt: A+

Helpful to the Customer: A+

Would I go again? Yes Absolutely

Game quality? A+

Hunt Value? A+

This is a first rate outfit with Jeremy at the helm!

An Honest Hunt! The Russian boar meat is fabulous!!

 

 

Skinner Bog Maine Russian Boar Hunt:TC Pro Hunter with Nosler E-Tips and a Leupold Scope by Ed Hale

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It was Monday February 6th, 2017 at near noon when I left for my Maine Russian Boar hunt. It took me a bit over 3 hours to get to Dixmont, Maine, were Skinner Bog Hunt Park is located. I promised my friends at Nosler that I would “take” a Russian boar with Nosler E-Tips and gave me a chance to shoot the TC Pro Hunter Single shot rifle in 30-06 Springfield with my favorite scope, a Leupold VX-6 3-18 x 44mm

Skinner Bog Hunt Park

http://www.skinnerbogdeerfarm.com/russian-boar-hunts/

Skinner Bog Hunt Park is owned and operated by Jeremy Bilodeau who has a passion for hunting Whitetail deer as well as his hunt park operation which has game animals such as the Russian Boar, mixed wild boar breeds, Red deer, Sika deer, Fallow deer and Elk. Give Jeremy a call at the website if you want more info or to book your own hunt.

When I arrived, I was greeted by Jeremy at the main camp and taken to my bunk area where I spread out my gear and relaxed before dinner.

Here is a shot of the living area wall back at camp with all of the family whitetails taken.

All deer on the walls were taken by Jeremy and his 2 sons. Food and drink was provided for by the lodge and was treated to a first night steak dinner and some grilled wild pig along with Asparagus and Scalloped Potato. The wild pig was a cross breed from the park and delicious.

I was to hunt the larger 400 acre park in the morning for a long standing wild group of very wary Russian boar. We got out to the park on his large side by side 4 wheeler. Temperatures were hovering in the 12 to 16 degree range so we bundled up. I was shooting the TC Pro Hunter Single Shot in 30-06 Springfield with Nosler E- Tips, the E is for Expanding. An all gilding copper bullet that Expands on contact and stays together.

I thought I was well prepared until we started “still hunting” on a fluffy 3 inches of new snow on frozen compressed ice snowpack underneath, except I was not very still. My boots were not able to grip the snowpack and it was like I was on an undulating skating rink where I slipped and fell many times. Just a week earlier Jeremy and his client put up a nice Russian boar in the same area we were hunting, hoping to cut fresh tracks. We covered many acres of what should have been prime bedding area and came up with not one new track. But there are at least 25 animals in the half square mile park. Of course we could see where the animals had been just days before, but you can’t eat tracks as my dad used to say.  Jeremy suggested we take a break, concerned for my slipping and sliding and I said directly; “I’m fine…don’t need a break.” I was determined to not let the slipping get the best of me and continued our hunt in hopes seeing new sign. My pride was perhaps bruised more than I was.  We stopped off at the deep woods guest cabin that sleeps 6,  to see inside it and make sure the scope was still on.

Sure enough it got banged enough to shoot 9 inches to the right, at 100 yards. A few adjustments and we were back on target.

Ok, nuf’-o-that,  we decided to have some lunch and shift gears to a different spot in the park. Jeremy rustled up a pair of Trex™ Ice traction slip-on’s (below), and that did the trick.

Trex™ Ice Traction Device (05831)

Renewed and refreshed Jeremy led me to a different area. It wasn’t long as we pushed through the spruce, we could see legs of animals ahead of us. Jeremy said “Red deer” as they melted into the backdrop. I heard them but did not see them.  As we moved along we heard a grunt, then another; a parade of Wild boar, both large and small were moving away at about 50 yards. Jeremy, earlier stated that several Russian  boar are here as well as mixed breeds. I wanted a Russian boar to write about and serve to my friends and family for dinner!

Jeremy and I followed from a safe distance and the boar began to root around oblivious to us. We got into position for a shot in the first available opening but all we could see was the back end of the boar. Then the big Russian swapped ends and headed straight at us. We froze momentarily in hopes it would not see us, then like a dart the boar went left quartering away at 35 yards but the smaller boar were milling around, and the equally large boar was nearby making a shot impossible.

Then, two more small inquisitive boar came up behind us so we gave them plenty of room, knowing we would end up in a better shooting position anyhow.

The smaller boar were bold as all get-out, not sure what they would do, so we move away.

Finally in the thick spruce the Russian boar was alone and we were in  position just 15 yards away and was broadside. Jeremy whispered; “Clear!” I was already aiming and ready. Boom! I could see the tissue tight behind the boars shoulder give a puff and ran away to the left and down an opening where, in just 30 yards, it collapsed. Perfect Shot Ed!, said Jeremy! We high fived a few times as she collapsed just 30 yards down a small hill. It was a mad house of all the boar grunting that stood around it and in a protection circle and the other big Russian was popping his teeth as a warning.

We stayed at a distance to ensure the boar was indeed dead for a few minutes and then went into recovery mode back at camp with a 4 wheel vehicle and a plastic toboggan. We got the big Russian all loaded up and away from the other boar and found a spot for a photo shoot with the boar, my TC Pro Hunter Rifle, Leupold VX-6 Scope and the Nosler 30-06 with 168g Copper E-Tips that brought this Russian boar down in a hurry.

Now the process of skinning and quartering is underway below. Look at all that fat!

Here is where the Nosler E-Tip, (E for expanding) all copper bullet did on entrance. The bullet encountered the thick skin on the shoulder called the “shield” and the E-Tip opened (expanded) on the shield as it punched through the ribs with a quarter size hole on entry. The bullet shredded the lungs and took a chunk from the heart and exited with a golf ball size hole. And not a trace of the copper to be found!!! Wow! Now that is a bullet! I will be feeding some of this to my little grandkids and feel confident that there are no lead fragments as it is all copper and resists fragmentation.

Jeremy suggested we leave the halves to cool in the 16 degree weather.

I used a power reciprocating saw with a new blade they call the Ax. Did a fine job cutting bone! Look at that fat marbling will ya!

It is Thursday, I killed the boar on Tuesday afternoon.  I cut up half of the boar during the Northeaster Blizzard we were having here in New Hampshire. In the blizzard I heated up the grill and barbecued these puppies in Balsamic and Fig Vinegar, salt and pepper till crispy and about 140 or so internal temp. Look at those snow flakes!

So after all those  driven miles, all the falls in the snow and slick ice woods at Skinner Bog in Maine, here is the dinner I created;

Grilled Balsamic Russian boar chops with Broccolini , Crisp Apple and Bread Stuffing and Newfoundland Partridge Berry /Blueberry Jam on the side. Wow! And a Stella Beer to wash it down. Magnificent!!! The fat was blackened and crispy, meat tender and very flavorful and non gamey. Restaurant quality!

Thanks so much Jeremy, It was a blast! I will be back!!!

A big hat tip to my friends at Nosler and the E-Tip, Thompson Center for such a fine rifle and Leupold for its famous VX-6 3-18x44mm scope.

Good Hunting!

Copyright © 2017

 

 

 

 

 

Rifle Cartridges and Historical Perspectives for Hunting North American Game by Ed Hale

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Any rifle cartridge that can come close to, or better than the 30-06 Springfield in energy and speed can take all North American Game. Lesser cartridges exist to hunt deer and black bear only.

I was never a fan of the 30-30 because the Marlin I was exposed to as a youth had a bad firing pin and sometimes would not fire. In analysis it could have been a lubricant issue in 6 degree weather. Never the less, I was not a fan but history shows it is magnificent on deer size game.

The .243 Winchester with 100 grain bullets is fabulous on deer in open terrain out to 300 yards and recoils little. It’s limitation, I believe, is that a small branch in the way can damage the path and delivered energy.

Most of the local New England clubs saw the .270 Winchester and 30-06 as a Cartridge that was not only available but it could be used on Yukon Moose and Brown bear, though many would prefer “more gun.” Especially those who wound the bear and he decides to come for you. Then a bazooka would be just fine, right! Truth be told, they are good performers but on a scale of good, better, best they were just “good” on really big game. On my upcoming Russian Boar hunt, the 30-06 is in the “better to best” category.

“Better” for big bears and moose are above the 30-06 cartridge beginning with the .300 Winchester Magnum. The problem was that the 300 Win. Mag. and larger kicked like a mule, and some after being pummeled, just sold their purchases to go back to a lighter rifle. Then along comes the Simms Recoil pads and Pachmayr Decelerator pads that often reduce felt recoil by 50%. Next is the .338 and .358 Norma Magnum. I owned a .338 Winchester Magnum and have no experience with the .358 so I will leave that for others.

I found that I could shoot my Ruger M77 in .338 Winchester Magnum and Nosler 250 grain Partitions with my T-shirt on, as long as I was not Bench Resting. Here is  my Record Book Kudu with the Ruger M77 in .338 Winchester Magnum and hand loaded Nosler 250 grain Partition bullets. One Shot, one Kill.

Magnums could be easily tamed with these recoil pads. Jim Carmichael of Outdoor Life killed Cape Buffalo with the .338 Winchester Magnum. Hand loading gives a lot of versatility.

Years later, I purchased the Ruger M77 African in .375 Ruger which, when loaded down can take small game to deer, then loaded up to bear, moose, bison and cape buffalo. It is perhaps the most versatile cartridge I own for shots out to 300 yards with a Nosler 260 grain AccuBond. Further for elk size game out to 600 yards if you practice with a laser rangefinder. Left is a Nosler AccuBond and right is a monolithic alloy solid for dangerous game. At 100 yards the impact is nearly identical.

Today there are numerous cartridges that are available such as the new 6 mm and 6.5 Creedmoor for deer and elk which are thin skinned. I have written extensively on the 6.5 Creedmoor and believe it to be the most accurate in its CXP class.

From the website below;

“Winchester calls these “CXP” classes, from CXP1 through CXP4, and has registered CXP as a trademark. CXP stands for “Controlled eXpansion Performance.” Federal lists Usage numbers from 1 through 4 for rifle hunting ammunition. With or without the CXP designation, the numbers 1 through 4 represent the same four basic types of game in both ammunition catalogs.”

See CXP classification by Chuck Hawks on bullets and game for a detailed look.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/cxp.htm

 

Bullet construction and material have made great strides like the copper bullets, partitions, and bonded bullets. Bullet engineering has manifested itself in its ability to be manufactured economically in copper, and bonded with lots of followers so really it is not just about the cartridge but the bullet and its construction as well.

Good Shooting!

© 2017

Sight- In with Leupold VX-6, Nosler E-Tips and TC Pro-Hunter for Russian Boar

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I moved my best scope, Leupold’s Gold Ring VX-6 3-18x44mm to the TC Pro Hunter using Weaver Grand Slam style bases and a quick detach ring.

Shooting in very cold weather created a situation that I could not control with the levers as they were hard to tighten and became loose at the range at 15ºF, and could be banged loose on branches in the heavy woods.

Accordingly, I went to my NH  Bass Pro shop and found Warne Scope Mounts in Steel (Made in the USA) for a 30mm scope tube. It was almost impossible to find out of regular hunting season… but I did.

It is a split ring in right and left halves.

Product Details

The directions were great as I already had a Wheeler Fat Wrench with a T-15 tip. All I had to do was set the torque to 25 in-lbs for the screws and I was done. Cost $59.00 but I did not shop around as I wanted them now.

What I had not purchased for the VX-6 was scope covers, so I went ahead and fitted the scope in the BassPro store with Butler Creek Flip Open Scope Covers. The front 44mm lens took a 53.3mm cover.

Butler Creek Flip-Open Objective Scope Cover, Size 31 (1.998-Inch, 50.7mm)

and the rear lens took the 42.2 mm lens cover with the red lever.

Product Details

 

I have had great success with all  my other scopes with Butler Creek covers but it is best to bring your scope with you and fit it right there.

I tested the E-Tips, Scope, Mounts and Covers today at the range and was shooting off the shelf Nosler E-Tips at 100 yards. I was  pleased as punch shooting between one and two inch groups. At 50 yards, where most of my shots at Boar should be, I wasn’t gonna burn more powder and bullets to split hairs.

 

If you get snow in your barrel, what then? Use a single piece of elect tape to cover your barrel muzzle or buy latex finger cots at your local grocery store or pharmacy. Like a small condom for your rifle barrel.

Method #2 bring a bore snake in your backpack if you have to clean the bore in the field due to mud or snow.

My TC all Rigged up

Bring on those ornery Russian Boar tuskers…

© 2017