UT Extension Specialist Ronnie Cowan leads the Men Cook Too program. It teaches hunters how to prepare wild game for cooking. Cowan recently made his “retriever pie” with dove for the Wild Game Dinner hosted by the UT Wildlife and Fisheries Society.
Transcript:
Ronnie Cowan: “A dove is already small, but a waterfowl would be bigger.”
If you can go out in the woods and hunt it, chances are Ronnie “Turtle” Cowan can cook it. An outdoor wildlife specialist with UT Extension and UTIA’s School of Natural Resources – he’s also skilled in the kitchen. Here he prepares a specialty he calls “Retriever Pie” – named for his hunting dog. Dove the main ingredient here.
Ronnie Cowan: “So, this is the part where you just put your chunks of meat in. It’s going to give it a nice sear.”
From there, Cowan adds other items to the sizzling pan.
Ronnie Cowan: “You can use wild game like poultry, dove or the waterfowl. You use two cups of rice, and I like the wild rice. It’s kind of an homage to what the birds eat.”
Then comes mushrooms and broth. Cowan leads a UT Extension program called “Men Cook Too” – a nod to the gender sometimes overlooked when it comes to culinary skills. For the guys, they’re not just tossing something on a grill, but really getting into recipes – like retriever pie.
Ronnie Cowan: “Lock in the flavor and then you let it thicken. Then you put in the oven and let it set, and it turns out to this nice casserole.”
Charles Denney: “So, that wraps up the food prep portion of this story. Time now to consume what Ronnie made, and here on the UT Ag campus, we have just the event where that dish will be appreciated.”
The unofficial title here is “Beast Feast.” It’s the wild game dinner put together by UTIA’s Wildlife and Fisheries Society – with students preparing, serving and eating what they’ve harvested this past winter. Hundreds of hungry humans paid $15 for a buffet-style supper. If it roams in the wild, it might be on this menu.
Ainsley Lane: “More than anything we’ve got a whole bunch of deer. That’s usually how it runs with these dinners. It’s what people are more than willing to donate. We’ve also got, this year we’ve got otter, we’ve got a little bit of bear, a little bit of moose, some chicken, some fish.”
And dove. Ronnie’s retriever pie was popular, folks scooping up several servings here. As part of “Men Cook Too,” Cowan also instructs hunters in how to field dress and prepare harvested game. There’s a food safety component taught and followed here. And you pick up other helpful tips on cooking wild meats.
Ronnie Cowan: “Knowing what cuts are more tender. For example, the muscles that are used in motion, they’re going to be a lot tougher and a lot harder to tenderize.”
After a short while, most of the food here at Beast Feast had been consumed, and students are already planning – and hunting for – next spring’s dinner. So, if you have the appetite and sense of adventure, and pick up a few cooking skills, wild game might make a tasty supper.
