Grilling wild game isn't just sensual, it's spiritual

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Ted Nugent: Grilling wild game isn't just sensual, it's spiritual
Ted Nugent: Grilling wild game isn't just sensual, it's spiritual

By Ted Nugent, Texas Wildman

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Based on the continued deluge of correspondence Shemane and I receive from readers of our Kill It and Grill It cookbook, a wonderful wave of diet upgrade is taking place across America and beyond. Whew!

That's good news for anybody paying attention to the death march of self-inflicted junk-food goofiness killing Americans at record numbers and bringing America to her once-strong knees.

The quality-of-life upgrade must begin with the choice of fuel fed to one's sacred temple.

Enter protein on the hoof: the perfect food. Venison. Wild game. Purity. Perfection. God's gift of ultimate renewable sustenance.

Of course, obtaining the fuel is part of the equation. The higher level of awareness that must go into each hunt awakens us to many other needs for thoughtful clarity.

For if we stumble and fail in the woods, we will be forced to buy some feathered salmonella bombs.

My idea of a free-range chicken would have to include some free range, exploding all gaudy out of a sea of wild weeds and prairie grasses and cattails.

That fowl that is hunted is sacred flesh fit for a king. And seeing as how I'm king of my castle, pheasant is served fresh on the BBQ grill often at Camp Nuge.

Now, take that pheasant, or quail, grouse, squirrel, woodcock, rabbit, moose, deer, bear, turkey, elk, caribou, cougar, antelope, kudu, warthog or any other splendid game critter you are fortunate enough to bag, and let's get it on ? the grill.

It doesn't matter one twither which of the above we use, for as long as you have fun in the pursuit, kill it with spirit and keep the flesh clean and cold, the foundation for this recipe is gonna be A-1, I assure you.

Though aging is good for all but the bear and porcine haunches, it isn't all that necessary anyway. But clean and cold always is.

Over a good bed of natural wood or charcoal coals, on a clean grill, place your meat a few inches above the heat. Baste lightly with a garlic butter and your favorite seasoning. We prefer a goop made of garlic pepper, garlic salt, cilantro, parsley flakes and some Cajun gris gris thrown in.

Let the slabs singe till golden brown with a hint of blackened grill tattoos.

In a handmade trough of double heavy-duty aluminum foil, melt a stick of butter, diced onions, garlic, tomatoes, more garlic salt and pepper, more cilantro and parsley, and stir around a wad of sliced potatoes and red and green and orange peppers till all these veggies are coated nicely with the aromatic, flaky goo. Keep it sizzling over the coals, sealed as best you can.

Take the singed meat and slice it into bite-sized morsels and add it to the simmering cocktail of sensual delight within the smoldering aluminum package.

Go ahead and add another stick of butter and a splash of your favorite white wine if you dare. Reseal and let it bubble and throttle for another 30 to 45 minutes.

Be sure you're surrounded by people you love and enjoy being with. This is just too good not to share with special people.

The way I've got it down, from firestart to chowtime is only about one hour. And what a grand one hour around the life-giving firepit it is.

However, no matter how much fun the hunt itself may have certainly been, and no matter how salivating the cooking pleasure, it is indeed this next hour with family and friends that is truly the payoff.

I know, I know, I know, all that butter scares most people. But I'm here to tell you, at 56 years of age, my heart and cholesterol are much like that of a young, angry tiger.

As long as we don't poison ourselves with tobacco, drugs or other poisonous chemicals; as long as we get a reasonable amount of decent exercise, these kinds of meals will fuel our minds, bodies and souls with nothing but positive forces.

And your taste buds will never settle for prefab garbage again. Go wild and go often.

Ted Nugent is a Waco-based musician and television show host. Contact him directly at tednugent.com.