After hiking more miles and vertical feet than ever, the season ended too soon for us. January in this part of Idaho brought us less than ideal hunting conditions. We didn’t get out as much as we wanted to. We suffered through seemingly incessant weeks of thick fog, freezing temps, and post-holing crusty snow. It would warm up and thaw out for a day or so only to bring mud so deep that driving through it would only result in making the local paper about the lost hunters who never came back home again. The cold and flu season also ended up taking its toll. About the only productive thing besides a cough was more time to get our new home brewing system set-up.
Looking back, we had four months of great hunting. Angus hunted superbly, verifying repeatedly that he’s in his prime. We saw many miles of new terrain, and spent good times with friends and family. Here are some of our favorite hunting and some non-hunting memories of the 2014-2015 season. Enjoy.
We did some early season grouse hunting in terrain much different than chukar hunting.We camped in the boat for opening day. Despite taking tons of crap we still managed to forget part of the backpack stove, resulting in chilling, extra-gritty cowboy coffee.Angus held his tongue on our coffee debacle.We thought it was a peaceful spot to camp until we awoke at 1 a.m. at a 45-degree angle. We learned that the reservoir water level drops during the night.We ran into a lot of nasty goat heads/puncture vines.We had a couple of cast and blast days early in the season.Angus managed to find the only mud bog for miles.On one of the few hunts with The Kid this year, we crawled on hands and knees under thicket.We did GPS waymarking on every hunt.We soaked our hot and tired feet.We had fun skipping stones.We climbed many steep hills.We drank a lot of water.We constantly checked for cheatgrass.We removed plenty of cockleburs.We sometimes had time to stop and pose for a photo.We spoiled our bird dog.We hunted with brother-in-law, Dave.We tried to teach Angus’s nephew how to drink water.We saw lots of amazing points.We had a great time camping but Angus hated the leash.We did a lot of side hill hiking.We gave a bird away for fly-tying feathers.We hunted with an old Brittany named Donner.We followed lots of tracks in the snow.We had some good post-hunt snacks.We laughed watching Angus’s nephew try to steal our chukar.On Christmas Day, we got a glimpse of two of the last three remaining Brownlee bighorn sheep.We even had Angus stick his tongue out at us (he’s not a huge fan of the boat).Parting shot. Looking forward to next season.
I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape – the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn’t show.
-Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009)
Andrew Wyeth, Turkey Pond, 1944, tempera on panel.
Some of Leslie’s chukar hunting landscape photos from this fall and winter…
Last week while searching for a recipe, I found an old crinkled recipe clipped years ago from a magazine. The original recipe, courtesy of Al Roker, uses chicken coated with a pecan-cornmeal crust and then oven-fried. Recently, we’ve thought about the strangeness of chukar hunting. Al Roker and chukar in the same sentence, now that’s strange, unless he’s an upland bird hunter. We made his recipe last night for the first time using chukar and it ended up delicious. It’s now one of our favorite chukar recipes.
Oven-Fried Chukar with Pecan-Cornmeal Crust
6 chukar breast cutlets 2 eggs 1/4 cup milk 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans 1/3 cup cornmeal 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1 tsp. salt 1tsp. onion powder 1 tsp. cayenne pepper 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper 2 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces
Position a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 425F. Using heavy duty aluminum foil, line a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with sides at least 1 inch high. Spray the foil with non-stick cooking oil. Rinse the chukar under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
In a shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. In another shallow bowl, stir together the pecans, cornmeal, flour, salt, onion powder, cayenne and pepper.
Pecan cornmeal and egg batter oven-fried chukar
Dip the chukar pieces into the egg mixture, and then dredge them in the pecan-cornmeal mixture. Place the chukar in the prepared baking dish.
Dot the chukar with the butter and bake about 10-15 minutes. Turn the breast over and bake another 10 minutes until golden brown.
Oven-fried chukar hot out of the oven
Chukar breasts are small so be careful not to overcook. Adjust baking time as needed. Just as in fried chicken, oven-baked chukar can be served hot, at room temperature, or cold. We like to serve ours hot with brussels sprouts and creamy garlic mashed potatoes.
This is our upland game bird recipe modification of the classic Italian dish.
16 fresh sage leaves 8 large, thin slices prosciutto 8 chukar breast halves (4 whole breasts) 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 tablespoons butter ¾ cup sweet Marsalawine 2 tablespoons capers in brine 1 tablespoon parsley
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 2 sage leaves in the center of each piece of prosciutto, then wrap each chukar breast half in the prosciutto, making a little breast roll. Put the flour on a plate or shallow bowl and season with the pepper. Dredge the breast rolls in the flour. Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet. Once the butter is foaming, add 4 of the breast rolls, seam side down, to the skillet. Sear over medium-high heat until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes per side. Because chukar breasts have much less fat than chicken, it’s important not to overcook them. Transfer the seared breast rolls to an ungreased baking dish. Add another tablespoon of the butter to the pan and sear the remaining breast rolls. Transfer to the baking dish and cook in the 350-degree oven for 8 minutes.
Reduce pan heat to medium-low and add the Marsala. Stir constantly, scraping up the browned bits. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the capers and parsley. Stir in the remaining butter until melted. Spoon the sauce over the chukar rolls. Serve on a bed of sautéed spinach. Recommended side dishes are creamy mashed potatoes or brown rice.
Last chukar season we encountered only one rattlesnake the entire four months of hunting and that was on a late November day. This year, we’ve already seen three rattlers while out hunting. It seems to be a good year for all types of snakes. More of them slithering across the roads, more flattened road killed ones, and just the other day our neighbor told us she found two rattlesnakes hiding in the tall grass near the children’s sandbox. Yikes!
Hells Canyon rattler, a couple weeks ago.
Before knowing it was going to be the year of the snake, we thought about sending our bird dog Angus to a rattlesnake avoidance class. Angus’s older sister Glenna took the class a few years ago and was the star pupil and passed with flying colors. Unfortunately, her glory was short lived when she went after a big gopher snake the very next day. We didn’t ask for a refund since what do you expect from a dog that was affectionately known as a.k.a. “the Honey Badger.”
Cat doors and snakes won’t stop me!
Our dog Angus is a sensitive, cautious little fellow who hates bugs, flies, or anything creeping and crawling. We hope his lack of curiosity in the snake department will steer him clear of rattlesnakes since we didn’t send him to a snake avoidance class. This summer we decided to have our veterinarian give Angus the western diamondback rattlesnake vaccine for dogs, given in two parts: one shot, then a booster shot a couple of weeks later. The vaccine is designed to create an immunity, decrease the severity of a bite, and to buy you time until you can get your dog to the nearest veterinarian clinic to see if additional treatment is needed. Of course every bite is different depending on the size and age of your dog, size of the snake, where it was bitten or how many times, and how much venom is injected.
As you know, chukar hunting takes you far from roads and your vehicle. Luckily, most snakes try to avoid your dog and you but it helps to know the basic first-aid in case your dog accidentally gets bitten. We are no experts and you can do your own research but the following seems to be the most common ways to treat your dog.
First thing is to recognize the immediate symptoms if you think your dog is bitten:
puncture wounds
severe pain
swelling and bruising
restlessness, panting, or drooling
Depending on how much venom is injected these are the more severe symptoms:
lethargy, weakness
muscle tremors
diarrhea
seizures
depressed respiration (normal is mid-20s)
What to do if your pet is bitten:
Keep your pet calm and carry if possible.
Limiting the dog’s activity will limit the venom moving around their body
Immobilize the limb if bitten on the leg. Try to keep the area at or below the heart
Do not cut the bite
Do not try to suck out the venom
Do not apply ice
Drive your dog to the nearest vet clinic
Talk to your own vet about the vaccine and see if it’s right for your dog since some vaccines are not made for all types of venomous snakes. If you’re hunting out-of-state or far from your home territory familiarize yourself where the nearest vet clinic is located and put them on your speed dial. If you are hunting down in Hells Canyon near Brownlee or Oxbow Reservoir, Heartland Animal Hospital in Council, Idaho has an excellent vet. Weiser, Idaho, nearby, also has a vet clinic.
