Cookbook Offers Taste of ‘Wild Maryland’

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is offering a sneak peak of its new cookbook soon to be available online. “Wild Maryland” includes recipes submitted by Maryland residents, featuring Maryland species.

Recipes include waterfowl, seafood, deer, and other wild game. A section of recipes also features ingredients found while foraging in the wild.

The department put the call out for recipe submissions in spring 2020, and about 75 recipes were submitted for consideration. Throughout the summer, a team of seven cookbook panelists, comprising experts at hunting and fishing, as well as wild game cooking enthusiasts, evaluated recipes submitted by DNR employees and other Marylanders. Criteria for inclusion included use of species that call Maryland home, easy-to-follow cooking instructions, and specific measurements for ingredients.

The “Wild Maryland” website will include recipes that can be searched by species category, and a special resources section will be included with tips for wild foraging, directions for fileting a fish, a link to DNR’s Hunting and Fishing Guides, and more. In the meantime, here is a sneak peek of recipes to enjoy at your table this year!

Crab Imperial by Steven Doctor (pictured above)

Ingredients:

1 pound crab meat
1 tablespoon mayo
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 egg
A shake or two of Old Bay seasoning
Lemon juice to taste, one half a tablespoon is a good start

Directions:

Mix all ingredients and be sure not to shred the crab meat. You want to fold the ingredients in carefully. Add more sour cream if you want a looser consistency.
Top with a sprinkle of panko breadcrumbs.
Stuff a fish filet or butterflied shrimp with the mix, or put it in a crucible and bake until golden brown–about 10 to 20 minutes depending on the portion size. If you are going to stuff the shrimp, paint them with an egg wash and dip them in panko bread crumbs before you stuff. Don’t forget to invite me to dinner.

Snakehead Etouffee
by Peter Turcik

Ingredients:

Fillets from one snakehead
1/4 cup oil or butter, plus 2 tablespoons butter 1/4 cup flour, plus 2 tablespoons
One medium onion
Two stalks celery
One bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons Graul’s cajun seasoning (more if desired)
1 quart stock (seafood best, but chicken or vegetable works too) 1/4 teaspoon gumbo file (optional) 2 cups cooked rice
Green onion, sliced

Directions:

Remove organs from the fish carcass, season with salt and pepper, and add to a stock pot on medium-high heat with 3 quarts of water.
Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium-low until you have 1 quart of stock.
Roux – In a heavy dutch oven, combine 1/4 cup oil/butter with 1/4 cup flour (if using butter, melt first), whisk until combined. Place dutch oven in a preheated, 350-degree oven for 90 minutes, checking every 30 minutes, or until roux is a dark brown to brick red in color (the darker it is, the more flavorful; adding flour afterward will help thicken).
Move dutch oven to stove on medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of flour and cook until no longer raw (1-2 minutes). Add the onion, celery, and pepper to dutch oven, and saute until soft (5-10 minutes). Add garlic, saute until fragrant (1-2 minutes), Cajun seasoning, and bay leaf. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until sauce reduces and thickens. If you want it thicker, add gumbo file. Stir in 2 tablespoons of cold butter until melted and sauce is silky-smooth.
Heat saute pan on medium heat. Sear fish in pan until cooked through (3-4 minutes per side).
In a shallow bowl, spoon rice, place fish, pour sauce, and garnish with green onion.