Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast

by Hank Shaw

If there is a frontier beyond organic, local, and seasonal, beyond farmers’ markets and sustainably
raised meat, it surely includes hunting, fishing, and foraging your own food. A lifelong angler and forager who became a hunter late in life, Hank Shaw has chronicled his passion for hunting and gathering in his widely read blog, Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, which has developed an avid following among outdoor people and foodies alike. Hank is dedicated to finding a place on the table for the myriad overlooked and underutilized wild foods that are there for the taking—if you know how to get them.

 

In Hunt, Gather, Cook, he shares his experiences both in the field and the kitchen, as well as his
extensive knowledge of North America’s edible flora and fauna. With the fresh, clever prose that brings so many readers to his blog, Hank provides a user-friendly, food-oriented introduction to tracking down everything from sassafras to striped bass to snowshoe hares. He then provides innovative ways to prepare wild foods that go far beyond typical campfire cuisine: homemade root beer, cured wild boar loin, boneless tempura shad, Sardinian hare stew—even pasta made with handmade acorn flour.

 

For anyone ready to take a more active role in determining what they feed themselves and their families, Hunt, Gather, Cook offers an entertaining and delicious introduction to harvesting the bounty of wild foods to be found in every part of the country.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Nonfiction, Cooking, Reference, Nature, Outdoors

324 pages, Hardcover

First published May 24, 2011

About the author

Hank Shaw is a New Jersey native who worked as a political reporter for various newspapers for 18 years until becoming a full-time food writer, outdoorsman and cook in 2010. A forager and angler since he could walk, Hank began hunting in 2002 and has never looked back. He hunts or fishes for all the meat he eats at home, and foraged foods form a daily part of his diet.

Hank runs the wild foods blog Hunter Angler Gardener Cook (www.honest-food.net), which has twice been nominated for a James Beard Award. He won the International Association of Culinary Professionals award for Best Blog in 2010, and his magazine writing has appeared in Food & Wine, Organic Gardening, Field & Stream, as well as many other publications."

Reviews

[Mir]

I learned about this book from a site I came across while looking for information on cooking cardoons. Coincidentally, the author lives in or near my city! And his partner is a photographer, which is also an interest of mine. Now I just need to somehow finagle a meeting, become their friend, and get invited over for dinner. I will bring the wine, Hank and Holly!

http://honest-food.net/about/

[Robert Cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

First off, my bad. I thought this was a cook book and not an introduction to forging, hunting and fishin'.

That being said, Shaw has shown himself to be a honest, easy to read author if not terribly profound. As far as audience, it is geared towards neophytes.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I checked this book out of the library even though I'm not a hunter because we do so much foraging as a family. I knew there were sections on elderberries and acorns (which I've written foraging books about myself) and was hoping for new recipes and fresh perspectives on wild foods we love so much. There is very little here for foraging other than basically essays on why you should and very general information. There are no real ID pictures and the few photos in the book are black and white. There are very few recipes that involve foraged plants at all, and the information on foraged plants like elderberries and acorns is (sorry) not very good.

This book does excel as a manual for hunters and fishermen. If you are looking for information on that, it's an excellent guide.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really well done, comprehensive intro to hunting, gathering and foraging. He includes several recipes at the end of each section that all look amazing. The pictures were high quality and I was wishing I had the color version of the book to really appreciate them.

[Craig Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting tour through the authors experiences an endeavors gathering wild plants and hunting and fishing. I've been on his website several times as I've beeb searching info about wild plants, berries, and such. One item of interest as I skimmed this (I didn't read the entire book... but did for the sections that intetested me) eas on sea robins... I remember an outing with my father 45 years ago whe we went to Cape Cod and out on a party fishing boat... all most people caught were sea robins... and the crew assisting the fishers didn"t touch them.
Overall... this Rodale Press book presented the information in a well delivered package.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have never picked up this book if my wife and I hadn't been seated next to and started a conversation with Hank and his girlfriend Holly at Grange Restaurant & Bar in Sacramento. (We went back for the book signing dinner.) http://www.grangesacramento.com


I'm enjoying the book. It certainly gets you to think about all the vegetation and wildlife that you take for granted and even consider as a nuisance (i.e. weed or pest). It's a shame that economics dictated that the book was published with black and white rather than color photos, but I think you can find them on either Hank's (Hunter Angler Gardener Cook at http://honest-food.net) or Holly's (NorCal Cazadora at http://norcalcazadora.blogspot.com/) web sites.

[Josh Blackmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent primer for the uninitiated who have a curiosity in foraging, gathering or otherwise obtaining food from the natural world. This was my introduction to the concept of foraging beyond nuts and berries, but the fishing and hunting sections revealed other opportunities I was passing up along the way. The book is not so much exhaustive in its approach to these activities as it is a presentation of the potential feast available and the methods to obtain it. If for no other reason, pick this one up for the fishing and hunting stories within. They encourage taking up the endeavor of finding food in places far away from a supermarket.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the concept of this book and the way it was written. It was a beginners guide to utilizing the outdoors. Let me stress...it is a beginners guide. Don't expect it to be a full tutorial and it was never meant to be a cookbook (though it does contain recipes).

Mr Shaw is obviously a costal guy. He provides a lot of information of items on the coasts. I live in the midwest so a lot of this information does not apply to me and I would like to see more about freshwater fishing and plants applicable to this region. I doubt I will be foraging any seaweed any time soon.

Overall, a pleasant and easy read that provides a lot of information for the curious.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was an interesting read, but as a wild foods reference I didn't find it particularly useful. two thirds of the book focuses on hunting and fishing, which wasn't of use to me, and in general I think this book serves as an encouragement to foraging rather than an actual guide. for example, not every item even has a photo, which I think is pretty substandard when one is supposed to be looking for previously unknown plants, and the photos that ARE included are in black and white.

[Foxthyme · Rating 5 out of 5]

I constantly refer to this book. As a hunter, forager, fisher, and definitely lover of cooking, I aim to own all of Hank Shaw's books. They are an excellent reference and resource that are immediately accessible for today's cook.

[Marna Saunders · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for more from this book, but realized early on it focuses mostly on west coast species. I would love to see an Appalachian version one day.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hunt, Gather, Cook is a great introduction to a wide range of topics in hunting, fishing, foraging and cooking. The book is part how-to guide and part memoir of Hank Shaw’s experiences in “finding the forgotten feast.” Even though I’m relatively new these pursuits, I already love to hunt, fish and cook so this book wasn’t responsible for showing me the joys that those past times can bring. It has given me new ideas to try in the field and in the kitchen. I particularly enjoy how Shaw is always looking to the kitchen as the end goal for his catch or kill. This book is definitely one that should be kept in an easily accessible spot on your shelf. I look forward to trying a few of Shaw’s pointers in the new year!

[John Lanphier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone want get back to simple cooking methods? This is a must read, and valuable cookbook to have on the shelf. I refer to it often, as many of my favorite recipes come from it.

[OsornioGKyle]

Excellent book

[Adam Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Savor the words and savor the food – this book is a feast for the senses.

[Carissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice blend of exactly what it's called: hunting, foraging, and cooking. If any of those interests you, or better, all three of them, definitely give it a peruse.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up eating things off bushes and trees; gulping down ripe loquat after ripe loquat (spitting out the seeds, of course), nibbling on peppery nasturtium leaves and flowers, but turning my nose up at fire-engine-red surinam cherries (for the record, I still think they taste like plastic). So the philosophy behind Hunt, Gather, Cook is familiar and welcome to me, though I lack much of the North America-specific knowledge it contains. But I'm making progress - and every summer I make sure to grab some mulberries off of the trees bursting with fruit in my neighborhood, which are mostly viewed with disdain by passing pedestrians as a shoe-staining nuisance. (They are lovely infused into liquor, among other things.)

Shaw's book is full of useful facts and advice, but I don't think that I fully know what the point of it is - is it a field guide, recipe book, or memoir? It doesn't contain enough photos to be a good field guide, and sure, the recipes are nice, but they don't feel necessary. It's the kind of material that could fill a semester-long or even years-long course, but feels cut down to briefly touch on a short selection of topics. Also, there's nothing in here on mushrooms (itself an enormous topic), which is a huge part of foraging culture.

The hunting chapters made the topic a little less intimidating, although I doubt I could shoot anything - not out of the dread of killing, but due to an utter lack of coordination and required poise. As I'm more familiar with fishing, the advice seemed good, but still a bit technical for most.

And I guess I've been warned about freshwater clams.

[Jefferson · Rating 3 out of 5]

im a big fan of this guy's blog. the book is a good interesting read, however i probably wouldnt purchase this book because its not specific enough to be an actual foraging guide, the pictures are too few and too poor print quality (and black & white), and i know exactly where to find all the recipes online (the recipes being the one thing you would want to reference). this guy definitely gets me excited to familiarize myself with wild foods and try new things in the kitchen though.

[T Crockett · Rating 3 out of 5]

It feels strange to say, but the introduction was my favorite part. The author's enthusiasm and desire to share are compelling. I got the book from the library, just for the gather section and that's what I read. I enjoyed the author's stories about his foraging experiences, but wished there were more pictures to help the newbie forager. I think it's easy for an experienced forager to forget what it's like when "if it looks like wild lettuce, eat it" or "looks a lot like mustard" mean.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather disappointing. To list only one major and damning complaint - no illustrations? You're going to try and help me identify wild plants / weeds / berries to eat ... with words alone? And mention that some can be mistaken for poisonous or unpleasant plants? And then mention that "I should buy additional materials to help me identify plants of my region." Well, then, what is the point of your book?

[Laura Oliva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, Hank, for writing a book for those of us who wanted to try out new ways of living closer to the land, but didn't know where to start! I had some previous experience with foraging, but the sections on fishing and, in particular, hunting, were incredibly approachable, informative, and just overall helpful.

[Bre · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was good, and the information and anecdotes were fun to read, however I have a complaint about the utility of the book. It needs a companion field guide. Because eating some wild things (and domestic for that matter) can injure or kill you, I'd think that you'd want to include color pictures of what you're foraging in the plant section at least.

[Kyla · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking for something more on the gather and cook side of things, not so much on the joys of hunting. But even the small sections on foraging are basically useless with the b/w photos and no identifying captions. Bummer.

[Shayne Flaherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

back to basics...catch things, kill them, and eat them... but do it in a civilized and refined manner.. ... but really, its a good book about cooking from a organic/holistic/natural perspective. I dig it.

[Michael]

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/hank...

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have benefitted from some color illustrations but full of seemingly practical guidelines and good prose. Made me hungry.

[Manintheboat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked reading this book but it is useless as a foraging guide.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be fair, I'm only foraging so couldn't use most if his recipes... But they all look awesome!

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hunt, Angler, Gardener, Cook

p. 11

p. 13

p. 17

p. 18

p. 50

p. 70-71

p. 80

p. 179