Changing The Game is available online wherever Ingram Content books are sold.
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Changing the Game is intended to provide the do-it-yourself sportsman with detailed guidance and proven, time-tested techniques that will optimize the enjoyment of his or her harvest, taking it from field to fork, and for home cooks who are hunting for new ways to up their food game. Author Craig Tomsky grew up in a traditional Italian household in Northern New Jersey, where he was accustomed to good food—really good food. He has coupled his uncompromising love of such fare with his passion for hunting for more than 30 years, and has identified key factors that will reduce and, in most cases, eliminate the undesirable “gamey” flavors that all too often result from inadequately processed and prepared game. He has also developed and refined with his personal flair many recipes from family and friends over the years to not only complement each game’s most desirable flavors, but to help you truly transform your game meat into delicious finished dishes.
Changing the Game is a total playbook that takes the reader from caring for the game after the harvest through Craig’s “keys to changing the game”—specific techniques used during the butchering and preservation processes that will positively impact the flavor and tenderness of the meat. It also lays out a roadmap and recommends equipment the reader can use to expediently and efficiently process various types of game meat. Explanations that support Craig’s findings and preparation techniques are provided in relatable layman’s terms via anecdotes that are sprinkled throughout the book.
Changing the Game finishes with a multitude of delicious recipes—some new, some traditional—that reflect the many cultures that make up this great country of ours. They have been enhanced by game meat as well as Craig’s selection and use of complementary ingredients to achieve complex yet delicate flavor profiles for each dish. Changing the Game also contains recipes for side dishes and desserts, along with wine pairing recommendations, to provide the reader with a complete game plan for an enjoyable evening that will leave your dinner guests asking, “Is this really wild game?”
Changing The Game
Contents
Foreword
Introduction: Becoming a Game Changer
1. Developing Your Game Plan: The Field-to-Fork Process
2. Identifying the Keys to the Game: Unlocking Your Meat’s Flavor and Tenderness
3. Executing the Keys to the Game: Your Playbook for Impacting Flavor and Tenderness
4. Your Equipment Locker: Butchering, Processing, and Cooking Tools
5. Knowing Your Personnel: Differences among Spices, Herbs, and Other Select Ingredients
6. Pregaming: House Drinks and Wine Pairing Guidance
7. Special Teams: Sauces, Rubs, Marinades, Sausages, and Other Flavoring Agents
8. The Big Plays: Main Courses Using Whole Cuts of Meat
9. Scheming for Success: Main Courses Using Cubed Meat, Ground Meat and Sausages
10. Sideline Happenings: Side Dishes
11. Post-Game Analysis: Desserts
Foreword
By Susan D. Tomsky
They had me at… the meat sauce? I vividly remember the first time I went to have dinner with my then-boyfriend’s family. It was Monday, November 3, 1980. Election Day was the next day and we had off from school—high school. I had been dating Craig since late September of that same year, about six weeks, and I guess his Sicilian mother thought it was about time she learned more about this half-Italian girl—just in case she hadn’t already heard enough about me from her sister, Craig’s aunt, who just happened to be my high school health teacher that semester. Our plans were to see a movie that night; you know, in a theater. But Craig’s mom unexpectedly invited me to dinner beforehand. Of course I had to accept, so as not to upset either Craig’s mom or aunt. I already really liked Craig and did not want to get off on the wrong foot with the matriarch of the household.
I arrived for dinner and, much to my surprise, Mrs. Tomsky was serving pasta with her freshly cooked homemade meat sauce. What Italian woman cooks meat sauce on a Monday?! After my second helping—Craig’s mom would expect nothing less, and was impressed when I accepted seconds on the first offering—I started thinking, “Not only do I really like this guy, but this food is really good. I mean sensational.” Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t marry Craig for his cooking abilities… only. Really. It was and still is a true-love thing. The fact that we also both love good-quality food and have made a hobby out of optimizing its preparation and taste has, over time, evolved into our way of life.
Over the years, my husband has shared his time-tested game recipes with family and friends. Their overwhelmingly positive responses, especially from people who thought they didn’t care for wild game before tasting what we prepared for them, have prompted us to share our learnings more broadly, so more hunters can optimize our country’s natural resources in a way that’s sustainable, responsible and enjoyable. Craig’s personal experiences in the field and in the kitchen, along with his science background and his drive for excellence in everything he does are all reflected in these pages. The processes and recipes he’s developed to transform the flavor and tenderness of game meats will amaze your family members and friends—some may even question whether they’re really eating wild game! We hope you will glean some valuable tips from this book that will help you to enjoy the game you harvest as much as we do.
