Afield: A Chef's Guide to Preparing and Cooking Wild Game and Fish
2012 IPPY Bronze Award in the Cookbook category (Independent Publisher Book Awards)ForeWord Reviews 2012 Book of the Year Award Finalist (TBA)2013 James Beard Foundation Book Awards, Nominee Finalist"Griffiths may be an ideologue, but his recipes adapt  well to the work of the unarmed home cook hoping simply to feed friends  beautiful, flavorful food in the chill of early winter. His anise brine  mutes the wildness in feral boar. But it also augments the flavor of  commercially raised pigs, increases the clarity of their flavor, acts as  the best sort of kitchen cheat."— Sam Sifton, "How to Tame a Wild Pork Chop" featured in The New York Times Magazine"I don't really see myself plucking doves anytime soon—rather I tend to  feed them—but I greatly admire Jesse Griffiths and his work, especially  Afield. It's solid and real, not something stylish and trendy. It's  clear that Jesse takes this work very seriously. That would be enough,  but I have to add that the photographs are especially evocative."—Deborah Madison, author ofVegetarian Cooking for EveryoneandLocal Flavors"After the Larousse Gastronomique, this book will become my new bible.  Afield is part of the new generation of culinary books. Actually, it's  more than just a culinary book, it's a North American chef d'oeuvre.  Enjoy!"—Martin Picard aka "The Wild Chef," author ofAu Pied de Cochon Sugar Shack"A kindred spirit and fellow hunter, angler and cook, Jesse Griffiths  has created a book that not only highlights the glories of Texas'  abundant game and fish, but is also just as relevant and as useful  wherever you can find doves and deer, crabs and crappies. It is one of a  very few modern cookbooks that does justice to America's wild game and  fish."—Hank Shaw, author ofHunt, Gather, Cook"Jesse Griffiths practices what most of us only preach when it comes to  sustainable eating. Afield shows us that hunting is as much about  compassion, respect and knowledge of animals, and the land as it is  about the preparation. Much praise goes to Jesse for making the art of  hunting and cooking game approachable."—Carla Hall, co-host ofThe Chew"From his love of hunting and fishing, Jesse Griffiths has created a rare and beautiful book."—April Bloomfield, chef and author of A Girl and Her PigAdvance Praise "Of all the members of The Butcher's Guild, Jesse is one of the most  intrepid and iconoclastic. Gracefully teaching sustainability and  holistic cooking in Texas, he has become the young grandaddy to a new  generation of chefs and butchers. His prose and approach are as warm as a  campfire on a Texas dove-hunt."—Marissa Guggiana, author ofPrimal CutsandOff the Menu; co-founder of The Butcher's Guild"The recipes are spot-on (I cook; my son is a chef), the photography is  gorgeous, and the philosophy is a welcome breath of non-self-righteous  rationalization."—James R. Babb, Editor, Gray's Sporting Journal"This book is inspiring. Jesse captures the energy of the hunter  gatherer in a refined and approachable way. This book makes me want to  eat Snipe and smoke my own catfish."—Jamie Bissonnette, chef and butcher at Coppa and Toro in Boston"Jesse Griffiths knows what's important about food...that it's fresh,  local and allowed to speak for itself. He's an old school chef with deep  respect for the land, his farmers and purveyors and the food they  produce and it shows through his cooking."—Dave Pasternack aka "The Fish Whisperer," according to the New York Times; author ofA Young Man and the Sea"For all who want to take increased responsibility for meat eating and  plan to hunt it themselves, Afield is the book to follow. For all who  may aspire to hunting, it is the book to read closely for a real sense  of the experience. For those who already know the pleasures of the hunt,  but may not know how to maximize the pleasures of the table, Afield is  the book to cook from."—Deborah Krasner, author ofGOOD MEAT"The magic, and why I think Afield is a special work, is that it fully  portrays a way of living and thinking that allows us to return to a more  simple way to be measured and respected. And it does so without  lecturing or pandering. It reminds me that by living a more principled  life, I can make my world a better place and I can use food and cooking  to do it. This book is a beautiful piece of work, and after you read it,  and cook from it, please get outside and get dirty with it. Wherever  you are, the great outdoors is waiting for you, afield."—Andrew Zimmern, host of Bizarre Foods, from his  introduction to Afield (Andrew featured Griffiths breaking down a feral  hog on the Bizarre Foods Austin episode that aired on August 13, 2012)"It's not news that we're rethinking how we eat. Between money issues,  and the conglomeration of differing ideas about where we should get our  food and what we should do with it, I'm surprised we've not seen a book  like Afield before now. Then again we've not had a Jesse Griffiths  stepping forward before now. With this book he reaches beyond those who  have always hunted.  He lives that idea of working with what is around you and hunting  naturally comes out of that for him. Hunting is not for all of us, but  this book has much to teach about working with meat, cooking game well,  and for some us, it offers a gentle, thoughtful introduction to a way  with food that seemed foreign in the past. It could be a marker for the  future."—Lynne Rossetto Kasper, host of public radio's  national food show, The Splendid Table®, from American Public Media  (Griffiths' segment will air in mid-September)"If things get tough on Planet Earth, you'll want Jesse Griffiths at  your side, or at least, his educational and entertaining book, Afield!  Read Jesse Griffiths' Afield for inspiration, and then get out to the  wilderness and bring home a wild hog, or at least a few fish! Then flip  through the pages of this beautiful book to learn what to do with your  catch. Jesse Griffiths is an omnivore's inspiration — one of Texas'  greatest supporters of and educators on local foods of every kind —he's just as good with vegetables as he is with game.  Afield is Jesse Griffiths and his cohorts at their finest. If you don't  have a gun or a fishing pole, just delve into Afield for a great  armchair experience!"—Carol Ann Sayle, organic vegetable farmer, Boggy Creek Farm, Austin, TX “Griffiths takes you inside the moment with him, into his head, as he searches for a downed doe or sets the hook in a catfish’s mouth. It’s impossible to miss Griffiths’ reverence for the lives he literally consumes.”—Kim Pierce,Dallas Morning News “Everything you want to know about hyper-locavorism can be found in this book of stories, recipes and how-tos that will take you from couch potato to wild boar hunter in no time. Well...maybe a little time.”—Jesse Kapadia,Food Republic “Lots of the recipes - for turkey, duck, fish, crab, and rabbit in particular - could be happily used by cooks with no intention of actually harvesting it themselves from anywhere but the butcher shop.”—Molly Watson, About.com “Calling Afield a mere cookbook would be…like calling the Grand Canyon a large ditch. A philosophical journal, a field guide, a visual work of art – all of these would be fitting descriptions of the new book. Half of [the photographs] will inspire you to never eat anything processed again, while the other half will make you want to grab your rod or gun and head out into the wild right away.”—Bearings: A Southern Lifestyle for Men “Afieldis at once anecdotal and educational… In a country where gun ownership is more associated with NRA zealots than food sourcing, Griffiths wants to open up people’s minds to living off the land once again.”—Veronica Meewes,CultureMap Austin “Afield will inspire you to do—to roll up your sleeves and catch a flounder, clean a rabbit, field dress a feral hog, butcher a deer, cook up a squirrel, and make your own sausage—all in the name of a good meal.”—Sarah Hebbel-Stone, FarmPlate “Part recipe collection, part Hemingway-esque adventure read, [Afield] comes from one of Austin’s fiercest talents.”—Paula Disbrowe,Daily South “Yes, it’s a cookbook, but more specifically, it’s an impeccably written, extensively photographed manual that takes people through the hunting process from land, lake, and sea and right back into the home kitchen.”—Layne Lynch,Texas Monthly"For a reader who knows the magic of a duck blind at sunrise, the writing is evocative; for the novice, it offers additional insight into why hunting and fishing are favored pastimes for millions in this country."—Kerry Luft,Chicago Tribune"Griffiths forges a new approach to the sustainable movement through a compelling narrative on the benefits, both mental and physical, to catching your own dinner."—Michele Harris, Erickson Tribune“A practitioner of the new hunting-cooking movement, Griffiths also happens to be a gifted writer who captures the drama and romance of moving through a creek slowly so as not to spook the fish or gu...