Free Food

 Read more Oily Rag articles by Frank and Muriel Newman 
 
It may come as a surprise to some but not all food grows in a packet, lives in a refrigerator or comes with a price tag. There are literally thousands (okay, dozens) of foods that cost nothing.

• There’s a bang in the air and lots of people are making duck-like noises. It’s shooting season so here’s what to do with wild duck. Ducks may be used in the same manner as chicken, but are most often baked as is, or stuffed and baked. As it is not possible to determine the age of a wild duck (and looking at their teeth doesn't help!), long, slow cooking is recommended to make sure it is tender enough to eat. A good rule of thumb is to bake a duck at about 150 C for 3 hours or more.  Serve with freshly picked mushrooms when they are in season.

• One oily ragger is an expert rock fisherman and always has a freezer full of fish. When his freezer is full he fires up the smoker. His hobby has saved his family thousands of dollars off their grocery bills.

• Roast pheasant is easy to prepare and delicious (and free if you shoot your own). Pluck, gut and rinse the pheasant to get it ready for cooking. Fill the cavity (that is, the space where the internal machinery used to be) with stuffing. Roast at 190 C for about 45 minutes. It may be necessary to baste the breast of the pheasant throughout cooking to prevent it from drying out or overcooking.

• Watercress is delicious raw in salads or as a garnish with meat. Only use watercress found in clean, fast-flowing streams where animals have no access.

• One reader breeds rabbits (she reckons they are table rabbits, but we know they live in cages!). The manure goes straight onto the garden, which gives her an endless bounty of fresh produce. When the rabbits are old enough they are served as a delicacy. There are many ways to cook rabbit, but if you prepare it in the same way you would cook chicken you can’t go too far wrong. In fact, we have put it to the test and some people (kids, to be more accurate) can’t tell the difference between chicken and rabbit. Here's one of her favourite recipes for rabbit pie. You need two young rabbits, 1 chopped onion, slices of ham or bacon, 2 hard-boiled eggs, 1 tbsp chopped parsley, salt and pepper, short or flaky pastry, ½ tsp nutmeg, and cornflour and water. Skin and prepare rabbits. Bone and cut into neat pieces. Stew the bones and trimmings with nutmeg, salt, and onion for 1 hour. Strain off stock and thicken with cornflour. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour about ½ cup of stock gravy over the top, more if preferred. Cover with rolled out pastry and bake in a moderate oven for about 1½ hours.

There is a surprisingly large amount of free food available for those who have a keen eye, a little motivation, and an adventurous appetite!
 
Do you have a favourite wild food recipe? Send it to us at www.oilyrag.co.nz and we will share it with others.
 
* Frank and Muriel Newman are the authors of Living off the Smell of an Oily Rag in NZ. Readers can submit their oily rag tips on-line at www.oilyrag.co.nz . The book is available from bookstores and online at www.oilyrag.co.nz.