Good to be (Kitchen) King

Of the many traditions that will take root in a well-established deer camp, those revolving around food can be the most delightful.

Recipes and Photography By Rick Fahr

Of the many traditions that will take root in a well-established deer camp, those revolving around food can be the most delightful.

The delegation of labor is an important component of any proper deer camp. While not many start with an official chore list, an unofficial and unwritten list is almost always established. Over time, those chores and duties are done by, and associated with, particular members of the camp. These chores and the people who do them become a part of the camp’s fabric, and eventually its lore. One might even get a bit of a reputation for doing something exceedingly well, and the chore becomes a little fiefdom, a miniature realm over which one particular camper has control and which becomes a source of great pride for the chore-doer, and amusement for the rest of the camp.

Except for the most mundane of chores — somebody needs to keep up with and haul off the garbage, for instance, and there’s always something to clean or tidy up whether you’re in the fanciest of cabins or under the bluest and whippiest of tarps — deer camp tasks usually end up being pretty fun, and if you’re the person entrusted with a certain chore every year, well, you’re going to really get after it.

With few exceptions, the most glamorous and respected of these annual chores is that of Camp Cook. Taking a look inside a long-running deer camp and observing the kitchen scene — who cooks, and with what, and what it is that is getting cooked year in and year out — is akin to felling a tree and counting the rings. A spindly tree barely out of the sapling stage will not have many rings at all, while a great big knotted-up for-sure tree will have rings within rings within rings, and probably evidence of a fire or two, or maybe a borer infestation. Same thing with a deer camp: Find a bunch of young hunters in the woods just getting their camp established and you’re liable to find a bunch of cheap beef jerky, maybe a few cans of Beanee Weenees and a sleeve of off-brand saltine crackers for variety. (There will likely be a supply of beverages that is seemingly out of proportion to the meager food stores.) Stumble upon a veteran camp, however, and you will find a camp kitchen that might well have a Michelin star or two, if the Michelin Man hadn’t had a flat on the way out. The head of this kitchen is the king of the castle, at least for one day a year.

Which brings us to this issue’s “Arkansas Fare” piece, wherein we get a glimpse of the kitchen at Jackson Hill Hunting Club. Already a going concern when current camp president Rick Fahr joined in 1984, this Calhoun County outfit is a classic example of an old-school South Arkansas camp with its own set of traditions and lore and, of course, cooks. Thomas Parker is one such cook, and Fahr was kind enough to document for posterity as Parker whipped up his signature Jackson Hill dish, “Bambi Bites.”

    — Matt McNair

“In a veteran deer camp, the kitchen tells the story, and the camp cook wears the crown.”

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Cut the back strap into 1/4-inch-thick steaks.
2. Mix Worcestershire sauce, teriyaki sauce, creole seasoning, lemon pepper, black pepper and garlic powder to make marinade.
3. Put venison steaks in a 1-gallon plastic bag, and pour marinade over. Refrigerate four to five hours.
4. Allow cream cheese to soften.
5. Dice jalapenos and add to cream cheese.
6. On each venison steak, put one tablespoon of jalapeno/cream cheese mixture.
7. Overlap steak and wrap with 1/2 piece of bacon. Secure bacon to steak with toothpicks.
8. On a preheated charcoal grill, place each bit 2 inches apart. Cook until bacon is done and steaks are at desired doneness — usually about five minutes per side. Roll bites to cook evenly.