Jr. Trophy Hunters Corner

from 2023 Jan_Feb TTHA Issue

Up on A Stump

The Critter Getters

In the last couple years, the outdoor and recreational businesses have exploded because people were trying to find any way possible to get outdoors and away from all the craziness of the coronavirus in the crowded cities. At that time our outdoor ministry exploded with parents and kids who wanted to spend time on the ranches we outfit. The most popular game animals were an assortment of hogs, javelina, coyotes, bobcats and rabbits. Of course, the kids had a blast chasing the critters around the countryside and the shared stories were worth the price of admission.

Of course, kids would like to take trophy animals, but if they can be outside and hunting for just about anything, they’re extremely excited and motivated. They can learn so much hunting varmints that will translate to hunting bigger animals when given that opportunity. The time spent working on their outdoor skills is key to getting to the next level. All of these animals are extremely cautious, and teaching the kids about wind direction, smells, concealment, controlled breathing, hunting from shooting sticks, or just staying quiet and listening, is very important.

Over the years we have hosted thousands of kids, and as long as the kids are getting some trigger time and camaraderie, they’re in outdoor heaven. We spend tons of time plinking with .22 rifles on the range because it’s cheaper and the ammo goes a lot further. Also, using a .22 builds confidence in the kids’ shooting abilities, as well as the lack of recoil and noise, and it doesn’t scare the kids like a big rifle might. Once they have confidence, it turns into hunting success. We have dulled a lot of hunting knives cleaning the critters the kids take.

We want the kids involved in the whole field-to-table process.

The idea of teaching kids hunting skills on varmints roaming our Texas ranches is really a great idea. It not only gets them outdoors, it helps with ranch management. Lots of lessons and techniques can be applied. At the same time, you can teach them “in-the-field” skills they need to learn about game cleaning, caping and quartering the animals they shoot.

So many of these animals are extremely good to eat and helping kids learn to prepare the animals for the table is very important. On our hunts we will often kill a hog and smoke it on the grill for hours, and the kids absolutely love the entire process. They particularly love the eating part as they tear through the tasty morsels of backstrap, ribs and tenders. It’s something often overlooked and I’m here to tell you that you want to learn about cooking wild game. I think it’s so important to share recipes, and it’s a huge part of our hunting process.

Here’s one of our favorite recipes:

FERAL HOG GUISADA 2 bell peppers 2 large onions 1 jar of mole 4 serrano peppers 1 50 lb. feral hog salt fajita seasoning chili powder

Start with a young feral hog diced up in 1⁄2-inch size. Using a wash pot or large 5 gal. pot, pour about 1 cup of Wesson oil in the pot.

Dice up the bell peppers and onions. Fire up the pot.

When the oil gets hot, place the diced bell peppers, serrano peppers and onions in the pot and lightly brown.

Place the diced feral hog in the pot and add about 1 quart of water. With a large spoon, stir and cook for about one hour.

Add salt, fajita seasoning and chili powder to your taste.

Add the jar of mole and continue stirring to keep the meat from sticking.

Add water as needed to have a gravy texture.

Cook for an additional two hours until meat gets tender.

Serve with flour tortillas and pico de gallo sauce.

A couple years ago, we went to a ranch with a group of kids to dove hunt and the hunting was very good. The kids shot a lot, and in the end, they knocked down a good number of birds. On the road back to the house we also took the time to take several cottontails, which was a load of fun.

When we got back to the camp, I taught the kids how to clean the doves as we saved the breasts and hearts. We also skinned the rabbits and prepped them for the

table. We cut the meat from the bones on the doves and rabbits and breaded them with some flour. Instead of chicken fingers for dinner, we made toasts with our sweet teas to dove and rabbit. The kids couldn’t believe how good the meat tasted and they couldn’t wait to do it again.

As we think back on our time in the outdoors and share the stories of our youth, it goes without saying we need to get more kids outdoors. We need to share this special resource and break bread together. We need to do all we can to pull people together and enjoy each other. The kids are the future as everyone knows and getting them hooked on a big fish or spending time in the shooting sports is very important to our future.

Michael Marbach is the CEO of the Christian Outdoor Alliance, www.mycoa.org; 210-827-9802. COA’s mission is to guide youth and outdoorsmen to a relationship with Jesus Christ through experience in God’s great outdoors.