This step is a doozy…

Alas, another duck season has quacked out, and “no, I did not hunt enough days or kill enough ducks.”

Thank you for asking.

And as we step out of this season, my mind turns to end-of-season poppers and a popping good story about one hunter’s bold step…

Late one season, when the ducks were scarce (that narrows it down), I met up with a small, convivial hunting party for a voyage to a hole (for the unaware, hole is lingo for the spot from which we hunt ducks) off the beaten path, known as “the Little Buck Brush.”  You are intrigued already, I can tell.

The path to the Little Buck Brush, naturally, passes through the Big Buck Brush —(the naming committee suffered an apparent creative lapse), which is a delightfully muddy marsh that fills with water during the rainy season.  Crossing the Big Buck Bush can only be accomplished by wading along a narrow, unmarked, meandering path through boot-bogging mud, waist-high water, and a series of beaver dams—all during the cold, dark hours before daylight.  Anybody can take the easy ducks, but the true flavor comes from the adventure.

Lucky for us (and most certainly, this story), our party had an experienced guide to help us navigate —let’s call him Boppy.  As we waded, breaking a thin sheet of surface ice with each step, Boppy explained with great precision our plan of navigation — every turn, obstacle and landmark.  Our confidence was palpable.

About two-thirds of the way across, Boppy stopped, dramatically turned to his followers and pronounced, “this next step is a doozy. You just have to take a big step to clear the beaver run. I will show you.”  Then, he boldly turned and lunged forward with the word, “see-ee-ee” trailing behind him.

Splash!

The only thing left floating was his hat.  Then in a sudden burst, he popped out of the frigid water and appeared to be screaming —only he emitted no sound.

Once he dried off and stomped around a bit to keep warm, he dumped the water out of his gun (seemed like five gallons).  After a few minutes, he got his bearings and realized that he had used the wrong beaver dam as the reference point for the crossing.  We made it to the Little Buck Brush and enjoyed a successful hunt—albeit, particularly cold for our fearless leader, who bravely stuck it out for most of the hunt.

He may have been wrong about the path, but he was certainly right about the step —it was a doozy!  To this day, when I stuff a pepper to assemble a duck (or pheasant) popper, I try to capture his sense of shock as he popped out of the water that frozen morning.

Duck (or Pheasant) Poppers

Cut the duck (or pheasant) into thin strips, and marinate —I like to use olive oil, fresh herbs, white-wine vinegar (for pheasant), red-wine vinegar (for ducks), onion wedges, garlic cloves and citrus.  If you have the time, allowing the strips to marinate overnight is ideal, but as little as two hours adds powerful flavor.  About thirty minutes before you plan to assemble the poppers, remove the strips from the marinade and dry excess liquid.  Season the strips (I typically use kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, and maybe a bit of cayenne pepper).

Most often poppers are made with jalapeño peppers cut in half, but I like to mix it up and will sometimes use strips of bell peppers or other small variety peppers.  No matter what pepper you are using, wash them and remove the seeds and veins.

For the stuffing, I like to use a combination of cheeses (some of my favorites are cream cheese, goat cheese, ricotta, parmesan, and gruyere).  From time to time, I also like to add a little spice to the cheese mixture with a creole seasoning or red pepper flakes.

Fill the pepper cavity with the cheese mixture.  Then wrap each pepper with a marinated strip of the duck or pheasant.  Lastly, (and perhaps, most importantly) wrap the popper with bacon (I like a smoked bacon —like applewood) and secure everything with a small skewer or toothpick.

Grill the poppers over medium direct heat, turning to make sure all sides cook evenly, until the bacon is browned (usually between five and ten minutes).  Place the poppers in a foil pan and add a sauce of your preference to provide a glaze —I like orange marmalade because the sweetness balances the spice of the pepper and seasonings.  Place the pan back on the grill to allow the glaze to coat the poppers.

Serve as a doozy of an appetizer.

Step boldly, my friend.