Tis is my sixth year of actively and awkwardly trying to become an outdoorsman. As a longtime veteran of the restaurant industry (I co-own an Austin barbecue joint), I’m enraptured by the idea of feeding my family with hunted meat from the freezer, wild and untouched by the modern food system. The stillness of being in a deer blind and the patience required to land a fish on a fly rod are qualities I’ve been practicing and developing the last few seasons any chance I get. Even the most seasoned hunters and anglers had to start somewhere.
I’ve been lucky enough to be taught by some of the most well-versed outdoorsmen in Texas. I’ve made plenty of mistakes, and, incrementally, I’m getting better. Each season that passes I know a little bit more about what to expect when it comes to hunting and fishing for food. Basically, I’ve been following these three tips:
• Start small
• Get a mentor
• Say yes
Starting small can be as easy as taking an extended hike and simply listening to nature. On my first dove hunt I barely fired my borrowed shotgun. I asked as many questions as I could and came home empty-handed but full of excitement to get back out there. This season I have my own decoys, a new over-under on number of doves I’ll shoot and a standing date on Sept. 1 to hunt with friends on opening day of dove season. I still miss way more birds than I hit, but each season I acquire more knowledge, more skills and more equipment, and I come home with a few more birds.
I have been in the restaurant business for many years but never had a true mentor in my restaurant career. In contrast, I have sought out advice and assistance from those who know the outdoors. Good friends like Gregg Ring of Casey Lee’s Barbecue in Flatonia, Josh Crumpton of Spoke Hollow Outfitters in Wimberley and Seth Hobbs of Labelle Guide Service in Lake Buchanan have been kind and generous enough to share their knowledge and help me find my footing in the field.The fastest way to learn something new is from someone who has been there before, and in my experience, many seasoned hunters and anglers are more than willing to teach those who are eager to learn. On my first quail hunt with Josh at Spoke Hollow, I didn’t even know the difference between a pump action and a side by side. But with his guidance and his impeccably trained dogs, we flushed quail from bushes all afternoon! Without friends who have been generous with their time, resources and awareness, I would still be in the exact same position I was six years ago, and my freezer would be empty.
Finding the time to actually get outdoors is usually my biggest obstacle. Between work and family, it’s hard to make time for a hobby that won’t necessarily net me anything other than bug bites. I make it a habit of saying yes anytime someone invites me out to hunt or fish. Even if I have to move scheduled events, learning about the outdoors and being a better steward of the Earth is important to me, and I want to devote time to it.
And at the end of a good season, all the time I spent hunting and fishing means I have a whole lot of barbecue to look forward to.
Abrams Publishing
Abrams Publishing
Evan LeRoy is an amateur outdoorsman and the award-winning chef, pitmaster and co-owner of LeRoy & Lewis Barbecue. He’s also a co-author of "New School Barbecue: Recipes for Next Level Smoking and Grilling," in which he and his co-author Paula Forbes provide extensively tested recipes for both traditional meats like brisket and sausage, as well as game meats including duck, wild hog and quail.
