First Look: 'Remington Camp Cooking' Cookbook

After more than a year of anticipation, I finally got my hands on an advance copy of the new "Remington Camp Cooking" cookbook. Chef Charlie Palmer first clued me into the project when I sat next to him at dinner during the 2012 SHOT Show.

As I mentioned in that post, Palmer is one of us, a hunter and all-around regular guy, despite the fact that he’s responsible for more than a dozen restaurants around the country, as well as a handful of wine shops and boutique hotels. You wouldn’t know it by sitting next to him as he relates stories of hunting with his boys. True to that everyman style, the recipes in Remington Camp Cooking aren’t out of reach for most home cooks.

Yes, the book is clad in a rustic leather cover and features some stunning imagery, including selections from the Remington Arms Art Collection. From my quick review, none of the recipes call for obscure ingredients or advanced techniques. This is something I appreciate as it seems like many cooks today try to out-chef everyone else rather than really help home and hunting-camp cooks like you and I. For those of us who kick it in the sticks where the local grocery store, which carries just the basics, is more than a few country miles away, it’s refreshing to find recipes that call for ingredients found in most pantries.

But don’t think this is your basic meat-and-potatoes cooking. Palmer stills raises the goods to the next level with Braised Elk Sugo and Herb-Roasted Salmon. Remington Camp Cooking also includes host of great sides, desserts and a “Cupboard” section with recipes for camp-inspired condiments like Bacon Jam. The book even lists several non-game recipes for those of us looking to replace our end-of-season tag soup with something more substantial.

The book just arrived in the mail today so I haven’t had time to delve into it too greatly. In the coming weeks, I’ll deliver a deeper review of it and even hope to sit down with Chef Palmer for a six-pack interview. Stay tuned and keep a look out for the book, which will be available early this summer.