Barbecue season is in full swing, this is a perfect recipe to turn that big game roast you just found in the bottom of your freezer into some delicious BBQ sandwiches. This recipe is very simple but does require brining the roast for 2-3 days before placing it in the smoker. After smoking, I like to cut the roast into thin slices and pile the meat on a brioche bun with some fresh homemade pickles and a light drizzle of good BBQ sauce.

The crostini has made a name for itself in restaurants, at dinner parties, and on home date nights. The canvas of a blank French bread allows the chef to paint the diner’s palette with a full flavor experience all in one bite. Working with the crostini can open creative avenues without requiring much time or cooking experience, therefore making it one of my favorite ways to practice building complex and well-rounded flavor profiles I can then rotate into my cooking compilation.

Last week we had a gorgeous early spring day here in Central Pennsylvania. Not one of those almost too-warm afternoons that brings everyone into frenzy, but a pleasantly mild 50-some degrees, truly my favorite weather. I took the opportunity to head straight from work to scout for deer in the mountains.

Many folks shed hunt this time of year, which I somewhat do, but what I am really searching for is buck sign leftover from last fall's rut. During winter, the deer in this area herd up in thermal hemlock valleys which they don't frequent nearly as much during hunting season, so shed hunting does not benefit me substantially. Early spring prior to green-up is a tremendous time to be searching for new spots. I am looking for general areas with good deer concentrations, and next fall I will do stealth recon missions to verify there are bucks using the area and pinpoint stand locations. The combination of signs I look for are quite simple, yet require tuned-in observation to locate: convergence of deer trails, typically on benches, saddles, and other map features; with scrapes and rubs (preferably big) in the vicinity; and, food (acorns) and bedding within easy reach.

I wrestled to find a new solution to an old problem. A problem that has plagued deer hunters for ages. I had many failures, but those only deepened my resolve to find the right ingredients to find a solution. This recipe is the result of finally cracking the code for that allusive perfect use for the Venison roast you find at the bottom of your freezer. The one from last hunting season, or maybe even two years ago.

Don Maulden and his wife Elizabeth have been hunting together for over thirty years. Don is a veteran who served for twenty-three years; anytime he was off duty he would go hunting, and Elizabeth went with him. She originally started just to spend more time with her husband but hunting quickly became one of her lifelong passions too.

 Think it’s all over and still can’t believe how quickly the deer season came and went? Well, for the determined, the show still goes on in a few select places and while it may be too late to cash in on a road trip to one of these late spots this season, it’s never too late to begin planning an extended deer season for next year.

Check out these top five critical terrain features common to virtually anywhere in whitetail country and setup for the ultimate rut-time ambush.

This time of year, I enjoy slowly driving back roads glassing agriculture fields for deer. I do so because I simply love watching deer, but also to identify areas with high deer density and specific bucks worth pursing. These are areas I’ll try to gain permission to hunt.

Landowners know the best way to attract deer to their property is to offer peak habitat and nutrition, but fruit trees can be expensive and confusing to choose based on their regional needs.

It’s common knowledge it takes nine months from conception to birth for a human baby. It’s actually, 280 days - give or take a day - but normally, that figure is spot on. Humans have no “breeding season” as do many animals so the number of births on any particular day or time of year is constant. For cottontail rabbits it’s only 29 days and with a breeding season here in the upper Midwest from March through September, figure baby bunnies could be encountered anytime from now well into October.