NEW ORLEANS -- You can find exotic recipes from roasted raccoon with sweet potato sausage and corn bread stuffing to "Lost in the Marsh Venison Pie" in Chef John Folse's new cookbook. But before you get to them, get ready for a lesson on the history of hunting, going back to caveman days.

"After the Hunt," which weighs a solid 10 pounds, is a feast in itself, full of rich words and sumptuous pictures. The recipes, such as stuffed muskrat or oven-barbecued beaver, are a bonus, or as they say in Louisiana, lagniappe.

"People have gotten away from hunting, away from harvesting and cooking their food," Folse said. "So the first step was to tell the history of hunting, why it was so important to man, why it was so much our heritage."

Folse, 61, an authority on Cajun and Creole cuisine and culture, operates Lafitte's Landing Restaurant at Bittersweet Plantation, which also offers bed and breakfast accommodations. His business empire includes Chef John Folse & Co. Publishing, and Chef John Folse Manufacturing, which produces manufactured foods for retail and the food service industry. "A Taste of Louisiana," Folse's international television series, has been on public television since 1991.

Folse was born upriver from New Orleans in St. James Parish. One of seven children, he grew up relying on what he called the "swamp-floor pantry" for food.

"Dad made sure each and every one of us had our gun and went out hunting each and every day," Folse said. "The worst thing an animal could do was come in a hundred yards of a Folse boy, except me."

Folse may not have been the hunter the rest of his family was, but he found much to love in the hunting camps -- the wide variety of game and the ways the camp cooks prepared it.

At the camps of his youth he learned the mysteries of duck and andouille gumbo, venison stew with wild mushrooms and dove breast fricassee.

"I was fascinated with the recipes of the old folks," Folse said. "My brothers would kill something and I'd think, 'Boy, I can't wait to get back home and cook this.'"

Not an unusual feeling, according to Burton Guidry, also known as "Crawdaddy," who is an assistant Louisiana attorney general, a Cajun, a hunter and a cook.

"I have a particular fondness for how his recipes allow for some variety of seasoning and utilization of native Louisiana products," Guidry said. "For those of us who are authentic Cajuns, we appreciate the authenticity and accurate research done for every recipe."

Hunting has fallen out of favor in recent years, Folse says, for intellectual or emotional reasons, and because of lack of exposure to the sport, he said.

"For me there was definitely a creed that you ate what you killed," Folse said. "I think that's more important than ever. The book tells the story of the importance of protecting game and using it the way it's supposed to be used."

In the Cajun culture of Folse's youth, they ate the kill baked, roasted, fried and in casseroles, with sauce piquante, Creole sauce and barbecue sauce, in gumbos, bisques and chowders. He hopes the new cookbook will encourage others to do so as well.

"I found out that people don't eat game because they don't know how to cook it," he said. "Even hunters weren't enjoying it, they just ground up the meat and made sausage."

Some people will be put off by the taste of game, Folse knows. So the book includes marinades and rubs that tame but still allow the meat to retain its flavor, he said.

"We're so far removed from that swamp-floor pantry we don't realize that everything we eat today tastes the same," Folse said. "We've domesticated our palates and brains to think everything that doesn't taste vanilla is something we're not interested in."

Folse hopes the cookbook and it's recipes, stories and pictures will lure people back into the great outdoors and to the tastes that were so much a part of American traditions for so long.

"I hope people will again learn about hunting, the camaraderie of the hunting camp, the enjoyment of the outdoors," Folse said. "For all those folks that like free-range chicken and turkey, this is a whole new world."

"After the Hunt," published by Chef John Folse & Co. Publishing, retails for $64.95.

In Chef John Folse's new cookbook, "After the Hunt," game recipes run from standard to unusual.

VENISON ROLLED ROAST

(One of Chef Folse's favorites)

Preparation time: 2-1/2 hours

Yields six to eight servings

3- to 5-pound venison roast, boned

2 teaspoons Louisiana hot sauce

1/2 pound ham brimmings, thinly sliced

1 cup diced onions

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced green bell peppers

1/4 cup minced garlic

Salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Granulated garlic to taste

Creole season to taste

1 cup flour

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

NOTE: When properly boned, most roasts should result in a long, flat piece of meat. Lay the roast out on a flat surface and gently pound with a meat mallet to make a larger, more even surface.

Drizzle hot sauce over the roast; then lay ham trimmings evenly over the hot sauce.

Evenly spread onions, celery, bell peppers and minced garlic over ham trimmings.

Season to taste using salt, pepper, granulated garlic and Creole seasoning.

Starting at the smallest end, roll the meat toward the other end. Tie the roll with kitchen string at 1-inch intervals.

Season outside of roast with salt, pepper, granulated garlic and Creole season; then dust with flour.

In a large cast iron skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium heat. Brown all sides of roast in oil. Remove roast from heat and wrap completely in heavy aluminum foil.

Place roast in large baking dish and bake 1-1/2 to two hours. Remove roast from oven and let set for five minutes.

Remove foil, slice and serve alongside your favorite rice dressing and steamed vegetables.

STUFFED MUSKRAT

Preparation time: Two to 2-1/2 hours

Yields six servings

2 muskrats, dressed

2 gallons water

1/2 cup baking soda

1/2 cup olive oil

Juice of 3 lemons

Salt and pepper to taste

Granulated garlic to taste

12 juniper berries, crushed

1 tablespoon lemon zest

2 cups chopped mushrooms

2 cups diced onions

1/2 cup celery

1/2 cup diced red bell peppers

6 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups French bread cubes

2 eggs beaten

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup butter

8 slices bacon

1 cup white wine

2 cups beef stock

3 tablespoons softened butter

2 tablespoons red current jelly

In a large mixing bowl or 5-gallon bucket, combine baking soda and 2 gallons of water. Place muskrats in water solution, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove muskrats, rinse well and drain.

Coat muskrats with olive oil and lemon juice; then rub with salt, pepper, granulated garlic, juniper berries and zest. Set meat aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine mushrooms, onions, celery, bell peppers, minced garlic, bread cubes, egg, broth and melted butter and mix well. Season to taste using salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Stuff muskrat cavities loosely with the bread cube mixture, and close the openings with skewers or round toothpicks.

Place muskrats in a large, greased baking dish and cover with bacon slices.

Bake muskrats, uncovered, in center of oven for 1-1/2 hours or until tender, turning occasionally and basting with white wine. Remove from oven, transfer meat to serving platter and keep warm.

Skim bacon fat from pan drippings; then add beef stock, scraping up any browned bits. Strain pan drippings into a clean saucepan and place on stovetop over medium heat. In a small bowl, mix flower and softened butter. Add flour-butter mixture to sauce, whisking constantly until sauce is slightly thickened. Stir in the red currant jelly, and adjust seasonings to taste using salt and pepper. Serve muskrats over steamed white or wild rice and top with sauce.

On the hunt

Because of its rural nature, The Times and Democrat Region makes for some prime hunting. Whether it's deer, duck, turkey, rabbit, raccoon, dove, quail, or any of the many other animals that call South Carolina their home, hunters make their way to the woods and swamps not only for sport -- but to make use of their game in creative dishes. Hunters, the tables have been turned on you. We are seeking your yummy venison stew recipes, fried turkey or roast duck secrets, etc., to publish once a month in a new food feature, "On the hunt." Send season-appropriate recipes, along with your name, number, hometown and recipe origin, to: Wendy Jeffcoat Crider, features editor, The Times and Democrat, P.O. Box 1766, Orangeburg, SC 29116, or e-mail wjeffcoat@timesanddemocrat.com. Recipes will be published on the Wednesday Taste page, located in the C section of The T&D. Happy hunting!

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