Hank Shaw expands Buck, Buck, Moose cookbook for a new generation of deer hunters

ST. Paul, Minn. —  Ten years and more than 100,000 copies after Buck, Buck, Moose first helped change how American hunters cook venison, James Beard Award-winning author Hank Shaw has returned to the book with 30 new recipes and a decade’s worth of new knowledge.

Buck, Buck, Moose: Recipes and Techniques for Cooking Venison is a total reboot of Shaw’s 2016 book. The 336-page hardcover includes 125 recipes, approximately 200 color photographs and updated guidance for cooking deer, elk, moose, caribou, pronghorn and other antlered game.

“A decade ago, this was the best venison cookbook I knew how to write,” Shaw said. “Ten years later, I’ve hunted more, cooked more, taught more people and answered thousands of questions. Venison cooking has changed, and it was time for Buck, Buck, Moose to change with it.”

The original edition has received nearly 1,500 five-star reviews on Amazon. Kirkus Reviews praised the anniversary edition, writing, “The sheer breadth of practically applicable knowledge is dizzying.”

The new edition reflects changes in how people cook at home. Shaw has added guidance throughout for sous vide machines, air fryers, electric pressure cookers and slow cookers. The charcuterie section has been expanded and modernized, chapters have been reorganized for easier use, and the index has been expanded.

New recipes range from Swedish “frost bump” venison, to British game pies, Mexican pacholas and Texas-style hot link sausages, along with more smoked venison dishes and weeknight casseroles.

The anniversary edition also deepens Shaw’s emphasis on using the whole animal. When Buck, Buck, Moose first appeared, nose-to-tail cooking was only beginning to gain broad acceptance among American hunters. A decade later, more hunters are treating shanks, necks, shoulders and other working cuts as valuable ingredients rather than automatically sending them to the grinder.

“Hunters put too much work into bringing an animal home to reduce it to backstrap, burger and jerky,” Shaw said. “The nose-to-tail approach has become much more mainstream over the past decade. This edition reflects how far wild-game cooking has come and gives readers more ways to make every part of the animal worth looking forward to.”

The book offers instruction on handling, butchering, storing and cooking venison, with recipes ranging from simple camp and weeknight dishes to sausages, cured meats and special-occasion meals. It features a foreword by hunter and conservationist Randy Newberg and endorsements from Sean Sherman, Ree Drummond and Steven Rinella.

Buck, Buck, Moose carries a suggested retail price of $35 and is available wherever books are sold in the United States and Canada. Signed copies are available at huntgathercook.com. The book is distributed in the United States by SCB Distributors and is also available in Canada and the United Kingdom.

Shaw will support the release with book dinners, talks and appearances around the country this fall. Catch Shaw’s interview on Minnesota Outdoor News Radio with host Rob Drieslein on the Sept. 25 program. Listen to the episode at outdoornews.com or find Minnesota Outdoor News Radio anywhere you get your podcasts.

Minnesota event at Boom Island Brewing (Minnetonka) on Sept. 24

Shaw will kick off his book tour for the new Buck Buck Moose at a Pint Night at Boom Island Brewing with Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. This will be a come-as-you-are event, so no tickets needed. Shaw will have books to sell and sign. Start time is 6 p.m.

About Hank Shaw

Hank Shaw is a James Beard Award-winning author, chef, hunter and founder of Hunt Gather Cook. He writes about hunting, fishing, foraging and wild food at honest-food.net.