Great Gifts for Wild Chefs

I hope most of you were smart enough to avoid the insanity that has become Black Friday, and instead did something productive the day after Thanksgiving, like go hunting or watch college football. I did a little of both, managing to get a couple of pheasants and rooting for my beloved Big Red in their end-of-season win over Iowa.

Truth is, I wouldn’t have gone shopping even if I’d had the store to myself—that’s how much I dread that part of the holiday season. Still, Christmas will be here before you know it, and there are gifts that need to be bought. So, to make things a bit easier on all of us, I’ve put together a quick list of great gift ideas any Wild Chef would be happy to see under the tree.

Grilling Accessories: Playing with fire is an essential part of being a Wild Chef, so here are a few cool tools that making cooking over coals easier.

• FireWire Flexible Skewers

• Non-Stick Grill Wok

• A good set of tongs, like these from Grill Pro

• Fish Basket

• Wireless Barbecue Thermometer

Butchering: Hunters tend to come in two types—those who don’t mind paying to have someone else process their deer, and those who take pleasure in grinding through it themselves. Make your favorite butcher’s life a little better with the following.

• Commercial-Grade Grinders and Stuffers

• Jerky Gun

• Work Sharp Knife and Tool Sharpener, as extolled by our own David E. Petzal 

• Hi-Mountain Breakfast Sausage Seasoning 

Kitchen Stuff: While I like to encourage minimalism when it comes to kitchen gadgetry, I confess the materialist in me covets more than a few things promising to make my life better.

• Lodge Seasoned Steel Skillet

• Fish Breading Bowl

• Root of the Earth Cutting Board 

• Jaccard Meat Tenderizer 

• Instant-Read Kitchen Thermometer

Cookbooks: We all need a little inspiration now and then to try something new in the kitchen. Here are a few cookbooks (and one magazine) that I either have added to my bookshelf, or hope to soon. (Remember to support your local independent bookseller.

• Hunt, Gather, Cook by Hank Shaw 

• The Homesick Texan by Lisa Fain 

• Ruhlman’s Twenty by Michael Ruhlman 

• Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson 

• Cook’s Country

So what’s missing? Any really-want or absolutely-need items that you’re adding to your Christmas list this year? Let me hear them.