Locally sourced food is all the rage these days, and the state of Maryland has a distinctive way, and preference, for cooking native dishes. So it’s only natural that the state’s Department of Natural Resources is out with a new cookbook this fall titled “Wild Maryland” that’s all about highlighting the foods you can hunt, fish, and find there.
“They all feature species found in Maryland’s lands and waters,” said Megan McGinn-Meals, a spokeswoman with the state’s department of Natural Resources and who helped bring the digital product together. “So it’s a book for Marylanders and the recipes are submitted by Marylanders who do just that: who fish in our waters and hunt on our lands.”
Of course Maryland is renowned for its seafood, and “we received our greatest number of submissions for our seafood, no shock there, right?” she said.
But this digital cookbook isn’t just full of your typical crab soups, crab dips, and rockfish recipes.
“There’s a snakefish etoufee,” said McGinn-Meals. Despite the fearsome reputation for being able to survive even on land, snakefish is also delicious to eat according to those who have tried. “I hear it’s a very mild, very delicious fish.” There’s also an air fryer snakehead nuggets recipe.
You’ll also find submissions for venison and water fowl like goose.
But if hunting and fishing aren’t your speed, or you simply prefer the plant based lifestyle, you’re still in luck. There’s several recipes for foragers who like to eat what sprouts from the earth.
“There are a lot of great mushrooms out there for cooking,” said McGinn-Meals. Recipes for other native plants can also be found.
Even better, it’s all free and online and easy to download.
