Wade Truong
Pro Staff
Wade Truong is a lifelong Virginian, self-taught chef and hunter. His passion for cooking and sharing food is the foundation of his obsession with the outdoors and the resources they provide. He spends all of his free time hunting, fishing, foraging and exploring the bounty of the land and water. He believes that the more we participate with our environment, the more we understand that we need to protect it.
‘Every meal should be enjoyed and celebrated, meaningful, and mindful. A reminder of who we are, where we came from, and where we go from here. I am thankful for every meal, every dish I’m lucky enough to prepare and share. I am grateful for the opportunity to do what feels so right to me, to be myself, to find purpose in food, for the wild places, big and small, for the land of opportunity and the freedom to be who I am.’
He is the co-founder of elevatedwild.com. His work has been featured in various conservation publications as well as the New York Times and Garden & Gun.
FRANCHI FOOD ACADEMY
Mouth Watering Recipes from Ambassador Wade Truong of Elevated Wild
Smoked Venison Ribs with Whiskey-Molasses Glaze
Ingredients:
Deer ribs
Salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
Whiskey-Molasses Glaze
2 tbsp molasses
2 tbsp whiskey
1 tbsp soy sauce
(Combine in a small saucepan and bring up to medium heat, stir to combine)
Method:
Preheat the smoker to low heat, high smoke (or around 200°F). Season ribs with salt and pepper, and smoke for ~2 hours.
Place ribs in a roasting pan or dutch oven, cover with water, and add 2 bay leaves. Cover with lid or foil. Place in the center rack of the oven set at 375°F for around 3 hours or until fork tender.
Allow to drain and cool on a wire rack. You can refrigerate and finish cooking them the next day from this point, if you want.
Preheat the smoker or grill to medium heat (around 300°F), high smoke. Baste ribs with molasses-whiskey glaze and periodically rotate/flip the ribs over the heat, until just crispy on the outside and warm on the inside. The ribs are already fully cooked, so you're just adding smoke and texture to the sticky glaze. Keep glazing and caramelizing the outside of the ribs until they’re exactly how you like them.
Butter Basted Woodcock Recipe
Ingredients:
Woodcock, plucked
~½ cup of butter
2-3 tbsp roasted garlic
3 4-6” sprigs of rosemary
Method:
Rub the woodcock with olive oil, and season generously with salt.
Melt the butter over medium heat, and add in the roasted garlic and rosemary. When the butter just starts to sizzle, place the seasoned bird in the pan with the butter, breast side up. Tilt the pan so the melted butter puddles to one side and move the pan so that the heat is under the puddle of butter. Baste the bird with the hot butter for 4-5 minutes until the skin is golden brown and the internal temperature of the breast is about 130-135F and the legs are 150-155F.
Remove the bird from the pan and allow it to rest.
Serve over your preferred starch and whatever you see fit. I made some creamy polenta with a bunch of parmesan, caramelized onions, and sauteed some morels and maitake, finishing them with demi glace.