Field to Fire: Exploring Wild Game Cooking With Andrew Zimmern

A new cooking show has found its way onto the Outdoor Channel, and it’s hot and wild. Field to Fire will showcase what it really looks like to harvest your own game and prepare it over an open flame.

Andrew Zimmern, a lifelong outdoorsman and chef, is heading back into the wild to source his favorite proteins. From wild pigs in Oklahoma to redfish in Louisiana, Field to Fire will showcase the incredible wild feasts the field has to offer.

In each episode of Field to Fire, Andrew arrives at a new location and teams up with a local expert for the adventure. Together, they’ll track down their target animal and show you how to get it home, prep it, and put it on the plate. From walleye shore lunches to rabbit tacos, Andrew shares his best tips for turning wild proteins into delicious meals.

We chatted with the show’s host to get a feel for what he thinks it brings to the table.

Who Is Andrew Zimmern?

If you’re a fan of food television, you’re likely already familiar with Andrew Zimmern. He is a renowned chef, television personality, and culinary expert best known for his work exploring global cuisines. He gained international recognition as the host of the Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods series, where he showcased unusual exotic dishes from around the world. Zimmern’s work has been influential in promoting cultural understanding through food.

Throughout his career, Zimmern has won several prestigious awards, including four James Beard Awards, and has authored numerous cookbooks. Beyond television, he is a restaurant owner, philanthropist, and advocate for sustainable food practices and hunger relief programs.

There’s so much more to say, and this little intro to the man doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of his life, struggles, and accomplishments. That all being said, let’s talk about Andrew Zimmern, the lifelong hunter, fisherman, and forager.

Field to Fire: The Interview

I had the chance to ask Andrew what hunting for his food means to him and how he sees this new show advancing his conservation and culinary passions.

RS: What inspired you to create Field to Fire, and how does your personal background play into the game you chase and prepare?

AZ: Field to Fire, I think, is the complete package show for wild game cookery, teaching about conservation, talking about sustainability, and showing people how to cook over live fire, which takes a lifetime to master. No one ever masters it.

You can turn on a stove, set it to a certain temperature, and throw a piece of meat in there, and it’s going to come out pretty much the same way all the time. But the tricky thing is managing wind, air temperature, type of wood, coals, distance from the coals, and how the fire is constantly dying and cooling.

Cooking over live fire is so exciting, and so is harvesting your own food. And I think the real magic of this show is that I’ve created recipes that even if you don’t have, you know, bison, you can use some other type of red meat at the supermarket.

Conservation and Ethics

RS: How do you approach the ethical aspects of hunting and conservation, and how is that represented in the show?

AZ: By talking about it. The greatest conservationists of our outdoor spaces are people who spend their time outdoors. I find a lot of people talk about how to conserve the outdoors without ever having spent any time there. And, you know, this is a show about taking wild game fishing, foraging, and cooking it. It’s not a civics program. However, I think my opinions about that will be something people can certainly read into by a lot of my commentary.

I believe that our natural spaces have to be of primary concern. I mean, we are in the midst of a horrific climate crisis. We are in the midst of a horrific hunger crisis and waste crisis. At no time in human history have so many people around the world been hungry at a time when our culture and our societies are at a point where we can feed everyone on this planet. I do a lot of work outside of this show on those issues.

Wild Game vs. Farm Raised

RS: What do you think wild game brings to the culinary experience that farm-raised meats do not?

AZ: Uh … flavor. Obviously, the flavor is profoundly different. Some people like it, some people don’t, but it is profoundly different.

Wild food is a challenge. You can’t order up a perfect 8-ounce pork chop from the field, right? Wild hogs are going to come in whatever size happens to wander underneath your treestand or past your blind. So, you don’t really get a choice when it comes to size. There’s a challenge there.

And it’s fun when you’re sourcing food in the wild and going to cook it over live fire. I think that’s just phenomenally a more fun cooking experience. And for me, cooking is yoga. I’m not thinking about all my problems and every other part of my life when I’m out hunting, fishing, foraging, and cooking.

Tips and Tricks to Successfully Prepare Wild Game

RS: Wild game has a reputation for being tricky to cook. What are some common mistakes people make, and how do you avoid them?

AZ: Wild Game does have a reputation for being tricky to cook because most people don’t get a chance to cook with it. You know, obviously wild game is obviously leaner. Fish is sometimes leaner (the wild version versus stuff that’s farmed). So, the common mistake that people make is overcooking it.

I really preach patience and understanding what you’re working with, and looking at the meat or the fish or the vegetable, and really understanding everything about it before you start applying heat to it.

Where and When to Watch ‘Field to Fire’

You can catch Field to Fire on the Outdoor Channel or stream online from Tastemade.