I have never been to Paris, France. I do know, however, that it is a place known for its fine dining.
After the baguette bread and a type of very thin pancake known as a crepe (I find them a very poor substitute for a good cathead biscuit), the Parisian restaurants and bistros are quite famous for serving snails.
That’s right, snails.
Now I know most of you know this already, but I have always found this practice of eating snails to be, well, a little bizarre. No doubt some of you will write in to tell me you enjoy eating this kind of mollusk, so to each their own.
Before I get on topic here and start talking about more hook-and-bullet type things, I just have to ask: Who in the Sam Hill ever thought of eating snails? I am told it dates back to the Paleolithic era (it was a long time ago), when early hunter gather types first started the practice. The shelves must have been pretty bare at the Piggly Wiggly and in the Wally World grocery section that day is all I can say.
OK, if I can reel you back in now, I was thinking about food (which I do too often) and the fact that if you haven’t noticed, it will soon be officially spring. The vernal Equinox, which is the start of the spring season on the astronomical calendar, will happen March 20 if you are in Earth’s northern hemisphere. I, for one, am very glad to see this, as we have had quite a winter here in the Mountain State of West Virginia, reminiscent of the last ice age (or maybe the current one, if you recall).
(READ MORE: Earth’s ice age is showing; here’s some more SHOT talk)
Springtime, and all its glory, will be a very welcome change.
To my many brothers and sisters in camo, spring in much of the Appalachian Mountains means three things: ramps, trout and turkeys. There are many reasons for this.
First we will address the ramps, and if you don’t know what ramps are, we will take a quick sidebar.
The ramp is a plant that grows wild and is in fact a member of the leek family. Ramps usually grow at higher elevations on well-drained slopes in heavy forests, and they are one of the first green plants to emerge from the cold ground (even now, they are already up in most places).
Because they were considered a delicacy and came up on the tail end of winter, ramps were highly sought after by the early mountaineers. They were coming out of a hard winter and had been living on bacon and ham (if they had any) — maybe some venison — as well as cornmeal and lard. They were starved for greens, and the ramp was the first thing available.
Again, if you are not familiar with ramps, you must know that eating ramps sometimes carries a certain stigma. Ramps are to say the least, a little on the aromatic side (think of garlic and onion). While most of us consider ramps delicious, the scent of the ramps may stick with you for a while after eating them. I really don’t think that cooked ramps are that bad myself, but eating raw ramps will certainly make you stand out in a crowd.
(READ MORE: Turkeys, ramps, brook trout and an open place on the map)
The arrival of spring and the ramps is followed by another outdoor classic, and that is trout fishing. Now you can fish for trout in the winter, and many do, but with the coming of warmer weather, many outdoorsmen cannot resist the urge to get out on the stream and feel the sunshine, fish for trout, and listen to the robins and cardinals holler.
I must include here that March usually signals the acceleration of the trout-stocking schedule in most states. If you have a trout-stocking program in your state, you are lucky indeed. Most of us in the Southeast have access to streams that are stocked regularly by our fish-and-game departments.
Here in West Virginia, many streams are on a schedule that allows for stocking them twice a week. Georgia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Virginia have similar programs. Get those trout rods, your fishing vest and hip boots or waders out now, and get them ready if you haven’t done so already. It’s time.
Now for the third component of this trifecta to be included in your springtime dinner table, you will have to wait a little longer. Spring turkey hunting season is in this month in Georgia, begins in early April for Tennessee and Virginia, then starts later that month for Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
The classic springtime meal we are talking about here is ramps, fried trout and turkey. The full meal deal should include fried potatoes and maybe some brown beans and cornbread. If you can do all this by cooking on the creek bank, you have really checked all the boxes.
So if you want to indulge in this form of outdoor gastronomical indulgence and don’t want to wait on turkey season, I have an idea. Go trout fishing, and by this I mean get on the creek bank, drown worms, throw spinners or salmon eggs (your choice), and camp out if you can. Either way, get out there in the early morning (take coffee, of course) and listen for that most classic of spring sounds, the gobble of the American wild turkey (I love it).
After listening to a turkey until he gets hoarse from gobbling, return to camp, have a big breakfast, and then get after those trout — stocked trout or native brookies, your choice. Later in the day, start whooping up that classic streamside meal we have been talking about, the trout and ramps. A little later, when the season comes in, you can include some turkey, that is if you can convince one to come home with you.
Get out there and have a wonderful spring. Oh yeah, and don’t forget to take a kid with you.
“Guns & Cornbread” is written by Larry Case, who lives in Fayette County, W.Va. You can write to him at larryocase3@gmail.com.