My name is Jeremiah Doughty, born and raised living the Southern lifestyle…. Well, the Southern California lifestyle. I was not raised as your typical hunter/fishermen, I was raised in the surf and the sand. I wore sandals rather than boots. But when it came time for hunting or fishing I became your non-typical California kid. Growing up, as soon as the weather dropped from 95 to a chilling 75, I knew that fall was here. Fall meant one thing for me, hunting! And because of this, I began to learn to take my hunt from field to plate.

Growing Up a Bird Hunter

Hunting for me meant birds, birds and more birds. I grew up a bird hunter, rarely chasing anything bigger than a rabbit. Now this was not because I didn’t want to, it was just that Southern California is not known for their amazing deer hunts. We hunted turkey, duck, quail, pheasant and dove. To this day, dove hunting is one of my favorite hunts of all times. Four years ago, I started off my big game hunting journey with one of the hardest hunts in North America, antelope. I hunted and harvested antelope on the plains of Wyoming. I was hooked on big game from then on out.

It was so exciting to get that antelope home and eat it, so exciting till I took my first bite. I seasoned it, threw it on the grill and… I hated it. Hated the flavor of this animal whose life I just took. Now don’t get me wrong, antelope has become one of my top three wild game meats to eat. I heard from others that antelope meat had a very strong sage flavor. Not knowing what I did wrong with how I cooked it, I started researching and trying different ways of self-butchering, preparing and cooking antelope and all wild game. Not finding any recipes that got me excited or that I really liked, I decided that I could do better.

The Next Part of The Journey

I started cooking, creating dishes and using spices that wouldn’t mask the different flavors of wild game meat, but enhanced them. Figuring out what spices or herbs worked with what type of animal became something I loved doing. Thinking back to that first antelope with its strong sage flavor, I learned that garlic, ginger and thyme paired perfectly with sage. I decided to start something I called “From Field To Plate”. I started this movement to show people that they can go from field to plate and create simple dishes that have bold flavors without breaking the bank. That eating organic, free-ranged meat gathered by your own hands compares to nothing else. Remember that the real trophy is the one on your plate, not on your wall. The head on the wall is a bonus you get to look at as you enjoy your meal.

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