Hosting with Fall's First Game

The season opens, and so does the best hosting window of fall

Dove and upland season opening isn't just a hunting calendar date, it's the start of the best hosting window of the year. The first birds of the season have a way of turning an ordinary evening into an occasion, provided they're handled right from field to table.

Handling game safely, from field to kitchen

Wild game isn't federally inspected the way store-bought poultry is, so safe handling matters more, not less. The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service recommends chilling dressed game to below 40°F as soon as possible after cleaning, and notes that wild game can carry parasites like Trichinella and Toxoplasma that aren't a concern in inspected meat, so proper cooking temperature isn't optional.

Cooking temperatures that actually matter

Per USDA guidance, whole game birds should reach an internal temperature of 165°F. Ground game and sausage should also reach 165°F, while whole cuts of larger game can be cooked to 145°F with a rest time, though whole birds are the more common case for a dove or upland opener. A reliable meat thermometer matters more here than it does with a supermarket chicken.

Setting the table for a field-to-table dinner

The table deserves the same care as the bird. A proper cheese board and knife set for the starter, enamelware or good linen that can handle an outdoor table, and a picnic basket and blanket bundle if the dinner is moving outside rather than staying in the dining room.

Field Traditions for the table

Our field barware and tableware collection, including our cheese boards and knives and our whiskey glasses, round out a table built the same way the day was: properly.