By Seared Lightly
 
 George Leonard Herter, scion of a Minnesota family that created a sporting goods supply resource founded in the last century, is responsible for penning  perhaps the most amusing, outrageous and opinionated cooking literature on record.  We own all three volumes of Bull Cook and Authentic Historical Recipes and Practices, published between 1960 and 1974, and now out of print.  Check the Herter web site  for the possibility of purchasing a surviving copy of Volume I. 

Did you know that England’s King Henry VIII “would not have made a good ditch digger” and “the only thing…to his credit was to highly endorse a lost art”…the cooking of kidneys?” George tells you all about it.  He also reveals that the Last Supper was served on a u-shaped table rather than the straight one shown in all paintings of the event.  George highly recommends the recipe for Gethsemene Beef which he declares the main dish at the biblical feast.

On another historical note, Herter credits a classical Pheasant recipe to Catherine de Medici, who, he says “invented women’s panties so she could ride with her skirts up showing off her beautiful legs.”  And did you know that Chow Mein and Chop Suey were invented in San Francisco by a Greek named Metaxa?  Perhaps you were unaware that St. Thomas Aquinas became so fat (his favorite dish was fried Robin) that he sawed out a half circle in his table so that his stomach would fit into this space and allow the good saint to reach his food.  Think of almost any truly classic recipe, and Herter offers its historical background.  Consider Beans Paul Revere, Herter’s tribute to “a man that made the U.S. possible more than any other act of one man.”

Herter does not eschew simple culinary delights, presenting “how to make a peanut butter sandwich” and “the best way to cook a hot dog.”  He has his own twist on dishes he’s enjoyed, such as Oysters Christian Herter, a take on Oysters Rockefeller that is a tribute to his cousin, who served as U.S. Secretary of State from 1959-61.
  
His family’s business, based for decades upon mail order catalogs packed with primarily hunting equipment, probably induced Herter’s concentration on wild game preparation.  If you want to know how to prepare Javelina, Muskrat, Prairie Dog (Bat Masterson’s recipe), Jack or Snowshoe Rabbit, Squirrel, Terrapin, Venison or Antelope, Bull Cook offers instruction.

Certainly you need to know “the real secrets of buying beef steak,” how to make “real corned meat” and “how to fry a steak.”  And adding oatmeal to your next hamburger or meat loaf is a Herter must.  He regales his readers with the culinary background of Genghis Kan, whom he credits for an “unbeatable” recipe for duck.

The latter two tomes carrying the Bull Cook title concentrate on George Herter’s extensive travels and the dishes he discovered across the United States and Europe.  His own photography graces the pages relating his travels and dining.  George retired in 1977, but the family business goes on, now owned by Overtons, Inc. of Greenville, N.C.  The Herter web site offers on line shopping from the catalog published by “Herters, Waterfowling & Outdoor Specialists.”

Other titles

 The forthright literary attitude of the Herters’ George is mirrored in a list of “other books written,” including How to Live With a Bitch, How to Get Out of the Rat Race and Live on $10 a Month and George the Housewife.  Herter has also written an extensive collection of “how to” sportsmen’s guides covering both fishing and hunting topics.

Keep in mind that, according to George, cousin Christian knew how to “make cigarette smoking safer,” “be very careful about what you read in newspapers and see on television regarding cooking,” “50% of people in the United States have hamburger or ground meat three times a week,” “onions and garlic are bad for your breath,” and “only apples with live worms in them are actually safe to eat.”  Just a mere taste of the wisdom gathered by
this sage of Minnesota.

 We certainly agree with Herter’s oft-professed love of beefsteak and offer our own favorite preparation for this mainstay of the American diet.  

   Steak Aflame

 1 12 oz. New York Steak per person  4 tbsp. unsalted Butter
4 tbsp. HP steak sauce   3 oz. Brandy
 1 tbsp. Lea & Perrin Worcestershire  2 tbsp. Dijon Mustard
 1 tsp. dried Tarragon or 1/3 cup fresh

 Steaks should have a generous rim of fat and be cut 1 ¼-1 ½ inch thick.  Slice horizontally from the lean side to the rim of fat, leaving the latter intact so that you can spread (“butterfly”) the steak without splitting in half.  A 12” copper pan or a large cast iron skillet can do two steaks at once.  Trick is to stir suace ingredients (above) quickly while coating the meat as it cooks.  Mix all ingredients but brandy and butter together and set aside.  Heat bare pan so steak sears when it goes in, releasing its own fat…brown meat quickly, 2 minutes per side, turn heat down, melt butter in pan, briskily stir in all other sauce ingredients while meat continues to cook, now being coated with sauce as you turn it while cooking 2 more minutes per side.  Finally, slosh the brandy over everything, light it and let it burn off.