A week about wild game cookery, and the land it comes from. Five days at the mouth of Paintrock Canyon, on a working Wyoming ranch, with Josh as your host.
Each day follows the same rhythm. Mornings are for field skills, afternoons for hands-on cooking, and evenings for wine. What you do in the morning gives context to what you cook, and what you cook is paired with what you pour.
Field skills, wild game cookery and wine
Field skills: catch-and-release fly fishing, the shotgun range, long-range shooting with Swarovski Optik professionals, and horseback riding and nature observation. An introduction, not a course.
Hands-on wild game cookery. The group works together from start to finish, and every guest cooks.
A wine tasting and a discussion of pairing wine with game, at a long table with the meal you made.
The Hunt-Curious
You have wondered about hunting. This is an introduction: practice the field skills behind it and learn to cook what it brings home.
The Epicurean
You love food and wine and want to know where your dinner comes from, and what to pour with it.
The Hunter Who Cooks
You already hunt and want to cook what you bring home far better.
Anyone Ready to Slow Down
You want five days away from the fast pace, outside, living at the speed of a ranch. There is no wifi.
Josh Crumpton
Josh Crumpton is the steward of Spoke Hollow Ranch in the Texas Hill Country, where habitat, sporting tradition and the table are all part of the same work. He spent years as a restaurateur and in the wine trade before, as he puts it, going feral, and he brings a cook’s skill and a wine man’s palate to everything that comes from the field.
He works in conservation with Trout Unlimited and American Rivers, and has a gift for explaining how land, water and wildlife fit together in plain terms. He writes for Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine and hosts the television series No Small Water.
Day by day
Arrive and settle into the tents along Paintrock Creek. The first meal cooked together, and the first tasting.
Ride out through the ranch’s cattle operation and see how the land is grazed. In the afternoon, the group cooks Ranchlands beef, start to finish.
Catch-and-release fly fishing on the creek, then spotting scopes and a field journal. In the afternoon, the group prepares and cooks trout for dinner.
The shotgun range in the morning and long-range shooting with Swarovski Optik’s professionals after lunch. Josh works the dogs on chukar and talks through upland hunting, then the group cooks the birds.
A morning on horseback glassing for the ranch’s elk herd while Josh explains how elk are hunted. That night, the group cooks elk for the biggest dinner of the week.
Breakfast together, then home, with the week’s recipes and pairing notes.
The details
Questions
Do I need any experience? +
No. The week is built for people new to the field and the kitchen, and for those who already know their way around both. Every morning is an introduction, and every afternoon is hands-on.
Are shotguns, rifles and fly rods provided? +
Yes. Shotguns, rifles and fly rods are provided. You are welcome to bring your own if you have them.
Can two of us share a tent? +
Yes. Tents have either one king bed or two full beds. Ranchlands offers 10% off the reservation when two guests share a tent.
Can you accommodate dietary needs? +
Yes, with notice. Let us know when you book.
What about riding? +
Horseback riding is part of the week. Ranchlands cannot accommodate riders heavier than 230 pounds.
Is there cell service or wifi? +
Cell service is limited on the ranch, and there is no wifi.
What is the deposit? +
A deposit of $2,237.50 holds your place. Travel insurance, including medical evacuation coverage, is strongly encouraged.
How do I get there? +
Most guests fly into Cody, Wyoming, about 1.5 hours away, and rent a car. Billings, Montana, is about 3 hours. Airport shuttles can be booked from Cody.
Wild Game and Wine, Wyoming
$4,475 per person
All hosted experiences