Uvalco Blog

One of the most important tasks in preparing for deer season – which starts on Nov. 7 here in Texas – is making sure your deer feeder is in good shape. Here’s a good deer feeder maintenance checklist:

• Check batteries. Make sure the battery is fully charged.  Also check for oxidization on the terminals and clips.  Clean accordingly with nail files or fine sand paper.  Bicarbonate of soda also works well - simply mix a little bicarbonate soda with warm water and brush on the oxidized areas.  Rinse the residue off with fresh water.

• Check motor. Make sure the motor is running smoothly so corn is thrown in the proper amount and with the right velocity.

• Check for condensation. With the changes of temperature from hot to cool, feeders collect condensation.  Particles of chaff from the corn can collect on the inside walls and bottom of the feeder, which will restrict the corn flow and also reduce the amount of corn the feeder will hold.

• Check for pests. Yellow Jackets, wasps and hornets often make their home in feeders.  Uvalco sells powerful sprays to eliminate these.  Use caution when spraying so you don’t get any spray in the feed. If your feeder is attracting raccoons or other varmints, place a varmint cage over the timer motor.

• Check for water. Be sure your feeder is not taking on water.  Lids and sight glasses may need to be resealed.

• Check solar panel. Wipe down the solar panel and make sure there is no condensation under the cover.  This can obstruct the amount of light entering the panel, causing the batteries to fail to fully recharge.

If it’s time to replace that old deer feeder, then drop by and visit with us about our feeders. We’ve got deer feeders that are varmint and weather resistant, including this solar feeder:

Uvalco also carries a variety of bulk feeders with capacities from 350 to 3,000 lbs. as well as several different types of tailgate feeders.

Getting your deer feeder into shape will prepare you for a successful deer hunting season!

Most people don’t think of Uvalco as the place to go for good prices and selection on cookware for hunting, camping or life on the ranch. You don’t need to search high and low in a big box warehouse store for what you need when we’ve likely got it right here:

Burners

We have attractive dual burner cooker carts:

For camping or hunting, we have a triple burner with hose and regulator:

We also carry a variety of burner parts and supplies:

Fryers

If you’re a fan of deep frying, look no further for your fryers than Uvalco.

We’ve got a Texas-sized deep dual burner fryer:

We carry two sizes of the Cajun Fryer – one-basket and two-basket:

And we’ve got several different types of turkey fryer:

We also carry all the accessories you need for deep-frying, including stainless steel baskets and wire mesh skimmers.

At Uvalco, we’re always cooking up something good for our customers – come see us soon!

There’s something about Fall that brings out the cook in us. Cool weather, football season and good hunting just makes us want to reach for the skillet. There’s a growing trend these days for cooking again in cast iron just like your grandmother used to do. Some of you may be lucky enough to have inherited a few pieces, which means they are perfectly seasoned and ready for one of our favorite recipes: skillet cornbread. We like ours sweet and moist, so here it is:

Ingredients:

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

2/3 cup white sugar (if you don’t like it sweet, reduce to 2 tablespoons sugar)

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup cornmeal (white or yellow)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Put 2 tablespoons bacon drippings or oil into a 10” cast iron skillet and heat in oven.

2. Melt butter and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture . Fold in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

If you are not lucky enough to have a seasoned cast iron skillet, don’t despair! Uvalco has a full line of cast iron cookware, including seasoned skillets:

If you want to fancy-up your cornbread, try cooking it in one of our cast iron cornstick pans:

And if you want to marry that cornbread with a good stew or a jumpin’ jambalaya, then pick up our 11-quart jambalaya pot:

We guarantee years of good cooking in all our cast iron pots and pans!

Hopefully you’ve started the Texas dove season with a bang, bagged a limit or two and are looking for a few good dove recipes to fully enjoy the results of your labors. Here are some of our favorites:

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno-Stuffed Grilled Dove Breasts

• 10 dove breasts
• 10 slices bacon
• 5 pickled jalapenos, sliced lengthwise
• 2 T melted butter
• 1 t minced garlic
• 1 t ground black pepper
• 1 t salt

Mix butter, garlic, pepper and salt together. Pour over dove breasts and marinade at least 4 hours.

Place a jalapeno half inside the cavity. Wrap each dove breast with a slice of bacon and hold all together with a toothpick.

Grill over medium heat, about 4 minutes per side, until bacon is crisp and dove breasts are brown.

Dove Au Vin

• 12 dove breasts
• 1 cup flour
• 1 t salt
• 1 t pepper
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 small green bell pepper; chopped
• 1 can beef consommé
(10.5 oz.)
• 1/2 cup dry red wine

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine flour, salt and pepper in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add doves, a few at a time; seal and shake to coat.

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add doves, and cook until browned, turning once. Place doves in a lightly greased 13″ x 9″ x 2″ baking dish, spread celery, onion, and bell pepper evenly over doves and add consommé. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350F for 1 ½ hours. Remove from oven, pour wine over doves, and bake, covered, 30 additional minutes. Serve with noodles or rice. Serves 6.

Dove Enchiladas

• 8 whole dove breasts; boned and coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cup onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 T vegetable oil
• 2 10-ounce cans enchilada sauce
• 8 corn tortillas
• 2 T + 2 t olives, chopped
• 1 c cheddar cheese, shredded
• Whole ripe olives

Preheat oven to 350F.  Sauté dove, onion and garlic in oil until dove is browned; set aside.

Warm enchilada sauce in a skillet; remove from heat. Place tortillas, one at a time, in sauce. Let stand 1 minute or just until tortillas are softened. Set remaining sauce aside.

Spoon dove mixture evenly over each tortilla; sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon chopped olives and 1 tablespoon cheese. Roll up tortillas, and place in a lightly greased 13″ x 9″ x 2″ baking dish, seam side down. Pour remaining sauce over tortillas; bake at 350F for 15 minutes. Top with remaining cheese, and bake an additional 5 minutes. Garnish with olives. Serves 4.

Dove Tetrazzini

• 6 cooked whole dove breasts, chopped
• 3 t butter or margarine
• 3 t onion, chopped
• 1/3 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 2 T cornstarch
• 2 cups thin spaghetti
• 1 cup shredded cheese

To cook dove breasts: fill large cooking pot with water and turn heat on high to boil. Add bay leaf and dove breasts. Boil uncovered for 15+ minutes, or until dove breasts are cooked through. Remove from water and set aside to cool.

Melt butter in saucepan; cook onions and mushrooms over low heat until tender. Add chicken broth and cornstarch and stir until thickened. Add dove and spaghetti. Heat mixture until bubbling, stirring frequently. Turn into baking dish and top with cheese. Place under broiler until cheese melts.

Remember to visit Uvalco or shop online at uvalco.com to stock up on cooking utensils and outdoor cooking gear.

Dove season opens today in Texas’ Central and North Zones; if you’re in the South Zone, you’ll need to wait until Friday, Sept. 18:

A new statewide bag limit of 15 and a longer season of 70 days means there’s plenty of opportunity for some great dove hunting action this year.

The good news about this year’s dove season is that it’s not expected to be affected by recent drought conditions. Since crops were poor in some parts of the state, you may have to look a little further afield to find them – your best bet is to hunt over a water source, since all birds have to water and doves will be looking for a water hole every day.

Of course, having your own source of water is a handy way to get the birds to come to you. Uvalco has a wide range of water tanks, with 120- to 3,000-gallon capacity.

We also have everything you need to outfit yourself for a new season of hunting, including cooking and camping gear, coolers and ice chests and hunting blinds.

We’d love to hear about your dove hunting adventures this year – you can post your hunting report for free on our website to share with friends, family and other hunters.