Podcast Episode 240: Borderlands Cookbook with Hank Shaw
Few cookbooks have ever managed to capture the spirit of a landscape as well as Borderlands, the latest release from Hank Shaw. In Episode 240 of the Wild Fish and Game Podcast, host Justin Townsend and co-host Adam Berkelmans sit down with Hank for a wide-ranging conversation about the stories, recipes, and revelations that make Borderlands a groundbreaking work of culinary storytelling. From grilled cactus and desert beans to smoked fish and salsa pounded by hand, this episode takes you on a journey through one of the most complex and misunderstood regions in North America, the Mexican-American borderlands.
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Hank Shaw needs little introduction to those who live and breathe wild food. A James Beard Award-winning author, chef, podcaster, and founder of the legendary website Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, Hank has spent the last decade documenting the intersection of the wild and the edible. His previous books, Hunt, Gather, Cook, Buck, Buck, Moose, Duck, Duck, Goose, Pheasant, Quail, Cottontail, and Hook, Line and Supper, have become foundational texts for wild food cooks. But Borderlands represents something different: a deeply personal project that blends his passion for history, language, and wild ingredients into a soulful exploration of place.
“I’ve written an entire book on waterfowl, big game, small game, fish, and seafood,” Hank explains. “Where do you go next? For me, it was the borderlands.”
Borderlands is more than a cookbook; it’s a quest. Inspired in part by Hank’s years living in Sacramento and his friendship with Mexican chef Patricio Wise, the book weaves together research, fieldwork, and lived experience from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. What began as an idea for a Northern Mexican cookbook evolved into a comprehensive celebration of the entire border region, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific. “This is an idiosyncratic journey,” Hank says, “from east to west, on both sides of the border.” It’s packed with recipes for wild game and fish, yes, but also with cultural context, linguistic insights, and an undeniable reverence for the people who inhabit this rugged stretch of land. With his fluency in Spanish, learned specifically for this project, Hank gained deeper access to stories and techniques that most outsiders miss, a process he describes as essential for unlocking the soul of the cuisine.
One of the central themes of the book, and this podcast episode, is the idea of char. “The primacy of char is how I would put it,” Hank says. Fire, smoke, and burntness aren’t just techniques; they’re cultural signatures. “In the desert, it’s fire that rejuvenates the soil. And it’s reflected in the cooking.” Whether it’s a properly blackened tortilla or a salsa tatemada ground by hand in a molcajete, that element of flame connects generations of cooks across the borderlands. Another key theme is the flexibility of ingredients. Hank encourages readers to use what they have: “It could be freaking beaver meat if you’re in Canada.” Just as the people of the borderlands adapt to limited rainfall and seasonal scarcity, so too can cooks adapt traditional recipes by using wild-harvested or locally sourced ingredients.
Borderlands also challenges stereotypes about both Tex-Mex cuisine and Northern Mexican food. Too often overlooked in favor of the cuisines of Oaxaca, Puebla, or Mexico City, the food of the North is simpler in presentation but no less rich in flavor, history, or ingenuity. Dishes like mollejas (grilled sweetbreads), carne asada done right, and soplicón (a chilled venison salad with olive oil and crunchy vegetables) all get their due in this book, alongside clever finds like coyotas, a traditional pastry Hank dubs the “Mexican Pop-Tart.”
Language, too, plays a central role in the book. From code-switching to culinary terminology, Hank dives into the bilingual nature of border life and how it shapes everything from communication to cooking. “Once I learned Spanish, everything opened up,” he says. “Your ability to talk to people, to read, to understand, it made the book what it is.” The linguistic nuances of ingredients, such as the distinction between Mexican oregano and its Mediterranean counterpart, further illustrate the depth and care put into Borderlands. Even seemingly simple pantry items like chili piquins or tepary beans become portals into regional identity and ancestral knowledge.
And then there’s the people. One of Hank’s greatest hopes is that Borderlands fosters empathy. “Most of the issues with the border really don’t involve Mexicans,” he notes. “Mexicans are our neighbors, our friends.” Through lush photography, deep storytelling, and grounded culinary insight, the book puts a human face on a region too often flattened by politics or fear. “Naming things gives them power,” Hank says. “Naming dishes, places, people, that gives them space in your mind.” He hopes readers will come away not only with new recipes but also a new respect for the landscape and its inhabitants.
As the episode winds down, Hank reflects on what he hopes readers will take away: “One, that Tex-Mex doesn’t suck. And two, that Northern Mexican food doesn’t suck.” It’s classic Hank, funny, sharp, and absolutely correct. The recipes are exciting, the stories are moving, and the techniques, from pounding salsas to smoking fish, will inspire both novice cooks and seasoned wild food veterans alike.
If you’ve ever been curious about the foods of the border, or if you’ve hunted doves in the desert, fished the Gulf, or foraged cactus in the Southwest, this book is for you. If you’re new to wild food but want to cook with authenticity and a sense of place, Borderlands will be your guide. And if you’re just hungry for a damn good carne asada taco, well, you’re in luck, there’s a four-page spread on how to do it right.
Listen to Episode 240 of the Wild Fish and Game Podcast wherever you get your shows to hear Hank dive even deeper into the stories behind the book. And if you’re ready to bring these flavors into your own kitchen, order Borderlands directly from Hank at Hunter Angler Gardener Cook to support independent creators. You’ll be glad you did.