William Getchell

With the formal hunting season upon us, it’s time to add new hunt breakfast recipes to our collection! The following recipe, sent to us by Bill Getchell, comes with an interesting history and a connection to a famous American foxhunting general and Master of Foxhounds. We have a wonderful resource of recipes (point your cursor to the Social dropdown menu), and we invite your additions.

Country Captain has been a staple of southern cooking since the first half of the nineteenth century. Originating in India, the name may be a corruption of Country “Capon.” Legend has it that a British sea captain in the spice trade brought it to the United States through the ports of Savannah and Charleston.

Mary (“Miss Mamie”) Bullard of Columbus, Georgia revived the recipe for her frequent guest, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and later served it up for Army officers passing through nearby Fort Benning, including the Master of the Cobbler Hunt, General George S. Patton. In the early days of World War II, Patton sent a message to the Bullards: “If you can’t give me a party and have Country Captain, meet me at the train with a bucket of it.” In Patton’s honor the U.S. Army added it to the Meal, Ready-to-Eat (“MREs”) rations in 2000.