A Pure Trophy Whitetail Wading for Peacock Bass

Picosa Ranch
Fine Texas Living
Show-Me Big Bucks
Missouri’s Hunting Haven
RB Big Bore Rifles
for Dangerous Game
THE WORLDWIDE OUTDOORS MAGAZINE OF TEXAS
®
JULY/AUGUST 2010
Life in
the Shortgrass
Wading for
Peacock Bass
A Pure Trophy
Whitetail
Dove
Dogs
TSJ
Lifestyle
Picosa
A Texas legacy
lives on.
Ranch
story and photos by
Steve Lightfoot
Bubba Ammann remembers sliding down the long stairway
banister rail as a kid and his grandmother Nellie didn’t seem to mind,
even when his uncle Mark would launch a baseball across the living room.
Boys will be boys.
Despite having 20,000 acres to explore, the Connally kids saw the big
two story ranch house with its high ceilings and trophy big game mountfestooned walls as an indoor playground of epic proportions. The former
homestead to statesman John B. “Big John” and Nellie Connally south
of San Antonio near Floresville also served as a gathering place for world
leaders, movie stars and dignitaries and remains the centerpiece of the
Picosa Ranch.
Greg Kowalski remembers when his mom catered many of those gala
affairs. In 1995, Kowalski, president and CEO of The RK Group, a San
Antonio-based event planning and food service operation that evolved
from the family catering business, bought Picosa Ranch. He and his family
maintain the property as a working operation, raising cattle, horses and
exotic game.
Greg’s wife, Bekki, has gone to great lengths to honor the Connally leg74
TexasSportingJournal . com
Lifestyle / picosa ranch
acy by retaining much of the original décor
in the main house and in the guest suites.
Portraits of “Big John” Connally and family
memorabilia adorn the walls and shelves. A
custom Stetson lies crown down in a glass
case, revealing a hatband card that reads,
“Like Hell it’s Yours, This Hat Belongs to
John F. Kennedy.” Connally intended to
present the Stetson to the president during
Kennedy’s visit to Texas, but never got the
chance.
Drawing from more than 60 years of expertise in catering and customer service,
along with a passion for hunting, the Kowalski family has transformed Picosa Ranch
into a sportsman’s paradise—an upscale
lodge, fine dining, accommodations and
wingshooting opportunities that are unrivaled in this part of the state.
You can’t judge a book by its cover and
the same can be said for the Picosa Ranch
lodge. Resembling an old barn, the lodge’s
corrugated tin siding and roof are like an
oyster shell; wait until you see the pearl
inside! The interior features a rustic stone
fireplace flanked by tanned cowhide sofas
and chairs, a broad porch with a fleet of
big, comfortable rocking chairs, an expansive patio surrounding a stone firepit, gas
barbecue pit, fully staffed kitchen and wellstocked bar.
Chef David Wallace seems to always be
preparing something and the aroma wafting
from the kitchen area is intoxicating. While
winding down from a hunt and swapping
tales of shots made and missed over a cold
drink, Chef serves up platters of Picosa’s
mouth-watering bacon-wrapped quail and
other delectable tapas. Country music is
piped in through the lodge’s sound system
and guests gather around the big flat-screen
TV or along the shuffleboard table.
The quality of Picosa’s food and chef’s
creative menus sets it apart from other
hunts. On any given morning, David may
offer eggs Benedict with truffle paste, venison sausage and biscuits or pork chops and
a ham/mushroom/Gruyere strata. Lunch
offerings are just as extravagant: quail nachos, bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin with
cilantro-mint pesto, or chipotle-grilled
chicken. Or, if a big tender, certified Black
Angus steak is what hits the spot, David
will fire up the pit and grill it to your specifications. Finish with Picosa’s banana cake
with cream cheese frosting and you’re ready
to hit the sack.
Each of Picosa’s guest suites is as unique
as they are luxurious. They remind me of
Picosa Ranch offers ample wingshooting opportunities for quail, chukar and
pheasant, not to mention dove.
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July/August 2010
75
lifestyle / picosa ranch
an RK Group Company
Legendary
Texas Hunting
Quail • Pheasant • Chukar
Dove • Exotics • Whitetail
Gov. John B. Connally’s former ranch located 30 miles south of San Antonio
the ones at an upscale resort outside of San
Antonio I stay at regularly.
Yes, Picosa Ranch could rest its reputation on its food, accommodations and relaxing atmosphere alone. But, it’s the hunting that makes it whole.
No one knows Picosa Ranch better than
Bubba Ammann, hunting operations manager. He grew up hunting and exploring the
ranch and has combined that experience
with the skills he gained while guiding bird
hunts in South Texas during a 10-year span.
Bubba has implemented habitat management strategies to maximize wildlife. Dove
hunts are his specialty, and it shows in the
way he’s created ideal setups to take advantage of flight patterns and habitat needs.
In addition to planting food sources that
attract dove, Bubba uses the ranch ponds
and mature oak trees to give hunters increased shooting opportunities, while pro-
viding ample shade during the hot early
Texas dove season. With abundant rainfall,
this season is shaping up to be a boom for
wingshooting.
Picosa Ranch also offers classic walk-up,
mixed-bag upland hunts with strategically
placed brushpiles to hold birds. Your hunt
begins with a chance to warm up with some
clay target shooting, if you like, and then
your party is on its way to your assigned
field. Bird dogs range the fields, pointing
and flushing plentiful coveys of quail, chukar partridge and pheasant. Well-stocked,
shaded picnic areas offer periodic refreshments during the hunt. After the hunt,
while you wind down and swap stories,
your birds will be breasted, vacuum packed,
and iced down for your departure.
Like a lot of hunters who have discovered
Picosa Ranch, your first trip likely won’t be
your last.
To book a hunt
Call 830-393-9262 or email them at [email protected].
Visit them online at www.picosaranch.com
Picosa Banana Cake with
Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients for Cake
2½ cup flour, all purpose
1 tbsp baking soda
1 pinch salt
½ cup butter
1 cup sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
1 egg
4 bananas, very ripe
1 cup buttermilk
½ cup walnuts, chopped
Ingredients for Frosting
3 ¾ cup powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons cream cheese
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ cup milk
Method for Cake:
Cream butter, sugars and eggs. Smash bananas
and blend with buttermilk and walnuts. Sift flour,
baking soda and salt together. Alternately add
banana mixture and dry mixture to creamed butter, sugar and eggs. Mix until just incorporated.
Pour batter into a greased bundt pan and bake at
350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a thin wooden skewer inserted into the cake comes out with
only a few moist crumbs. Turn out onto wire rack
to cool while preparing frosting.
For more information on Picosa Ranch, contact Bubba Ammann at
830.393.9262
or visit us at
www.picosaranch.com
76
TexasSportingJournal . com
Method for Frosting:
Blend together all ingredients except milk using
a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle.
When mixture is smooth and sugar is well incorporated, slowly add in milk until desired consistency is achieved. Pour and spread frosting over
banana cake. Try not to eat the entire cake in
one sitting.
Chef David Wallace prepares a meal
on Picosa Ranch’s outdoor grill.
One in a series north america / SHOW-ME big bucks
7
July/August 2010
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8401 Jacksboro Hwy, Suite 350
Fort Worth, Texas 76135