Cooking recipes: venison

Showing posts with label venison. Show all posts

Monday, March 31, 2014

Venison with Juniper and Blackberry Honey Sauce

This week, we bring you deer meat, still drenched in its own blood-- just kidding! Certainly does look like it, doesnt it? Actually, its just venison tenderloin, rubbed with juniper berry and served with a savory blackberry-rosemary sauce, sweetened with a touch of local honey. The sauce did take a bit of time to make, but what takes a long time is usually worth the effort. This is one of those times.

Can you believe that this is our first wild game recipe using juniper berry? We have a hard time believing it ourselves. As many of you may know, juniper and wild game make a classic pairing. Hunters from the Rocky Mountains to the Cascades and throughout the Great Lakes and eastern woodlands have long prepared their game birds and venison with juniper. Its that sweet, peppery taste that stands up perfectly to the robust flavors of wild game.

People often ask us for elk recipes. But elk and venison are very similar. You can pretty much interchange all our venison recipes for elk.

Juniper Berries

Servings: 2
Prep Time: 4 hours
Cooking Time: about 1 hour
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. venison tenderloin
- 3 tbs. corn oil
- 2 tbs. olive oil
- 1 tbs. juniper berries, crushed
- 1 small tomato, chopped
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- 1/4 cup of onion, finely chopped
- 2 tbs. of carrot, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup of red wine
- 2 cups of beef stock (or venison stock)
- 5 tbs. of honey
- 1 tbs. apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup of fresh blackberries
- sea salt, to taste

1. Crush 1 tbs. of juniper berries in a mortar and pestle, or in a food processor.

Evenly rub crushed juniper berry over venison tenderloin, along with sea salt (to taste) and 3 tbs. of corn oil. Marinate in fridge for 4 hours.

*Remember to remove all fat and silver skin from venison.

2. To prepare the sauce, combine 2 tbs. of olive oil, chopped tomato, onion and carrot in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add a pinch of salt. Stir frequently and cook for about 10 minutes.

It should look like this. Be careful not to burn the vegetables.

3. Next, add 1/2 cup of red wine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cook for about 10 to 12 minutes, until reduced by half.

4. After the wine has reduced, increase heat to high. Add stock and a sprig of rosemary. Return to a boil, then decrease heat to medium-low to gently simmer.

5. In a separate saucepan, add 1 tbs. of honey, 1 tsp. of apple cider vinegar and 1/2 cup of blackberries over high heat. Squish berries with spoon. Bring to a hard boil then decrease heat to medium. Take off heat when berries are mushy and liquified, about 5 minutes.

Just had to share this beautiful honey, which we got from a local bee charmer. :-)

5. Take sauce off heat and strain solids. Combine the blackberry mixture with the sauce. (Blackberry mixture will still had seeds. Thats ok for now.) Simmer the combined mixture over medium heat for about 15-30 minutes, or until its thick enough to coat the back of spoon.

Once thickened, pour the sauce again through a strainer to remove seeds. Reason why we didnt remove the seeds earlier is because we want the pectin, which is a natural thickening agent found in fruit.

After the sauce as been reduced and strained, the end result should look like this. Mix in an additional 4 tbs. of honey to sweeten the sauce, or to taste. Set aside to allow sauce to cool.

6. Grill marinated tenderloin from rare to medium. Nothing beyond medium. Wrap in a tin foil to allow the tenderloin to rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting. Remember to let refrigerated meat come to room temperature before cooking. We typically take our meat out 1 hour prior to cooking.

Cut tenderloin into medallions. Serve immediately on warmed plates. Drizzle Blackberry Honey Sauce over venison. Enjoy...

And watch the urban sunset. Not quite like the country, is it?

Thursday, March 27, 2014

SANDRA’S SLOW COOKER VENISON MEATBALL and VEGETABLE STOUP

Such a delightful aroma waiting for this
meal, but oh so worth it
(Its consistency is a cross between
a soup and stew = Stoup! ;)...

Servings: (8 to 10)

Prep: 20 Mins.

Slow-Cooker: 4 Hrs. Total (2 Hrs. on High +2 Hrs. on Low)

INGREDIENTS (I used all organic vegetables, and Marties Organic Magic Mexican Seasoning)

Meatballs (can be made ahead of time and stored in freezer or refrigerator):

1 lb. extra-lean venison burger, rolled into 1” meatballs (or moose, buffalo, etc.)

1 egg, slightly beaten

2 tablespoons milk

1/2 cup homemade seasoned breadcrumbs

1 garlic clove, finely minced

3 tablespoons onion, finely minced

½ teaspoon dry mustard

½ teaspoon celery seeds

½ teaspoon Martie’s Magic Mexican Seasoning

Stoup:

4 medium red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1” cubes

2 carrots, scrubbed and chopped into ½” slices

3 leaks, cut in half lengthwise, washed, and sliced into 1/2 “ pieces

--(tender white and light green parts only)

2 ribs celery, chopped into ½” slices

¼ cup whole sweet peas, strings removed, and cut in half

1 small zucchini, cut into ½” slices

1 celery root, peeled, and cut into 1” cubes

1 (14.5 oz. can) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (7 oz. can) tomato sauce

3 cups low-sodium beef broth

2 tablespoons dried minced onion

1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1-1/2 teaspoons Martie’s Magic Mexican Seasoning

Garnish:

1 tomato, chopped

1 avocado, chopped

Fresh sprigs of parsley

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with foil, and spray with olive oil, and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together the meatball ingredients. Roll into 1” balls (I do so using a small scoop to ensure the meatballs are uniform in size). Place on prepared baking sheet, and par-bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, layer the vegetables in a, cold, 5-qt. slow-cooker in order listed. When the meatballs are par-baked, add them to the slow-cooker. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining stoup ingredients, and pour over meatball mixture.

Cover, and cook on high for 2 hours, then reduce to low for 2 hours, or until the vegetables are tender.

To serve, ladle stoup into bowls, and garnish with fresh tomatoes, avocados, and a sprig of parsley. ~ Enjoy!

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Venison Cottage Pie

Download Printable Recipe (You will go to MediaFire.)

Hearty and delicious, shepherds pie has always been a favorite. We thought wed try using venison instead of lamb. If you dont use lamb, the right terminology is "cottage" pie. Ive stumbled across a few forums about this... lets just say, some English people get a little hostile if you dont use the right word.

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

- 2 tsp. olive oil, extra for drizzling

- Sea salt and black paper

- 1-1/4 lb venison, diced small

- 1/2 white onion, finely chopped

- 1 carrot, finely grated

- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

- 1 tbs. tomato paste

- 2-3 tbs. fresh rosemary, finely chopped

- 1 cup red wine

- 1/2 a shallot, thinly sliced

- 2 tsp. all-purpose flour

- 1-3/4 cup beef stock

Mashed Potato Topping:

- 1 lb red potatoes

- 4 tbs. softened butter

- 2-3 ounces grated Parmesan

- 2 large egg yolks

- 1 tbs. Italian flat-leaf parsley

1. Peel and cut potatoes into equal sized pieces. Boil in salted water until tender.

2. Trim venison, removing all silver-skin. Dab with paper towel. Cut into small cubes. Note: I have small hands.

3. Season venison cubes with sea salt and pepper to taste.

4. Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in a deep 10-12 in. pan, preferably a dutch. Cook the shallots just until theyre about to turn color. Add the venison and brown.

5. Add onion, carrots, and garlic. Cook for 4-5 minutes, or until veggies soften, stirring frequently. You can add peas if you want. But dont add it now. We shouldve waited. See step 11.

6. Add Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste and rosemary. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.

7. Pour in red wine and let it boil until nearly completely reduced.

8. Stir in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. This cooks out the flour taste. Then, slowly pour in beef stock while stirring and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until the venison is tender and sauce thickened.

9. Meanwhile, drain potatoes well and return to hot pan. Mash in butter, Parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste.

10. Beat in egg yolks. Its important to do this last, to let the potatoes cool a little. You dont want scrambled eggs in your mashed potatoes.Stir in parsley. Set aside.

11. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. 60 seconds before the venison mixture reaches the right thickness, stir in the peas. Dont worry if youre using frozen peas. It will get plenty of heat in the oven. Spoon mixture into a baking dish.

12. Spread mashed potatoes over the venison mixture, starting from outside to middle. With a fork, fluff peaks into potato. Sprinkle with black pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

13. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until hot and bubbling and top turns golden brown.

14. Enjoy with ice cold beer. :-)

Please let us know what you think about this recipe by leaving comments. Just click on the red "comments" button below and it will lead you to a form. We value your feedback. Thanks!

Like Food for Hunters on Facebook!

Monday, March 10, 2014

Pulled Barbecue Venison

Recipe by Rick

With football season here, we know that many of you will be tailgating and hosting parties to celebrate all your favorite teams victories. NFL is popular, but for me, its college all the way! And if you really knew me, its the Cornhuskers of Nebraska that Im rooting for! Win or lose, the Cornhuskers have always been my team because of my dad, who was born and raised in the great town of Falls City, Nebraska. Saa-lute!

Rick at the 2012 Huskers vs. UCLA game, Rose Bowl.

When serving any kind dish for such large gatherings, it must be tasty and preferably, easy to prepare. This one fits both bills! Serve it over mashed taters or on a bun. Just keep it hot, and itll pull you through all those cold autumn afternoons. Now I got Kenny Chesneys "Boys of Fall" running through my head! Hey you, bachelors! And harried moms! This is also a great dish to throw together for an easy meal. Either way, its a good one.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 4 hours

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

- 2 lb. of venison

- 1/4 cup of packed brown sugar

- 1/2 tsp. of salt

- 1/4 tsp. of ground black pepper

- 2 tbs. of Worcestershire sauce

- 1 1/2 cups of ketchup

- 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar

- 2 tbs. of mustard

- 1/4 tsp. of garlic powder

- 1 tsp. of liquid smoke

1. In a large bowl, combine Ketchup, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke. Stir in salt, pepper and garlic salt. Make sure all ingredients are mixed well together. Set aside to allow ingredients to marry.

2. While the above mixture is resting, trim away all fat, silverskin and gristle from venison and set aside.

3. Place venison pieces in a slow cooker and cover with the sauce mixture. Coat all venison pieces well. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours.

4. Uncover slow cooker and either remove meat from the slow cooker and shred, or shred in the slow cooker. This was so tender that I did it in the cooker. Let the now shredded meat cook for another hour.

5. Remove lid from the slow cooker and stir the meat well. Spoon the meat over chunky mashed potatoes and serve with your favorite roasted vegetables. And as always, enjoy!!

* * *

Congratulations to two Facebook followers Mira Mikati and Thomas Orion Williams for each winning a $25 coupon code to Dicks Sporting Goods! We asked our followers on Facebook to name the weirdest thing theyve ever eaten to participate in this giveaway. Mira and Thomass answers were raw sheeps liver and fat, fish brains and squirrel brains. And a special thank you to Dicks Sporting Goods for sponsoring this giveaway.

To stay updated on the latest Food for Hunters news, please follow us on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/foodforhunters

Friday, March 7, 2014

Venison Un Kabobs

Hello to all our summer grilling fans! Yup, that time is here when all you grill masters pull out your barbecue, clean them up and get ready for our favorite outdoor cooking season. Kabobs are always a favorite way to cook meat but we are going to put a little spin on this particular way of cooking. Instead of using skewers, we will use a hinged grilling grate.

This will help keep those wonderful juices inside the meat and not dripping out of those savory little chunks. This particular marinade gives a deliciously different flavor than the usual tastes we associate with kabobs. Also, I am keeping the potatoes and mushrooms separate in this cooking method so you can control the tenderness of the potatoes. Corn is in season right now, making it the perfect reason to get a pile and cook them per our Perfect Corn on the Cob recipe, found in our recipe index at the top. Please enjoy!

Servings: 2
Prep Time (including marinating time): 2 hours
Cooking Time: 10-12 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. venison stew meat
Marinade
- 1 cup of burgundy wine
- 1/2 cup of soy sauce
- 1 tbs. of curry powder
- 1/4 tsp. of ground ginger
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
Kabob ingredients
- 2 medium tomatoes, sliced
- 1 green pepper, sliced
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 zucchini, sliced
- 1 package of sliced mushrooms
- 1 15 oz can of sliced potatoes, drained
- 3 tbs. of butter
- garlic salt, to taste
- ground black pepper

1. Clean stew meat of all silver skin and fat. Cut into 1 to 1 1/2-inch cubes. Set aside.

2. Combine burgundy, soy sauce, curry powder and garlic into a non-reactive bowl and place venison into the marinade.

Marinate for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

3. While the meat is marinating, slice the zucchini, onion, green pepper and tomatoes. Set aside.

4. In a medium frying pan, melt butter, an eighth of the sliced onion and mushrooms. Saute for about 10 minutes then add potatoes. Season with garlic salt and ground black pepper. Sauté for another 10 minutes, cover and set aside. You dont want to get the potatoes too soft.

5. Start the barbecue. While the coals are getting hot, open a hinged grilling grate and place the zucchini, the rest of the onion, green pepper, tomatoes and meat in it and secure snugly.

6. Place the grate on the grill, cooking for about 5 minutes on each side. Make sure you do not overcook the meat.

7. Serve un-kabob ingredients with potato/mushroom mixture and your favorite beverage!