Field and Stream - Venison: America's Meat RSS

A Brief History of Venison (And Why You Should Eat It)

Online Editors — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:44:32 -0500

Before there was an America, there was America’s meat. The first European explorers in the New World came face to muzzle with astonishing numbers of “stag” that met them just beyond the Atlantic dunes—and they greeted the game early on with blasts from their muskets. Plymouth pilgrims and Wampanoag natives ate venison at the first Thanksgiving, saying grace over the whitetails that staved off starvation. Pioneers, fur trappers, priests—the quest for New World freedoms, riches, and souls was fueled by the flesh of whitetail deer. And long before these settlers arrived, whitetails formed the very sinew and soul and sustenance of the first Americans—Ojibway and Shawnee, Seminole and Creek, Santee and Tuscarora.

I don’t want to overstate the case, but that would be difficult: From the beginning, venison made America. Back in the day, if you wanted to eat, you ate a highly processed form of acorns and persimmons and chestnuts and greenbrier. You ate the very fabric of the forest. You ate deer.

You no longer have to, of course. Your local grocer stocks the flesh and bones of cows, pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese—some of which, praise be, are raised free of chemicals and confinement and are nearly as free to romp and roam as, well, a whitetail deer. Yet despite all of this, some of us still choose to kill a deer, disassemble its limbs, fuss over freezing methods, and trade recipes with hunting buddies like ladies planning a church bazaar.

Why? Because venison is low in fat. Because it can be obtained relatively cheaply. Because it is free of the pharmacological stew of growth hormones, antibiotics, and antifungals fed or injected into commercial livestock. Because venison resonates with the current slow-food movement, and locavorism, the hip new mantra of community-based consumption that short-circuits the burning of fossil fuels. Eat a deer, save the planet.

But there’s more to venison than a mouthful of healthy protein. There are qualities to deer meat that can only resonate with the person who’s shopped for groceries with a finger on the trigger. Killing a deer is a kind of acceptance of the interconnectedness of life. Dragging a deer from the woods is sweaty work, but work salted with the knowledge that your family will say grace over your efforts for a year or better. And sitting down to a venison supper brings it all back—the shot and the sweat, sure. But also the wet smell of dawn in the woods, the crunch of frost underfoot, the bobcat dozing in the sunlight at the base of your tree. Good seasonings, those.

Some of the best chefs in America understand this innate connection between whitetail deer, the wild places where they live, and the plate. Even nonhunting chefs share the satisfaction gained from gathering one’s own food. And they certainly understand that, for all its positive attributes, venison’s taste just might trump them all. That’s why the five chefs we’ve featured here serve venison from their own kitchens. And that’s why they’ve agreed to share their best venison recipes with us.

So forget apple pie. There is no food more fundamental to this nation than a haunch of deer.

The Tribute: Behold, The Backstrap

Online Editors — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:39:31 -0500

Thoughts on eating venison from Editor-at-Large T. Edward Nickens.

Sure, the tenderloins are a more immediate delicacy, but they are a fleeting pleasure, really, small and flirtatious and destined to leave you wanting more. It is the longissimus dorsi muscle—the vaunted backstrap—that aids the deer in its soaring bounds, its nitrogen-powered, zero-to-see-ya-later speeds, and its incomparable edibility.

The backstraps lie just to the sides of the transverse processes of the vertebrae. They are easily freed of gristle and connective tissue and are perhaps the leanest meat on the carcass. They can be removed with a paring knife and cut with a fork. Like good rice or stone-ground grits, backstraps are both step-side pickup and Lamborghini Murciélago: They can stand alone on a plate, seasoned with little more than flame and pepper, or serve as a canvas for individual expression.

Every serious deer hunter has a secret preparation—a coveted recipe handed down by a grizzled uncle or stumbled upon thanks to just enough beer to make you forget the strictures of culinary decency. I’ve had backstrap slathered in mustard and Coca-Cola, split like a pig and stuffed with tomatoes, and stewed with onions by a Cajun spiritualist.

And each time, it was delicious. I’ve also had backstrap bad many times, but the sin was the same: overcooking. Do with the backstrap what you will, but serve it as rare as you can get away with. That way you may very well eat in one sitting as much backstrap as a single human being can stand. But never so much that you are not wanting more.

The Plea: Remember the Liver

Online Editors — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:37:55 -0500

Thoughts on eating venison from Editor Anthony Licata.

When my dad was teaching me to hunt deer, he’d run through a checklist before we left the house. License? Got it. Cartridges? Yep. Deer drag? Uh-huh. Empty plastic bread bag? Of course. How else was I to carry home that once-a-year treat: fresh venison liver?

I still pack a bag for liver, but I seem to be the exception judging from the strange looks I get from my hunting companions as I reach into the entrails of their field-dressed deer to pluck that glorious purple slab out of the pile.

Liver, once an American staple, now has an image problem. Maybe it’s because a generation only knows the dish from Mom’s frying a nasty old cow’s liver until it had the texture of a hunting boot. Which is too bad, since venison liver, served slightly pink inside, is packed with flavor and a traditional way to celebrate a successful hunt. I’ve eaten it as a family meal at home, as a snack at camp, and grilled over a fire on a mountainside as the buck it belonged to lay next to me, cooling in the snow.

Our increasingly timid tastes have hurt liver’s popularity. Hunters should be more adventurous. If you’re the type who loves grilled chicken breast, there’s not much I can tell you other than, if you’re not going to take the liver, do you mind if I do?

The Manifesto: Eat What You Kill

Online Editors — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:36:36 -0500

Thoughts on eating venison from F&S contributor Steven Rinella.

Why should you eat the deer that you kill? For a moment, let’s dismiss the obvious reasons. Forget the nutritional value of venison, which has higher protein levels and less fat than domesticated, grain-fattened beef and pork. Set aside the flavor, which is more substantial and interesting than anything you’ll find at the grocery. Never mind the economic benefits of a pursuit that can reward a day’s work with enough meat to feed you for a year. And toss aside how properly stored venison allows you to relive the memories from a great season around your family’s dinner table.

What’s left? Probably the biggest reason of them all: because we love our rights as hunters. Every year, American outdoorsmen lose critical wildlife habitat, hunting privileges, and access to land due to the actions of a public that all too often views hunting as a cruel and frivolous sport. Responsible hunters battle these losses with their votes, wallets, and pens—all very important tools—but we shouldn’t forget to use our forks as well.

Through the examples of our eating habits and our thorough care for and preparation of game, hunters can demonstrate to others that we count on wild places and wild animals for an important and irreplaceable part of our physical sustenance. Now is the time to make this connection, because current national discussions about food rely on catchphrases that will look familiar to hunters: locally harvested, free-range, organic, humanely slaughtered. Some nonhunters will never understand the passion that pulls us into the woods, but many of them will sympathize with our passion for what we bring home. In my mind, this puts hunters into a pretty good position. In the battle to protect hunting, the most effective tool might just be the most delicious.

The Ritual: After Death, Before Venison

Online Editors — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:34:03 -0500

Thoughts on eating venison from author and F&S contributor Rick Bass.

It’s not my place at all to suggest a right way or a wrong way. My own view is that if a post-kill ritual comes naturally, fine. But if it doesn’t, it’s as disrespectful to fake as it is to not even consider one in the first place. I don’t much like hearing other hunters whoop and shout and high-five following the occasions when they are fortunate enough to find an animal—I don’t care for that at all. But I usually hunt far enough into the backcountry that that curious aversion of mine generally takes care of itself—self-selected against such intrusion by distance and terrain.

I should hasten to say that post-kill rituals can take quite a long time to develop—years, or decades—and it’s possible also that as we age and become more attuned to our own mortality, we gain a greater interest in such matters: an increased empathy, curiosity, awareness. The ritual is partly for the animal but also partly for ourselves.

The first part of my ritual is easy; it’s what our parents told us a long time ago, the please and thank you rule. I say thank you—very quietly, under my breath really—to the mountain I’m on and to the animal. Then I set about cleaning the animal. It’s often too far from a road or trail to drag, so I quarter it for packing out. I like to leave the meat on the bone for aging—hams and shoulders—but I make sure the carcass that remains—head, vertebrae, ribs—is positioned on its side, with each part as it was, back in the brief assembly of life. I place each foreleg and shin in its appropriate pairing, so that the animal is positioned as if in midflight, reminding me of the great Edward Hoagland line about a leopard poised to jump as if in “an extra-emphatic leap into the hereafter.”

Lastly, I place my brass bullet casing against the trunk of the tree where I was sitting and position a rock over it. It’s unlikely that I’ll ever be back to that tree—there’s too much new country to hunt and too few years. But I like to think that someday, maybe a century or more from now, a hunter might be sitting against that same tree in the fall and, should he or she dislodge that oddly tilted stone—which would be lichen-covered by then and gripped with a webbing of kinnikinnick—might notice the brass and understand that once upon a time there was another hunter like him or her.

Will hunters still be pursuing deer with .270-calibers, or will that traditional rifle seem by that point as quaint as stone arrowheads? I have no idea. But I like to imagine that such a hunter will stop to wonder and realize and remember that each of us is part of an ancient equation and relationship, one worthy of respect for our quarry, the landscape we hunt, and for ourselves—the manner in which we pursue our desire and our meals. Life is a privilege; the moments are almost always washing past.

The Obligation: Feed Deer to Your Kids

Online Editors — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:29:43 -0500

Thoughts on eating venison from Editor-at-Large T. Edward Nickens.

For a long time—almost too long—I made the mistake of treating venison as something special. Backstraps were saved for company. Roasts were relegated to holidays. All that changed when the kids came along.

My family of four will eat three whitetails a year, and I’ve learned to treat venison as no big deal. Today, it’s the meat in the soup and in the stew. It’s the meat on the shish kebabs and in the pasta salad. When my kids’ friends are over for dinner, we don’t have “wild-game nights.” We have supper. You want meat? Then it’s a wild-game night. What’s the big deal? (The big deal is that most of their friends rave over “Bambi Spaghetti” and don’t even know it’s venison until later. Which my kids think is hilarious.)

I’m not saying I don’t make a big deal out of a few special meals from each special animal. But by and large, deer meat has become an ordinary part of my kids’ lives, a routine expression of our family’s reliance on the harvest of the woods. I’d argue that that’s a pretty big deal in its own way.

A Quick Guide to Refrigerating and Freezing Fresh Venison

Online Editors — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:17:47 -0500

A venison preparation tip from Hank Shaw, author of the award-winning food blog Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

Your trophy is now heaped on the countertop in small mountains of meat. Here is how to keep the meat fresh-as-the-day-it-was-butchered if you plan to eat it in…

One Week: There’s no need to freeze it for such a short time period. Keep the meat well wrapped, and in the coldest part of the refrigerator, far away from the door.

One Month: Center the meat in laminated freezer paper. Fold the short ends over the meat and turn the package over on a countertop, keeping it in contact with the counter to push out air. Once it’s flipped, use your fingers to press the air out of the sides as if you were sealing an envelope. Repeat twice more and tape the flap.

One Year: There are two methods to keep meat edible for the long stretch. A vacuum sealer sucks all the air out of packages, staving off freezer burn and saving freezer space. If you don’t have a vacuum-sealer, freeze each cut in water. Place the meat in a zip-seal freezer bag, and fill the bag with ice water. Press down on the bag as you seal it so that water spills out of the top, driving air out of the bag. Also, I like to mark each package with the date, the cut, and a detail about the deer, such as “7-pointer by the swamp gate.” That way I can relive the memory with each morsel.

A Better Burger: Five Tips for Making Ground Venison Patties

Online Editors — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:39:43 -0500

A venison preparation tip from Hank Shaw, author of the award-winning food blog Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

1. Remember those Brontosaurus burgers your mom made when you were a kid? Charred on the outside, raw inside? Don’t let your venison burgers get thicker than an inch, or you’ll suffer that same fate.

2. Grind your own meat. You’ll get a fresher taste and be able to eat the burger more rare if you’ve ground it just before cooking, as there is less chance for bacterial contamination.

3. Always include at least 20 percent fat with your venison. Any less and it will be dry and crumbly. I go 25 percent.

4. Check the fat on the deer before tossing it. Many whitetails in agricultural areas put on clean-tasting fat that is excellent eating and makes ideal burger fat.

5. If your butcher has removed all the deer’s fat already, use pork fat instead of beef tallow. It’s softer and more neutral tasting and has less saturated fat, meaning it’s better for you.

The Best Meat for Venison Jerky (and How to Slice It)

Online Editors — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:20:40 -0500

A venison preparation tip from Hank Shaw, author of the award-winning food blog Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

Nearly every part of the deer can be made into jerky, but the best cuts are the eye round and rump roast from the hind legs. Any large roast from the hind leg will do. Why? Big cuts mean larger pieces of jerky, and these roasts have most of their muscle fibers running in the same direction. This is important.

To our mind, the best jerky is pliable yet chewy—and doesn’t make you gnaw on dried muscle fibers longer than your hand. That means cutting against the grain of the meat, in 1/8-inch-thich slices. Don’t cut too thin or the venison will dry out like a shingle on your roof. The best way to get this cut every time is to partially freeze the meat: A large roast will need 90 minutes to 2 hours in the chiller before cutting.

The Perfect Way to Pan-Fry Venison Tenderloin Medallions

Online Editors — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:43:52 -0500

A venison preparation tip from Hank Shaw, author of the award-winning food blog Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

A venison medallion is a 1⁄2- to 3⁄4-inch slice of backstrap cut before or after cooking. Panfrying one perfectly every time takes practice. Here’s how to get that delicious crust and medium-rare center:

1. It’s hard to cook an ice-cold medallion properly. Salt your meat and let it come to room temperature for at least 15 minutes. Pat the meat dry before heating it—wet meat doesn’t sear.

2. Cook whole backstrap of smaller deer. This makes it easier to get it to medium-rare. Small ones pre-cut into medallions will overcook.

3. The thicker the medallion, the lower the heat. Never cook whole loin pieces on high heat for more than a few minutes. I cook pre-sliced medallions on medium heat to get the crust-and-medium-rare combination.

4. Don’t mess with it. Let the loin cook in one spot for a while before turning, and turn only once.

5. Let it rest inside a foil tent for 10 to 15 minutes. This helps the venison stay juicy.

Cooking with Bones: Five Tips for Making Venison Stock for Soups or Rice

Online Editors — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:37:56 -0500

A venison preparation tip from Hank Shaw, author of the award-winning food blog Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

Save those bones! Venison makes excellent stock. More important, you’ll use more of the animal, and you’ll elevate your cooking when you prepare rice or soup with homemade stock. Follow these tips for great stock:

1. Use leg bones, as they often have stray bits of meat on them. Adding meat makes a richer stock. Even better, toss in a venison shank.

2. Never let the stock boil. Bring it to a bare simmer only. Boiling will cloud your stock and can make it bitter.

3. Simmer meat for at least 3 hours before adding vegetables. Meat and bones take longer to give up their flavor, while vegetables need just 1 to 2 hours.

4. Strain your stock with a fine-mesh strainer or, better yet, one lined with cheesecloth.

5. Only add salt after you’ve strained the stock. Adding it too soon can result in a stock that’s too salty at the end.

Why Brines are Better than Marinades for Venison

Online Editors — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:12:30 -0500

A venison preparation tip from Hank Shaw, author of the award-winning food blog Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

Marinades damage the structure of the meat, making it more tender—but also mushy. They penetrate less than 1⁄4 inch and can leave residues on the meat surface that burn during cooking. They are, in my opinion, useless.

If you need to tenderize your venison, brine instead. A brine penetrates deep into meat—and carries flavor with it. The salt solution also prevents the meat fibers from toughening up as much and helps the meat retain moisture.

Start with a brine of 2 tablespoons of salt per quart of water and add flavorings from there. Suggestions? Bay leaves, juniper berries, cracked black pepper, chile pepper, thyme, celery seed. Last tip: Don’t brine for more than a day, or you risk having very salty meat.

Bobby Flay's Pan-Roasted Venison with Jalapeño Sauce Recipe

colinkearns — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:24:35 -0500

The venison that we serve at Mesa Grill is farm-raised and never gamey. It’s also incredibly lean—so don’t overcook it. I love to pair it with a sweet and spicy sauce such as this one as venison loves to be paired with big flavors. Tangerines are a great choice for the sauce because of their bright and slightly tart flavor.

Ingredients — Serves 4

Roasted Jalapeño Sauce:
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup white distilled vinegar
2 cups sugar
1 cup thawed tangerine juice concentrate
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small red onion, finely diced
4 jalapeños, roasted, peeled, and chopped
1 cup red wine
6 cups chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Venison:
4 (8-ounce) venison steaks
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Roasted Jalapeño Sauce:
1. Combine vinegar and sugar in a medium saucepan over high heat and cook until the sugar is completely dissolved. Whisk in the tangerine concentrate and cook until the mixture is thickened and reduced by half, stirring occasionally, 10-15 minutes.

2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and jalapeños and cook until onions are soft.

3. Increase the heat to high, add the wine and cook until reduced to ¼ cup. Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil and cook until reduced to 2 cups, stirring occasionally, 20-25 minutes. Whisk in the tangerine mixture and cook until a sauce consistency, 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain the sauce into a small saucepan and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

4. Whisk in the tangerine concentrate and brown sugar and cook to a sauce consistency; season with salt and pepper. Strain into a small saucepan and keep warm until serving.

Venison:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Season the venison on both sides with salt and pepper.

2. Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add venison and cook until golden brown and a crust has formed, 2-3 minutes. Turn over, place pan in oven, and continue cooking for about 2-3 minutes for medium-rare doneness.

3. Drizzle the venison steaks with the tangerine and Roasted jalapeño sauce.

Recipe: Venison Chop with Syrah-Fig Sauce and Yam Purée

colinkearns — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:04:33 -0500

Ingredients:
2 yams, peeled
2 Idaho russets, peeled
2 ounces heavy cream
2 ounces butter
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 ounce brown sugar
salt and pepper
4 10-ounce venison chops rubbed with olive oil and chopped fresh thyme
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 shallot, chopped fine
2 cups syrah
8 figs, cut in half
4 ounces beef stock
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions
1. Lightly boil yams and potatoes together, when cooked strain and mash. Add cream, butter, cinnamon and brown sugar.

2. Season to taste and keep warm. Season venison, sear in olive oil until nicely browned on both sides, remove from pan. Add onion, garlic and shallot. Sauté until caramelized, add syrah. Reduce by half and strain liquid into small saucepot. Add figs, let simmer for five minutes. Remove figs and set aside. Add beef stock to the syrah and reduce until sauce consistency, whisk in butter and season. Keep warm. Place venison in preheated 400 degree oven. Cook for about 5-7 minutes (venison can not be cooked more than medium rare or it becomes very dry)

Serving Tip: Place the yam puree in the center of plate, set the venison chop on the puree. Add the figs back into syrah sauce and ladle over the venison.

Matt Nichols is the co-executive chef, with his brother Jeff, at Brothers' Restaurant at Mattei's Tavern in Los Olivos, Calif.

John Besh's Recipe for Peppered Venison Backstrap

colinkearns — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:45:30 -0500

Very simply put, we all know how to slice a backstrap into small medallions or steaks and sear them in a pan or on a grill. However, here’s a great sauce to make that’s equally good with any game you may cook. Think of the muscadine jelly as any jelly you may have at home or at the camp. I love to substitute fig preserves, pear, plum, or quince—it all works equally well.

Ingredients — Serves 6
2 venison loins (backstrap), denuded and cut into 2- to 3-ounce steaks
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup muscadine jelly (or whatever you have on hand)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup red wine
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

2. Using a butcher’s mallet, give each cutlet a small hit or two just prior to seasoning each one with salt and pepper.

3. To a hot pan over high heat, add oil. Sear each cutlet, one or two at a time, in hot oil until it is brown on both sides. Place each browned steak on a sheet pan and reserve.

4. Once all of the steaks have been cooked, add onion and garlic to the pan. Cook while stirring until they become translucent and soft. Add jelly, vinegar, and wine and bring to a boil. While stirring at a hard boil, let the liquid reduce by half. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper.

5. Just prior to serving, reheat the venison in a hot oven. Be careful not to overcook (beyond medium-rare to medium).

Serving Tip: To serve, place the cutlets on a plate with whatever potatoes or starch you may want to serve. Spoon generous amounts of the muscadine sauce over each one.

Chef John Besh is an award-winning chef/owner at several restaurants in New Orleans, including Restaurant August. Want to try more of his recipes? Then pick up his new book, My New Orleans ($45; Andrews McMeel Publishing), which has more than 200 of his best dishes.

Paul Kahan's Recipe for Roasted Venison Backstrap

colinkearns — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:18:56 -0500

My favorite venison meal was a roasted backstrap I made from a deer that my ice-fishing buddy had shot earlier in the year. I cooked it on an old propane stove in an ice shanty simply by searing and basting with lots of butter, maple syrup, and coarse black pepper. The lean meat is awesome rare and has a slight iron taste that I really love. Venison makes me think of autumn. That’s where this dish comes from.

Editors’ Take: This isn’t your “grizzled uncle’s” backstrap recipe (see “The Tribute,” opposite). This dish is something much, much more. More complex. More challenging. More delicious—no offense to your uncle.

Ingredients — Serves 4

Venison and Marinade:
2 lb. venison loin (backstrap), cleaned of all sinew and cut in two even chunks
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 sprig fresh thyme
1 Tbsp. coarse cracked black pepper
1 Tbsp. grapeseed or canola oil
1⁄4 cup red wine
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1⁄4 cup beef or chicken stock
2 tsp. butter Salt and pepper, to taste

Roasted Pears:
2 ripe red Anjou pears (or other firm ripe pear)
2 tsp. grapeseed or canola oil
2 tsp. sugar 1 sprig rosemary (roughly 2 tsp. fresh rosemary leaves)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Pickled Golden Raisins*:
2 Tbsp. mustard seed
1⁄2 cup white wine vinegar
1⁄4 cup water
1⁄4 cup maple syrup
1⁄2 cup golden raisins

*Raisins may be pickled one day ahead

Directions

Venison:
1. Marinate venison in olive oil, thyme, and black pepper for 2 hours to overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a heavy-bottom sauté pan over high heat until smoking hot. Add grapeseed oil and sear venison on all sides until brown.

3. Flip meat over and place pan in oven. Cook until internal temperature reaches 135 degrees, about 6 to 10 minutes. Move venison to a plate, and tent with foil.

4. In the same pan, add red wine and red wine vinegar. Reduce over high heat until thick and syrupy. Then add stock to pan and reduce until syrupy. Add butter to pan and whisk to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Pears:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Core pears and cut into eighths. Toss them in a bowl with oil and sugar to coat.

2. Toast rosemary sprig in a dry sauté pan over medium heat until you hear a popping sound, being careful not to burn the leaves.

3. Add rosemary, salt, and pepper to pears and toss briefly. Transfer to an ovenproof pan and bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until tender and golden.

Raisins:
1. Place mustard seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat until they start to pop. Remove from heat. Let mustard seeds cool in the pan, shaking gently every minute or so, until toasted and fragrant.

2. In a small sauté pan, combine vinegar, water, syrup, and toasted mustard seeds. Bring to a boil, stirring to prevent burning.

3. Put raisins in a heatproof container and pour vinegar mixture over top. Let cool, then cover and refrigerate.

Serving Tip: Cut venison on an angle and place on plate. Arrange pears alongside. Drizzle raisins and their sauce over all.

Paul Kahan is the executive chef/partner of three acclaimed restaurants in Chicago: Blackbird, avec, and The Publican.

Venison Recipe: Terrance Brennan's Venison Tenderloin

colinkearns — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:07:58 -0500

I distinctly remember tasting the gaminess of venison when i first tried it many years ago—it was ex-traor-dinary. I cook seasonally and always look forward to cooking with venison after so many months of working with lamb, chicken, and beef. And I like the versatility of the garnishes you can use with venison. I chose this recipe because it’s seasonal with the pumpkin and prunes, and it’s easy for the home cook to prepare.

Editors’ Take: You’ll love this for how its taste will remind you of fall, and for how its color will make you look as artistic as an Iron Chef. Also, either tenderloin or backstrap will work for this dish.

Ingredients — Serves 4

Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1⁄2 tsp. ground allspice
1⁄4 tsp. ground star anise
1⁄4 tsp. cinnamon
1⁄4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. canola oil
4 venison tenderloins, 6–7 oz. each
1⁄4 cup (packed) prunes, chopped in 1⁄4-inch pieces
2 Tbsp. Armagnac (optional)
12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened at room temperature, cut in tablespoon-size pieces
2 cups peeled cheese pumpkin, cut in 1⁄4-inch dice
10 sage leaves, minced

Directions
1. In a bowl, stir together 11⁄2 tsp. salt, 1⁄2 tsp. pepper, allspice, star anise, and cinnamon. Whisk in 2 Tbsp. of oil. Rub mixture on both sides of each venison loin.

2. Put prunes in a bowl. If using Armagnac, pour over prunes and set aside to soak.

3. Heat 2 Tbsp. of oil and 2 Tbsp. of butter in 10-inch sauté pan over medium heat. Add pumpkin and cook, tossing and stirring every few minutes, until lightly caramelized on all sides, 15 to 18 minutes. Toss in prunes. Remove pan from heat and season with salt and four grinds of pepper, or to taste.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put 2 Tbsp. each of the oil and butter in a 12-inch ovenproof sauté pan over medium-high heat. When butter starts to sizzle and foam, add venison loins and sear for 1 minute. Turn them over and transfer pan to oven. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted to the center of loin reads 120 degrees for rare. Remove pan from oven and let venison rest on a clean, dry surface for 3 to 4 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add remaining butter and cook until it melts and turns brown, approximately 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and stir in sage leaves. When sage leaves get crispy, set aside.

Serving Tip: divide pumpkin and prunes evenly around four plates. Top each portion with a venison loin, a drizzle of brown butter, and crisped sage.

Terrance Brennan is the chef-proprietor of Picholine Restaurant and Artisanal Bistro and Wine Bar in New York City.

John Currence's Recipe for Venison Tamales

colinkearns — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:53:19 -0500

My hunting these days is devoted, almost entirely, to birds. I just don’t have a taste for the solitude of deer hunting. But I love venison. backstrap stands alone very nicely as a center-plate item, and ground venison makes about the best chili I’ve ever had. Venison also makes a great filling for tamales. In the Mississippi Delta, migrant workers helping with the cotton crop during post-Reconstruction brought tamales into the fields. They could be made in advance and were high in protein and carbs, so they were great fuel. The ones here are easy to make and look great on a plate.

Editors’ Take: Between the prep work and the cooking time, you’ll need several hours to make this dish. What won’t take long is cleaning your plate. Trust us. And the extra stuffing is also delicious on its own.

Ingredients — Makes 12-14 Tamales

Stuffing:
2 cups bacon (about 1⁄3 lb.), chopped
3 lb. venison stew meat (shoulder), cleaned of sinew, cubed, seasoned with salt and black pepper
1 cup flour
Onion powder and paprika, to taste
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
2 medium jalapeño peppers (more if you like it spicier)
8 garlic cloves, crushed
4 tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1⁄2 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
11⁄2 Tbsp. cumin seeds, toasted and crushed
1⁄2 cup tequila
3 Tbsp. lime juice
4 cups chicken broth
1⁄3 cup cilantro, chopped
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Tabasco sauce

Dough:
1⁄4 cup lard
1⁄4 cup butter
1 tsp. baking powder
2 cups masa harina
3⁄4 cup hot chicken stock
1⁄2 cup red onion, diced small
1⁄2 Tbsp. garlic purée
2 cups roasted corn kernels
3⁄4 Tbsp. cumin seeds, toasted and crushed
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions

Stuffing:
1. Heat a Dutch oven on -medium heat. Cook the -bacon, remove from pot, and reserve.

2. Season venison a second time with salt, and dust it in the flour (lightly seasoned to your liking with salt, pepper, onion powder, paprika). Make sure the venison is very lightly dusted, not clumped with flour, or the flour may burn while the venison is cooking. Over medium-low heat, brown the meat quickly in small batches in the bacon fat. Remove and reserve.

3. Depending on how much fat remains, you may need to add up to 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil to cook the onion, celery, carrot, jalapeño, and garlic. Stir them in and sauté until softened.

4. Add the tomatoes and season with salt and black pepper. Then return the reserved bacon and venison to pot, and stir in red pepper flakes, cinnamon, -cocoa powder, and cumin. Add tequila and lime juice, and bring to a simmer while stirring. Add chicken broth and return to a simmer. Cover Dutch oven and simmer over low heat for about 31⁄2 hours, checking periodically to make sure it doesn’t dry out. Add water if needed.

5. When venison is tender, remove from heat and allow to cool.

6. Pour off any excess liquid (reserve for later) and either: (A) pull apart venison with two forks for a chunkier version and stir in fresh cilantro; or (B) place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until chopped, then mix in cilantro. Add reserved liquid to achieve a smoother consistency, as needed. Season with salt, pepper, and Tabasco hot sauce to taste.

Dough:
1. In mixer, beat lard and butter with baking powder until light in texture.

2. Slowly add masa harina until fully incorporated.

3. Beat in hot stock (dough should reach the consistency of thick cake batter).

4. Stir in onion, garlic purée, corn, and cumin. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Tamale Assembly
You will need:
15–20 dried cornhusks
1 large bowl warm water

1. Soak cornhusks in warm water for 10 minutes.

2. Lay one whole husk flat on a cutting board. It should be about 4x7 inches. In the center of the husk, place about 31⁄2 to 4 Tbsp. -tamale dough. Press it out into a rectangle about 3⁄8 inch thick. (This should leave you about 1 inch from the edges.) Spoon about 2 Tbsp. venison filling along the center of the dough.

3. Grab the husk on a long side and gently roll it over the top. The dough closest to you should meet the dough on the other side, sealing in the filling. Use the husk to roll the tamale tightly. Then grab the ends and twist gently, like wrapping a piece of candy. Tear a cornhusk along the grain to make threads to tie the tamale ends. Or simply fold the ends under without twisting; the tamales’ weight will hold them in place.

4. Repeat until all dough is used. Put tamales in a steamer basket and steam for 35 minutes, covered. (There will be leftover filling. Warm it and eat over rice, or place on fresh tor-tillas, cover with sliced green onion and queso fresco, and toast until cheese melts.)

John Currence is the executive chef/owner of several restaurants in Mississippi, including The City Grocery. In 2009, he was awarded a James Beard Award for Best Chef (south).

John DeLucie's Recipe for Venison Osso Buco

colinkearns — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:33:03 -0500

Any time you braise in wine, you are imparting flavor and tenderizing the meat. This technique works especially well with venison. I love venison because it’s lean and it’s natural. I have a buddy who hunts, and one season he shot a nice deer. We braised, grilled, and barbecued the whole thing. It was delicious. Of course, being surrounded by great wine and old friends helped.

Editors’ Take: Don’t worry; we weren’t sure how to butcher an “osso buco steak,” either. But now we do, and so will you. Use the hind shank as it has the most meat. Leaving on the bone, cut the shanks into two to three steaks, about 2 inches thick.

Ingredients — Serves 6

Osso Buco:
6 14-oz. venison osso buco steaks
1⁄4 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and cracked black pepper
2 Tbsp. oil 2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 14-oz. can peeled Italian tomatoes
1 bay leaf
2 cups red wine
2 cups chicken or beef stock
1 TBSP. butter

Couscous:
11⁄2 cups Israeli pearl couscous
2 cups beef stock
2 Tbsp. butter
1⁄2 cup Italian parsley, chopped
6 fresh figs, quartered
Whole fresh herbs (thyme, chives, rosemary) for garnish

Directions

Osso Buco:
1. Salt and pepper venison steaks and dredge them in the flour. Heat deep skillet or Dutch oven, add oil, and begin browning the venison.

2. Add carrot, celery, onion, and garlic to skillet. When venison is brown on both sides, remove meat and vegetables from pan, and discard excess oil. Add tomatoes to pan and roast 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Return vegetables and venison to pan. Add bay leaf and cover with wine and stock. Simmer for 2 hours or until meat is tender and starts to fall off the bone.

4. Carefully remove the venison. Arrange in an ovenproof dish. Place in a warming oven.

5. Strain the vegetables out of the sauce (discard them), and finish it by blending in the butter. Pour the sauce back around the meat.

Couscous:
1. Bring stock to a boil in a pot, then add couscous. Cook until it’s tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, then add butter and season with salt and pepper and chopped parsley.

2. Warm up the fruit. Be careful not to overcook. Add the warm fruit to couscous and combine.

Serving Tip: Serve on a warm platter garnished with fresh herbs.

John DeLucie is the executive chef and partner of The Waverly Inn in New York City, and the author of The Hunger: A Story of Food, Desire, and Ambition ($24; Harper Collins).

John Besh's Recipe for Roasted Venison Shoulder

colinkearns — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:12:27 -0500

I grew up hunting and fishing for just about anything a young man in the South could ever hope for. In my family, cooking fish was always Mom’s job, but cooking game was often a man’s job. This is when and how I truly found my calling to be a chef. I actually prefer the tougher cuts of venison, like the shoulder, because they have more flavor, and I go out of my way to get them from my friends who only use the shoulder for sausage. Don’t get me wrong: I love venison sausage, but I’d much rather make that myself than do what so many of my peers do by sending it to some facility that mixes everyone’s game into one big batch. But that’s a different subject for a different story.

Editors’ Take: You’ll need the entire shoulder, and freezing it whole will protect it from freezer burn. The turnip purée is one of the best things we’ve tried all year. As for the venison, well, you may never use the shoulder for sausage again.

Ingredients — Serves 6

Venison:
1 shoulder of venison
1⁄4 cup bacon drippings
2 onions, diced small
1 carrot, peeled and diced small
1 celery stalk, diced small
1⁄4 cup all- purpose flour
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup canned diced tomatoes
2 apples, any type, cored and diced
2 oz. dried porcini or chanterelle mushrooms
2 cups beef broth
1 cup apple juice
1 cup red wine
1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 sprig rosemary
2 bay leaves
1 dash sugar
Salt and pepper, to taste

Turnips:
1 lb. turnips, peeled and diced
1⁄2 lb. potatoes, peeled and diced
1⁄2 lb. unsalted butter, diced
Salt, to taste

Directions

Venison:
1. Season venison shoulder with salt and pepper. Over high heat, add bacon drippings to pot, then brown venison on both sides.

2. Remove venison, then add onion, carrot, and celery. Reduce heat to medium and stir while cooking, until vegetables have become mahogany in color. Then stir in flour. When flour has been well incorporated, add garlic, tomato, apple, and dried mushroom.

3. Let mixture come to a boil before slowly stirring in beef broth, apple juice, and red wine. Raise heat to high and bring it to a boil again. Add thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, sugar, and venison shoulder.

4. Reduce heat to a low simmer, and cover pot. Cook for 2 hours, or until meat begins to pull from the bone with a fork. Taste sauce and season with salt and pepper as needed.

5. Remove from heat. Take out venison shoulder and carefully pull meat from the bone. Return meat to the cooking liquid until ready to serve.

Turnips:
1. Place turnips and potatoes in a pot and fill with enough water to cover vegetables. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes, or until turnips become soft.

2. Drain vegetables and transfer to food-processor bowl. Add butter, and purée mixture. Season to taste with salt.

Serving Tip: Place a large spoonful of turnip purée on a plate. On top, serve a generous spoonful or two of the venison shoulder with sauce.