6 slices slab bacon, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
4 carrots, sliced
1 green or red bell pepper, chopped into bite-size chunks
2½ garlic cloves, minced
2½ pounds boned pork loin end, cut into bite-size cubes
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon oil, preferably canola or corn, optional
3 cups stock, preferably chicken or veal
2 cups apple cider
½ cup bourbon
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon Creole mustard
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tart apple, such as Granny Smith or Jonathan, pared and sliced into bite-size pieces
18 pearl onions, peeled
½ pound mushrooms, sliced (wild varieties are especially good)
2 tablespoons minced parsley
Juice of ½ lemon
Serves 6 to 8
Preheat the oven to 325° F.
Fry the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until it is brown and crisp. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, and reserve it. Add the onions, carrots, bell pepper, and garlic, and cook them in the remaining bacon drippings until the onion has softened, 3 to 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables, and spoon them into a large baking dish or Dutch oven.
Mix the flour, salt, and pepper, and dust the pork lightly with the mixture. Brown the pork in the bacon drippings, in batches if necessary, adding the oil if the skillet gets too dry. Spoon the pork cubes into the baking dish.
Pour the stock, cider, and bourbon over the meat and vegetables. Add the tomato paste, mustard, and thyme, stirring well. Bring the stew to a boil on top of the stove, and then place it in the oven and bake it for 2 hours.
Melt the butter in a medium skillet. Add the apple, pearl onions, and mushrooms, and toss them to coat them with the butter. Sauté them until the apple begins to soften and the mushrooms go limp. After the stew has baked for 2 hours, stir this mixture into it, and cook it for another 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the meat, vegetables, and fruit become very tender and the liquid is nicely thickened. The stew can be made ahead to this point (it actually tastes better if it is served the day after it is made).
Just before serving, add the parsley, a good squeeze of lemon, and the reserved bacon to the stew. Serve the stew hot, over lightly buttered noodles, if you like.
Chorizo-Rice Casserole
This sausage casserole is something of a cross between a Tex-Mex picadillo and a Cajun jambalaya.
½ pound Chipotle Chorizo ([>]) or good store-bought chorizo
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 small tomatoes, preferably Roma or another Italian plum variety, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium red-skinned potato, diced
½ medium green bell pepper, chopped
¾ cup uncooked rice
½ cup currants or raisins
1 tablespoon chili powder, preferably homemade ([>]) or Gebhardt's
½ teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1¾ cups unsalted beef or chicken stock
½ cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
In a large oven-proof skillet, preferably cast-iron, brown the chorizo over medium heat, breaking it into small pieces. Pour off the accumulated fat as necessary to leave no more than about 1 tablespoon. Add the onion, garlic, tomatoes, celery, potato, and bell pepper to the chorizo, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are limp and somewhat tender. Add the rice, currants or raisins, chili powder, and cumin, and cook another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour in the stock, cover the dish, and bake the casserole for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.
Remove the casserole from the oven, and stir in the peanuts and cilantro. Serve the casserole immediately.
Tamed Game
Wild turkeys, ducks, geese, haunches of venison were displayed beside roast beef, pork, red-fish, Irish and sweet potatoes, pumpkin and apple pie, and an abundant supply of whiskey, brandy, and Hollands, without which a fête in Texas is nothing thought of.
Anonymous report on a Galveston wedding feast in the 1840s,
quoted in John Q. Anderson, Tales of Frontier Texas
When Pecos Bill was a baby, his father fed him jerked game, whiskey, and onions for breakfast one morning. Bill's mother weaned him immediately after that, according to the story, and by the time Pecos Bill was three, he had killed his first panther and eaten a piece of the flank raw.
Like the state's mythical hero, Texas grew up on game. Even most of the cattle and hogs ran wild until the middle of the nineteenth centuiy, and deer, bear, and turkeys were far more common than people. Settlers relied on their rifles for meat of all kinds, and anyone who couldn't hunt couldn't count on making it through the winter.
Most of the game tasted a little like Pecos Bill's raw panther—tough and pungent. When the pioneers had their druthers, they'd usually choose a flour biscuit instead. After domesticated animals became as abundant as game and Texans grew accustomed to the milder taste, they began looking for ways to temper wild flavors. Hunters learned the importance of proper field dressing when their quarry was intended for the table, and more recently farmers and ranchers have started raising and harvesting game in ways that ensure its appeal to today's palate.
Because of such improvements, game is enjoying a surge in popularity across the country. Texas cooks, with their generations of experience, are helping to lead the way. Their modern preparations of game balance a hint of the old wildness with a new fullness of flavor, transforming an ancient necessity into a tamed and tasty modern meal.
Peppered Venison Steaks
This venison preparation, like our others, was developed for store-bought meat, farmed or harvested for peak flavor. All the recipes work fine with hunted game, but the tenderness and taste will depend on a variety of factors, including the age of the animal, its food supply, and the way it was handled in the field. These superb steaks can be grilled or pan-fried.
4 venison backstrap (loin) steaks, 4 to 6 ounces each, cut 1 inch thick
MARINADE
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup oil, preferably roasted safflower or canola
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tablespoons Creole mustard
1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons coarse-ground black pepper
1½ teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon oil, preferably roasted safflower or canola, if frying
Serves 4
If the venison is frozen, thaw it in red wine to keep the meat moist. Reserve the wine to use as a part of the marinade.
Purée the marinade ingredients together in a blender or food processor. Arrange the venison steaks in a shallow nonreactive dish, and pour the marinade over them. Refrigerate them at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.
Drain the steaks, reserving the marinade in a small saucepan. Combine the pepper with the salt. Rub each steak with equal portions of the pepper-salt mixture, and let the steaks sit, tightly covered, at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes.
If you will be grilling outside, fire up enough charcoal to form a single layer of coals beneath the meat.
Meanwhile, bring the marinade to a boil. Then reduce the heat, and simmer the marinade until it is reduced by half. Taste, and adjust the seasoning. You can add another splash of wine to the marinade at this point to heighten its flavor. Keep the sauce warm while you prepare the steaks.
For grilling, place the steaks over hot coals that are covered with gray ash. For pan frying, place
the tablespoon of oil in a heavy skillet, bring the heat to medium-high, and add the venison. Cook the steaks until they are rare or medium rare, about 2 minutes per side. If the steaks were pan-fried, deglaze the pan by adding the sauce to it and scraping up any browned bits.
Serve the steaks immediately with a bowl of the sauce on the side. Buttered noodles are a good accompaniment for soaking up the sauce.
Venison Medallions with Roasted Sweet Onion Jam
Texas restaurant chefs such as Stephan Pyles, Dean Fearing, and Robert Del Grande have plaged a major role in reviving Interest in game and in inspiring new styles of preparation. This recipe grew out of a venison loin dish that Pyles used to serve at his now-closed Routh Street Cafe in Dallas.
8½-inch-thick venison backstrap or loin medallions, about 3 ounces each
JAM
1 large sweet onion, skin on
½ garlic head, skins on
1 medium carrot
1 teaspoon oil, preferably canola or corn
½ cup unsalted game or beef stock
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon unsulphured dark molasses
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Salt to taste
Dry Rub for Game ([>]) or Char-Crust rub ([>])
1 tablespoon oil, preferably canola, if you are frying
Serves 4
If the venison is frozen, thaw it in red wine to keep the meat moist.
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Coat the onion, garlic, and carrot with the oil, and place them in a baking dish. Bake the vegetables until they are lightly browned and well soft ened. The garlic and carrot can be removed from the oven with tongs after about 45 to 50 minutes. The onion will require about 90 minutes baking time. Remove the outer skin from the onion and garlic. Cut the onion in quarters and the carrot in thirds. Process the three vegetables in a food processor or blender with the stock, butter, and chipotle until they reach a chunky, jamlike consistency. Add one-half each of the molasses and vinegar, then taste, adding the rest of either as needed, depending on the vegetables' natural sweetness. Salt the jam to taste, and reserve it.
Coat each of the medallions in dry rub, and let them sit, tightly covered, at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes.
If you will be grilling outdoors, fire up enough charcoal to form a single layer of coals beneath the meat.
Close to serving time, warm the onion jam. For grilling, place the steaks over hot coals that are covered with gray ash. For pan frying, place the tablespoon of oil in a heavy skillet, bring the heat to high, and add the venison. Cook the medallions until they are rare or medium rare, about 1 to 1½ minutes per side.
Serve two medallions per person with a large dollop of the onion jam.
* * *
Technique Tips
The lack of fat in venison requires some adjustments in the way you normally cook meat.
When you grill, broil, or sauté a choice cut of tender venison, cook the meat rapidly for less time than you allow beef. You want to sear the outside while leaving the inside rare or medium rare. Baste the surface during the cooking, and slice the cooked meat across the grain.
Less tender cuts of venison should be cooked in moisture, as by stewing or braising. Allow more time than you would for other kinds of meat.
When venison comes frozen, thaw it in red wine or buttermilk, depending on which best complements the rest of the preparation.
Hunters usually grind all venison except the backstrap into sausage (mixed with about 25 percent pork), chili meat, or hamburger. To cook a ground venison patty, brown it quickly over high heat, reduce the heat to low, add a little red wine or meat stock to the pan, and cook, covered, until the meat is rare to medium.
Don't expose cooked venison to the air for long. If you cannot serve it immediately, wrap it in foil to prevent it from drying out. Slice it just before serving.
* * *
Dry Rub for Game
Dry rubs work as well with game as they do with barbecue, enhancing flavor and adding a light crust to the finished dish. This all-purpose rub for deer, antelope, and other game meats can be modified easilg to your taste by adding or subtracting ingredients.
¾ cup paprika
¼ cup ground black pepper
¼ cup salt
¼ cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne
1 tablespoon minced dried orange zest
10
to
12 juniper berries, crushed in a mortar and pestle or spice mill
½ teaspoon ground cloves
Makes about 2 cups
Mix the spices thoroughly in a bowl.
Store the rub in a tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator. It keeps indefinitely but loses potency over time.
* * *
Venison is meat from deer, of course, but also from antelope, elk, caribou, moose, and reindeer. What you find most often in Lone Star stores is South Texas antelope, a native of the Himalayan foothills that was brought to the state decades ago and now lives in the wild on the rangeland of the King Ranch. The large herds are harvested regularly and produce lean meat that tastes something like veal.
* * *
Mustard-Coated Venison Loin
The mustard coating in this dish helps keep the loin moist and adds a felicitous flavor as well.
1 boneless loin of venison (about 3 pounds)
Marinade for Peppered Venison Steaks ([>]), without the mustard
Dry Rub for Game ([>]), or salt and pepper to taste
PASTE
6 green onions, cut into 1-inch lengths
3 tablespoons chopped pecans
3 garlic cloves
2 fresh sage leaves or ¼ teaspoon dried sage
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons prepared honey mustard
1 tablespoon oil, preferably canola or corn, for frying
Serves 6 to 8
If the venison is frozen, thaw it in red wine to keep the meat moist. Reserve the wine to use as a part of the marinade.
Place the venison in a nonreactive dish, and pour the marinade over it. Refrigerate it at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Remove the venison from the marinade, and blot it dry. Reserve 3 tablespoons of the marinade. Rub the meat with the dry rub or a mixture of salt and pepper, and let it sit at room temperature, covered tightly, for 30 to 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375° F.
In a food processor, mince together the onions, pecans, garlic, and sage. Spoon in the mustard, and process until the mixture is a thick paste.
Add the oil to a skillet, and heat it almost to smoking. Add the venison, and sear it on all sides. Transfer the loin to a small roasting pan.
Pour the reserved marinade around the venison. Spread the meat with a thick coating of the mustard paste. Bake the venison until an instant-read thermometer inserted into it registers 125° F, about 20 minutes. Don't overcook the venison, or it will toughen. Let the meat rest, covered, for 5 minutes.
Slice the meat across the grain, and serve it.
* * *
"I've encountered one person in my lifetime who did not have a special recipe for removing the wild taste from venison. He was a vegetarian from Tibet who did not know what meat was."
—Cactus Pryor, Inside Texas
* * *
Glazed Saddle of Venison
A whole saddle of venison is the animal's back from just behind the shoulders to just in front of the hind legs. This dish calls for the entire saddle (approximately 12 to 15 pounds) of an axis deer or a similar-size quarter saddle of an antelope, a much larger animal. The saddle makes a magnificent partg presentation.
1 12- to 15-pound venison saddle
Dry Rub for Game ([>])
2 cups unsalted game or beef stock
¼ cup oil, preferably canola or corn
¼ cup brandy
&nb
sp; Juice of 1 orange
1 cup ginger preserves
1 cup jalapeño jelly or jam, preferably homemade ([>])
Serves 18 to 20
The night before you plan to serve the venison, massage it well with the dry rub. Save a tablespoon or two of the rub for "mopping" (basting) the meat the next day. Transfer the meat to a plastic garbage bag, and refrigerate it.
Take the venison from the refrigerator about 1 hour before you plan to begin cooking it. Preheat the oven to 450° F. Combine the stock, oil, brandy, and reserved dry rub in a small bowl. This mixture is for mopping the meat. In another bowl, mix the orange juice, preserves, and jelly for the glaze.
Transfer the venison to a large roasting pan. Bake 20 minutes, mopping once. Reduce the oven temperature to 350° F, and continue baking, mopping frequently, until an instant-read thermometer measures about 125° F (plan on a total baking time of 15 to 17 minutes per pound). The meat should be rare to medium rare; it's critical to avoid overcooking such a prime piece of venison. Brush on the glaze twice during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
Remove the roasting pan from the oven, and transfer the venison to a platter. Tent the saddle with foil, and let the meat sit for 15 minutes before carving it. Spoon some of the pan drippings over the meat before serving.
Texas Home Cooking Page 23
