The Sporting Chef's Better Venison Cookbook

171 Pages·2012·4.08 MB·English

by  Scott Leysath

THE SPORTING CHEF’S
Better Venison
COOKBOOK
SCOTT LEYSATH
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To Janell, Jake and all my four-legged companions.
I may be out in the woods, but I’ll always leave
a garlic scent trail behind.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Special Offers
Introduction
A collection of favorites plus a few thoughts on recipes and cooking
Venison Cooking Basics
Tips and techniques to make any venison dish taste its best
Small Bites
Backstrap, Smoked Oyster, Green Onion and Bacon Snack
Prosciutto, Mango and Jalapeño Bites
Goat Cheese “Pâté”
Fireballs
Stuffed Mushrooms
Pepper Poppers
Herb, Wine and Peppercorn Marinated Appetizer with Sweet Mustard
Sauce
Peanut and Sesame Crusted Tenderloin
Kinda Spicy Oven Jerky
Savory Sliders
Crispy Spring Rolls
Fried Ravioli
Tamales
Garlic and Mustard Skewers
Tropical Quesadilla
Salads & Side Dishes
Grilled Thai Salad
Sausage and White Beans
Deer Fried Rice
Stuffed Zucchini
Venison Carpaccio
Tostada
Gruyére and Ground Venison Baked Portabello Mushroom
Iceberg Wedge with Crispy Venison
Grilled Fajita-Style Salad
Blackened Backstrap Salad with Romaine, Dried Cranberries and Feta
Venison Sausage, Bacon, Mushrooms and Spinach
Marinated Ravioli with Lemon Vinaigrette
Warm Venison and Mushroom Salad
Venison Rarebit
Soups & Stews
Venison Stock
Deer and Barley Soup
Sweet Potato Stew
Chile Colorado
Chile Verde
Grilled Venison, Tomato, Pepper and Corn Stew
Neck Roast and Beer Stew
Vidalia Onion Soup and Blue Cheese Toast
Portuguese Stew
Backstrap Mushroom Soup
Venistrone Soup
Spicy Sausage, Wild Rice and Kale Stew
Four Bean Soup
Italian Meatball Soup
On the Grill
Mixed Grill
Blue Cheese Burger
Open-Faced Roasted Pepper Swiss Burger
Grilled Venison with Sweet Mustard Sauce
Horseradish Sauce
Go-To Grilling Marinade
Raspberry Vinaigrette Marinade and Sauce
Mockstrap
Blackberry Chipotle Sauce
Three Simple Grilling Sauces
Two Great Salsas
One Great Venison Steak
In the Oven
No Problemo Shoulder Roast
Bacon-Wrapped Backstrap
Apple Stuffed Backstrap
Fig-Glazed Roast
Texas-Style Hindquarter Oven Roast
Potato Hot Dish
Southwest Meatloaf
Herb Crusted Meatloaf
Apple Braised Neck Roast
Shepherd’s Cottage Pie
Braised Shanks
Meatballs for the Masses
Italian Seasoned Venison Roast
Guinness Oven Stew
Broiled Tenderloin
Sweet-Hot Oven Jerky
Stovetop
Maple Breakfast Sausage with Buttery Red Eye Gravy
Breakfast Steak, Egg and Cheesy Cat Head Biscuit Sandwich
Venison and Mushroom Ragout on Soft Parmesan Polenta
Blackened Backstrap
Cubed Steaks with Black Pepper and Tomato Sauce
Mustard-Fried Cubed Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce
Cheesesteak
Deer Scaloppine
Semi-Stroganoff
So You Don’t Like Venison?
Sloppy Josés
Venison Manicotti
Shrooms Times Two
Pan-Seared Tenderloin with Zinfandel Sauce
Deer Diane
Sausage with Rustic Tomato Sauce
Spicy Black Bean Stir-Fry
Smoking
Basic Brine
Basic Rub
Cures
Smoked Burger
Jalapeno, Garlic and Lime Summer Sausage
Pulled Shoulder or Neck Roast
Sweet-Hot Jerky
Lettuce Cups with Smoked Venison
Smoked Salad
Coffee Rubbed Roast
Smoked Tenderloin and Oyster Appetizer
Citrus, Herb and Garlic Roast
Introduction
This cookbook is a collection of my favorite venison recipes. These are
kitchen-tested dishes I’ve prepared many times the past few decades.
They have proven to be popular, delicious and user-friendly. The ones
with the shortest list of ingredients and instructions are typically the
ones you will use most often. Please, use my recipes as an outline and a
starting point. Eventually, you should leave the measuring spoons in the
drawer and eyeball the ingredients. You can always adjust the
seasonings at the end.
I’ll assume that most of you have probably spent some time deer
hunting and hopefully have shot and cooked a deer or two. Others might
not have the desire to shoot a deer, but they’re stuck doing the cooking.
If you want to know the proper way to field-dress a deer, there are
several great resources, online and in print. This book won’t help.
Food and cooking has never been more popular. For many years, there
were only a handful of TV chefs. Graham Kerr, Julia Child, Justin Wilson
and Jacques Pépin showed us how to cook beyond the casserole,
meatloaf and pot roast. The TV Food Network (later, just Food Network)
changed everything. Restaurant chefs became celebrities, and the public
learned how to pronounce chipotle. I’ve had the good fortune to be able
to earn a decent living doing one of the things I love the most — cooking
fish and game. Without Emeril Lagasse, I’d probably still be running
restaurants and catering businesses.
Although most TV cooking shows look pretty much the same, I haven’t
seen any indication they are on the decline. Many, usually with a
competitive angle, have moved from cable to prime-time mainstream
TV. Home cooks and pro chefs battle to see who can make the most of a
pile of ingredients that most of us, including me, have never heard of.
I’m all for the pursuit of something new, but I’d prefer to pursue a deer
or turkey than the next food fad. Recipes that are simple to prepare,
don’t require a long list of obscure ingredients and, most important, taste
really good will be in use long after herbal foams have evaporated.
Molecular gastronomy is interesting, but I’d rather go fishing.
I’m not a “foodie,” but I am passionate about cooking, especially when
it comes to anything with fur, fins or feathers. However, my favorite
foods are those that don’t require any cooking at all. Sashimi,
homegrown tomatoes and chilled, briny oysters are good or they’re not.
You can’t dress up a bad oyster or raw piece of fish, nor should you try.
Honestly, I get tired of eating most things and need to mix up my menus.
Too much of a good thing, I suppose. I meet people who apparently
don’t get worn out on a short list of edible critters and claim to live
solely on animals they have harvested themselves. At some point, they
are going to need a few new recipes.
This book is a blend of flavorful and easy recipes that you’ll use all the
time and others that are a bit more time-consuming. Although I’m all for
free-ranging, organic ingredients and naturally occurring plants and
animals, the only thing that’s truly free-range in this book is the venison.
I’m not trying to “outchef” anyone, just to provide recipes that I hope
you’ll use again and again. Nothing makes me happier than a cookbook
full of food stains, especially if the recipes are my own.
A FEW THOUGHTS ON RECIPES AND COOKING
I’ve had the opportunity to visit many hunting and fishing lodges and
clubs. I’m amused at the number of containers of meat tenderizers in
the pantry. If you want your game to be tender, proper field care,
aging, storage and cooking is the key, not something out of a bottle.
I use kosher salt or sea salt. Some of the recipes in this book list just
“salt.” Use your own discretion, and season with salt to taste. If a
recipe specifies a particular type of salt, such as kosher salt, and all
you have is table salt, use about three-fourths of the quantity listed in
the recipe. Fine-ground table salt is denser than kosher salt. In general,
if you use table salt instead of kosher salt, use a little less. You can
always add more. When incorporated into a recipe, I can’t tell the
difference between salts, but there is a distinct flavor and texture
difference when sprinkled over a finished dish.
I don’t have anything against injecting venison roasts with marinades.
Many of my friends swear there’s no better way to season a roast. It
sounds a little goofy, but I prefer to marinade venison roasts after
they’re cooked. When meat is uncooked, marinades won’t penetrate