Yummmmm
Depending on where you live it is, or is nearly, hunting season. It’s man season!! Given that, I thought I would give you all a couple of excellent venison recipes (if you don’t have access to venison, beef would do nicely). The first is from a website called Deer Farms and it is the best venison recipe I have ever had.
Ingredients:
~ 1 – 1 1/2 lbs Venison Scallops (these are more commonly known as the loin) cut about 1 inch cubes (the recipe says to pound them to 1/4 thick. I don’t do that as I just don’t see the point)
~ salt and pepper
~ flour (I know! But I think these would be fine without it. It gives the meat a nice crust and thickens the sauce. The flavors would be much the same with out it, but the consistency would be much different)
~3 tbls butter
~ 1 tbls olive oil
~ 2 tbls finely chopped shallots
~ 1/2 dry white wine
~ 1/2 cup heavy cream (You may want to add more wine and cream as the sauce is delicious. It’s worth it to have extra)
~ Few drops of lemon juice
Directions:
Season the scallops with salt and pepper. Dip them in flour and shake off the excess. In a 10 inch skillet, melt the butter and oil over moderate heat. Brown the scallops on each side and then remove to a dish (A big mistake I aways make is to crowd the scallops in the pan. Don’t be afraid to cook them in separate batches if you need to. If you crowd them, they won’t brown as nicely). Pour off most of the oil, except for a thin film. Stir in the shallots and cooks for one minute, or less. Pour in the wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Boil for two or three minutes until the wine has reduced by half. Reduce the heat, add the cream and simmer, stirring constantly, for three to five minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Taste and season with a few drops of lemon juice, salt and pepper. Return the scallops to the pan, basting with the sauce, and cook just long enough to heat the scallops through.
This pairs incredibly well with the roesti I posted in Man Food. Use the potatoes to sop up the extra gravy that you made. It is wonderful!
One of our other favorite venison recipes is to just make a big batch of chili. I love this Betty Crocker recipe as it is both easy and flavorful. I love chili but I have never had chili as good as it is with ground venison. It has the most amazing flavor. I told Maritus that if he gets more than one deer this year that I would like to take all the meat from one (minus the loins) and grind the whole thing just so we can make a boatload of chili. It really is that good.
To all the Great White hunters reading, may your mornings be cold, the barometer rising, and your skies gray. Good luck this year!
On the Rock 