Venison Hash

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Venison is much leaner than beef and, if you are fortunate enough to know a generous hunter or are  a hunter yourself, then you should also be glad to know you are eating meat that is harvested naturally from the wild without being overstuffed processed grains or pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones.   There's something to be said for something being so organic it cannot be labeled for marketing purposes.

This dish is a tried and tested crowd pleaser and, since the work begins the night before, it is easy to put together for house guests or a lazy Sunday mid-morning brunch.


INGREDIENTS:

1 lb Venison Roast, pictured above with sirlion
5 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons pickling spices
3 - 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large green bell peppers, chopped fine
2 medium onions
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 lbs white potatoes, very finely diced to approx 1/4" size pieces
½ - 1 teaspoon adobo seasoning (with turmeric)
6 ounces beer
1 cup parsley leaves, stems removed, chopped
2 tablespoons butter


EQUIPMENT:

Slow Cooker
Dutch Oven or other oven-safe deep, heavy pot with tight-fitting lid that can also be used on stovetop.

INSTRUCTIONS:

The Night Before:

1 - Place roast in slow cooker/ crock pot with enough water to cover 2/3 the way up sides of roast. 

2 - Add unpeeled garlic cloves and pickling spices.

3 - Cook on low heat for 8-10 hours or until very tender.

In the Morning:

1 - Discard garlic cloves and picking spices and remove roast from bath.  Set aside to cool to a handling temperature.

2 - While roast cools, heat olive oil over medium heat in dutch oven. 

3 - Gently  sauté  the onions and peppers with the dried red pepper flakes for a minute and the add in the potatoes. 

4 - Turn heat up to medium high and continue cooking, using spatula to occasionally separate those crispy bits from the bottom of the pan.  Be sure to incorporate them into the potatoes. 

5 - Cube meat into ½" pieces (it will shred some) and place into dutch oven. 

6 - Add adobo seasoning, stir, and then stir in 1/2 of a 12 ounce bottle of beer and cover pot with lid.  Set bottle aside as you may need to add additional beer to soften potatoes to desired consistency.  Continue to cook, lid on, for approximately five minutes.

7 - When potatoes are soft, stir in parsley. 

8 - Cut up butter into small bits and distribute them along the top of the mixture.  Place pot un4-6 under in oven, under a broiler on high setting, for 3-5 minutes or until top of mix has begun to crisp. 

Serve while hot.  Goes well with over-easy farm-fresh quail eggs or other freshly harvested organic eggs. 


Recipe makes approximately 10, 3/4 cup servings.  Per serving:

Nutritional information created using ingredient compilation software for 2000 calorie diet and is deemed close but not exact.

Black Bean & Corn Chowder

This is a variation of a recipe that my mother in law taught me to throw together when Joe and I had our first place. It's filling, easy to make and economical. Best of all, it really hits the spot on a cool day.


INGREDIENTS:

3 tablespoon Olive Oil, extra virgin (all brands)
1 cup, chopped Onions, fresh
1 cup, chopped Green Peppers
1 cup, chopped Sweet red peppers
1 teaspoon Garlic, fresh
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Chili Powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoon White Flour, All-purpose, Enriched, Uunbleached
6 cup Milk, 1% milkfat (Commercial Brand)
2 teaspoon Cornstarch
4 cup Black beans, cooked without salt
2 cup Sweet yellow corn
1 teaspoon Honey, raw
1 teaspoon of adobo seasoning or salt, to taste

½ cup Cilantro (coriander leaves), chopped, discarding stems

crushed red pepper flakes, to garnish



1 - In large, heavy pot, heat onions and peppers in olive oil over medium-high heat, stirring often and watching to see that they do not burn.  After 3 minutes, add in garlic and stir for about thirty seconds or until fragrant.

2 - Add black pepper, chili powder, cayenne pepper and all purpose flour and stir for one minute more.  Slowly, one cup at a time begin adding milk, stirring after each addition to make sure that lumps do not form and mixture doesn't scortch but reserve the last 1/2 cup of milk for next step.

3 - Add cornstarch to remaining cold milk and using a fork or a whisk, stir in thoroughly until cornstarch disolves.  Add to chowder.

4 - Add black beans, corn, adobo (or salt) and honey and continue to cook until mixture has thickened and beans and corn have heated through.  Add chopped cilantro and remove from heat.

5 - Garnish with additional cilantro and, if desired, crushed red pepper flakes. 


Recipe makes 8, 1 cup servings.   Per serving:

*Nutritinional data calculated using ingredient compilation program for 2,000 calorie diet and is deemed close but not exact.

Pantry Essentials

This is, by far, not an all-inclusive list. This is just that list of items I would leave my house to buy in the event I unexpectantly ran out. I listed in order of use/importance.

Herbs and Seasonings: