Wild Game « (y)our food choices™

A plateful of happiness.

One of our 2011 New Year’s resolutions was to go vegetarian for the first few months of the year. That ended on January 2, actually, really on January 1 when we took the deer roast out of the freezer to thaw. We do eat meat, and love it, but we also understand all the health and environmental issues associated with eating too much meat–extra weight, exposure to hormones and antibiotics, pollution and waste, the cruelty of CAFOS, etc. But in our defense, we received a cooler full of wild venison and pheasant meat compliments of Steve’s father and we found a great recipe from Cook’s Illustrated (CI) called “Really Good Pot Roast” that we wanted to try. Also, we’re foodies that like to eat, cook, and…well, there’s always next year.

Pot roast and polenta. A good, stick to your ribs, Sunday dinner.

The CI recipe we found comes from their November/December 2010 magazine for Classic Pot Roast. We followed the recipe almost exactly with three minor (or major) modifications: we used a deer roast instead of the traditional beef roast; cranberry juice instead of red wine (we’re on the wagon for a few months); and we added a little soy sauce at the end to give it a little extra umami. The results were a mixed bag. While we liked the roast, it was falling apart when we cut into it and presentation wasn’t what we expected. It probably would have been better had we left it overnight in the fridge and then served it the next day, but then the question arose, “What should we have for dinner tonight?” We decided on the roast. It was served with a nice portion of polenta and a sauté of mustard greens. The dinner was great in spite of the roast being a bit too crumbly. The sauce though had an intense sweetness to it that would not have been there if we had just used wine. It wasn’t a bad flavor, just sweet. The soy sauce really helped give the sauce what it was missing.

The next night, the roast really had its moment in the spotlight. We let the leftover roast sit in the sauce over night. The next day we shredded the roast and heated it with the sauce. Using our favorite Trader Joe’s Pappardelle pasta as the base, we dressed the pasta with the warmed sauce. Incredible! Not only did it stretched our meat consumption by four more meals, it also made for a great sugo. We’ll definitely be making this roast again but instead of a traditional Sunday roast we’ll just use the shredded meat sauce and pasta. This way we still get our meat but not so much all at once.

Classic Pot Roast a la Cook’s Illustrated

Cook’s Illustrated’s recommended beef broth is Rachael Ray Stock-in-a-Box Beef Flavored Stock (a mouthful even before taking the first bite!) but we like using our own homemade broth. Chilling the whole cooked pot roast overnight improves its flavor and makes it moister and easier to slice or shred; for instructions, see “Make-Ahead Pot Roast.”

Pot roast: Before and after.

1 (3 1/2- to 4-pound) boneless beef chuck-eye roast , pulled into two pieces at natural seam and trimmed of large knobs of fat (or if you’re lucky, deer, elk, or other venison roast)
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium onions , halved and sliced thin (about 2 cups)
1 large carrot , chopped medium (about 1 cup)
1 celery rib , chopped medium (about 3/4 cup)
2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 cup beef broth , plus 1 to 2 cups for sauce (see note)
1/2 cup dry red wine , plus 1/4 cup for sauce (for our version we used cranberry juice)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 sprig plus 1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
Ground black pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce (our altered addition)

1. Sprinkle pieces of meat with 1 tablespoon salt (1½ teaspoons if using table salt), place on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet, and let stand at room temperature 1 hour.

2. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Heat butter in heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat. When foaming subsides, add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add carrot and celery; continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes longer. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in 1 cup broth, ½ cup wine (or juice), tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme sprig; bring to simmer.

3. Pat beef dry with paper towels and season generously with pepper. Using 3 pieces of kitchen twine, tie each piece of meat into loaf shape for even cooking.

4. Nestle meat on top of vegetables. Cover pot tightly with large piece of foil and cover with lid; transfer pot to oven. Cook beef for three hours flipping halfway through cooking. Continue cooking until beef is fully tender and sharp knife easily slips in and out of meat, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.

5. Transfer roasts to cutting board and tent loosely with foil. Strain liquid through mesh strainer into 4-cup liquid measuring cup. Discard bay leaf and thyme sprig. Transfer vegetables to blender jar. Allow liquid to settle 5 minutes, then skim any fat off surface. Add beef broth as necessary to bring liquid amount to 3 cups. Place liquid in blender with vegetables and blend until smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer sauce to medium saucepan and bring to simmer over medium heat.

6. While sauce heats, remove twine from roast and slice against grain into ½-inch-thick slices. Transfer meat to large serving platter. Stir chopped thyme, remaining ¼ cup wine, and vinegar into sauce and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon half of sauce over meat; pass remaining sauce separately.

7. (For Sugo): Cool and refrigerate the roast and sauce together. The next day using either your hands or two forks, shred the roast in the sauce. Prepare your favorite pappardelle pasta according to the package directions, (or make your own pasta). While the pasta cooks, re-warm the sugo in a sauce pan. When the pasta is al dente, transfer it to the sauce. Finish the pasta in the sauce, tossing it so every noodle is coated. Off the heat, grate parmesan cheese and drizzle some good olive oil over the top.

We found ourselves once again spending a Labor Day weekend inland where we poured thousands of samples of Scottish whisky at the Scottish Highland Games in Pleasanton. We have a lot of fun in our whisky ambassador roles and this festive crowd loves the stuff we pour. But what a trip the games are with their motley crew of die-hard clan encampments and gawkers and weekend kilt wearers. People are serious about their period costumes as evidenced by the many hearty souls who wandered around the hot dusty fairgrounds covered from head to toe in wool and fur and heavy fabrics.

Like all fairs, this annual event brings together an eclectic group of food vendors all seemingly hell bent on serving up the biggest, most gut busting-est portions of fried food imaginable. We saw corn dogs large enough to feed a family of four – seriously! And the fish & chips outlet piled up the fried potatoes in large paper baskets then topped them with what looked like runway-sized slabs of battered, deep fried fish. Never mind the turkey drumsticks and giant burgers or the towering chocolate dipped soft serve ice cream cones. In fact, never mind this belly stretching mess. You don’t go to the Highland Games for freakishly large portions of American carnival food. This is a Scottish event, after all. How about a little haggis? No? Then how about an English sausage in pastry dough and a nice ale to wash it down?

Our favorite “ethnic” option came from Heritage Foods, a purveyor of some of the tastiest British-style meat pies we’ve ever tasted. A standard on the California fantasy fair circuit, these tasty hand-held pastries are deliciously savory meals in a pie shell. We snacked on steak and mushroom pies that were served molten hot (a little tricky when you’re talking about hand-held food). The pie shell is tender and simply flavored making it the perfect accompaniment to the rich beef and mushroom gravy filling. Large chunks of tender beef and slices of mushroom are filling, not stuffing. We could have eaten several of these pies, but one a year is likely enough given the oily sheen the flaky pastry left on our fingers.

If you’re still eating Swanson’s frozen potpies, it’s time to reconsider the homemade meat pie. We haven’t quite figured out John Torode’s Beef cookbook (the English use parts of the cow we’ve never heard of and all the ingredients are listed in metric quantities and that’s just wrong) but the beautiful book offers several delicious iterations of this traditional British street food. We have wild Idaho Elk on hand and decided to improvise our own meat pies. Of course, you can substitute any red meat fit for braising. Give this one a try and then tell us if you still prefer the frozen factory pies from your supermarket. We think you’ll toss them out to make room for your own homemade pies!

The recipe that follows is very nearly an exact reproduction of Emeril Lagasse’s Steak and Mushroom pie recipe found over here on the Food Network’s site. We give all due credit to Emeril for this fantastic iteration of a classic English dish.

The Recipe: English-Style Venison Steak and Mushroom Pie

6 ounces bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Olive oil
1 1/2 pounds venison meat or beef chuck or sirloin, cubed
1 teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
2 teaspoons minced garlic
8 ounces button mushrooms, wiped clean, stems trimmed, and sliced
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 (12-ounce) bottle dark beer
2 cups beef stock
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
pastry dough
Phyllo (country style, store bought)
3-4 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until browned. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.

Season the beef with the paprika, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, dried thyme, salt, and pepper. Pour off the bacon fat and add about 2 tablespoons olive oil and heat the pan over medium. When hot, add the beef (in batches, if necessary to prevent overcrowding). Cook until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and add the onions, adding more olive oil as needed. Cook, stirring, until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until wilted and starting to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, flour, and Worcestershire, and stir well. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the beer and stock, and stir to deglaze the pan. Bring to a boil and add the bay leaf, parsley, thyme, cooked bacon bits, and return the meat to the pan. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender, about 1 hour. Remove from the heat, discard the bay leaf, and adjust the seasoning, to taste. Allow the beef stew to cool and then refrigerate at least four hours or over night.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the pastry crust on a lightly floured surface. Using a round cookie cutter, or the rim of a glass, cut out the pastry dough and place each round into a muffin tin. The pastry should be just large enough to to come up to the top of the muffin tin. Fill each pastry shell with the cold stew and refrigerate.

Unroll the phyllo dough and place a damp cloth over the top to keep from drying out. Using one sheet at a time, place on work surface and brush with melted butter. Add another sheet and brush again with melted butter, until you have used five sheets. If you are using regular phyllo use eight sheets. Using a slight smaller cookie cutter, cut out twelve tops. Place one on top of each pie and crimp around the edges. Don’t worry if each one is slightly different. Brush each top with the remaining butter

Put the pies in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden on top. If the phyllo dough gets to brown cover with aluminum foil and continue to cook. You can also freeze the unbaked pies in the muffin pan for later use and bake right out of the freezer, just add 10-20 minutes more to the cooking time

Recipe: Pastry Dough

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 stick butter, chilled and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 tbsp ice water
1 large egg
1/8 tsp salt

Directions

Sift flour and salt into a bowl, add butter pieces and blend with your fingertips until the flour mixture looks like course meal. In a separate bowl, add egg and water and beat well. Add egg and water mixture to flour and stir with a fork until the dough just starts to come together. Pour dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and shape into a disk. Wrap the dough and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Longer is better. This dough can remain refrigerated for up to 3 days before use.