WILD THINGS! GAME, VENISON AND EXOTIC FOODS!

[Zurie]

Duonyte, this is one for Joy!

We do not have grouse (or not the same) as in Britain.

I'll let her know.

[JoyfulCook]

I have only just heard - but have got a nice recipe - It might be easier to casserole it if its a bit 'tough…..I will pop this on the other thread too

casserole, this will make it more tender if there if a possibility that it might be a bit tough


2 Grouse, trussed
285ml (½ pint) Chicken Stock
125g (4oz) Mushrooms
2 Carrots
1 Celery Stalk
1 Onion
75g (3oz) Butter
2 tbsp Whisky
1 tbsp Redcurrant Jelly

Pre-heat oven to 180°C: 350°F: Gas 4.
Chop the onions and mushrooms, dice the carrot and celery.
Season the grouse well with salt and pepper.
Heat the butter in a flameproof casserole and brown the grouse on all sides.
Remove the grouse and reserve.
Add the vegetables to the casserole and cook over a low heat until tender but not browned.
Return the grouse, add the whisky, flame it - allow the flames to disappear.
Add the stock and roast, covered, for 1¼ hours.
When cooked remove and use poultry shears to cut the grouse in half, place on a serving dish, keep warm.
Strain the sauce into a small saucepan, boil until it thickens, add the redcurrant jelly.
Spoon sauce over before serving.

[Paymaster]

Was not sure where to post this, so I will put it here. I got a stone knife in a trade for trout flies yesterday and I am tickled to death with it. A friend made it for me in exchange for three boxes of flies. I intend to dress a deer with it,thus placing the post here. I thought you in this forum my like to see it.

[Paymaster]

Not sure why the whole pic would not post.

[Zurie]

Paymaster, can you make the pic smaller in an editing program? I think maybe it was too large for Food.com to handle at this stage.

(Actually, there should be an automatic re-sizing of photographs, but with all the glitches here it probably doesn't work).

What I see seems lethal, strange and impressive!! LOL!

[JoyfulCook]

thats neat - I love the way that you can see the workings on the stone blade - would have posted sooner but just got back from a holiday. this sure is the right place to show anything like that -


I wish I still had my sword collection….my folks buried it in the back garden in Nairobi when I left I could have brought it over declared as a collection!!!

[JoyfulCook]

we might not be the most popular but where is everyone - we need everyones input here!

[JoyfulCook]

Meet Hannah the Hedgehog, who is a resident in our garden, she is topping up her diet each night with a lovely sized jam jar lid full of cat food.

Here is the house they have built for me - I am the first on the new estate!

[JoyfulCook]

Is anyone having anything wild and exotic for their Christmas festivities. we well might have some pan fried venison - probably on Christmas eve - has anyone got any ideas of how to cook it - thats a bit different??

[Zurie]

Joy, the "wildest" I might go to are the Pekin ducks in the freezer! But haven't decided yet what and how!! I'm so jealous of the supermarket booklets which fall out of every paper and magazine, advertising the most scrumptious and exotic fare -- even Turducken!!

But this entire area does not have the buying power for the better supermarkets to keep the very expensive products.

Venison ... I have a love-hate relationship with venison. It needs a lot of care and attention! If it's a leg, it needs larding with fat, and rubbing with roasted, crushed coriander, garlic, cloves, herbs like rosemary, etc., and at least a bottle of good wine to marinate in over 3 - 4 days ... Then you still have to be gentle with oven heat.

Venison is probably at its best in rustic dishes such as a stew with plenty of chopped pork rashers, wine, garlic, etc.

I have bought vacuum-sealed Springbok and Kudu carpaccio ... I must have been a cavewoman in a former life, as I am mad about raw meat and fish!! (Bring on the sashimi!!)

What did you have in mind to cook, in the way of venison or game?

[JoyfulCook]

I have some frozen Steaks - they are wonderfully tender. just want to put something different in a marinade - what was that about coriander etc?

[Zurie]

Joy, how sure are you that they are tender? Just asking ... because in the defrosting process they will lose more liquid.

About coriander seeds: they are just one of the spices which enhance venison. Preferably roasted in a pan, and then crushed in a mortar and pestle, rubbed on and also left in the marinade (usually red wine).

Spices and herbs to use with, or rub on venison: the roasted, crushed coriander, pinch of ground cloves, garlic, fresh thyme (otherwise dried).

I admit: I'm not sure what I would do with venison steaks. If fresh, and they are rump or fillet, fine, I'd fry them quickly (WITH seasonings), in a hot pan in butter. Venison is SO lean, it really needs something fatty. A sauce made with chopped bacon ... whatever floats your boat!

Not sure about what could happen during the defrosting process: whether they would still be tender. As I said ... it's a love-hate relationship!!

You COULD do a Boeuf Bourguignonne if you would dare chop them up ...

[JoyfulCook]

Zurie - they come in a vacuum pack and I defrost them in that pack, they are wonderfully tender and pan fried - we only cook them for a few minutes, I did try some roasted ground coriander and some black pepper, and left them in a small amount of olive oil. they were lovely. thanks for the i deas

[Zurie]

Oh, good, Joy!!

I have several 80g sealed packs of ... wait for it ... springbok, kudu and warthog carpaccio in the deli tray of my fridge!

G said I can eat it: he doesn't really feel like eating raw venison!! Well, that's nonsense -- it is really, really delicatessen, impossibly thin.

I added 1 packet of springbok carpaccio a few night ago to a cold platter with other cold meats and salads, and I noticed that G did actually eat a slice of the carpaccio! I scoffed the other 3 -- 80 g is meagre.

(I seem to love raw stuff: bring on the sashimi and carpaccio, and the very underdone beef fillet I did last night! When I fillet fresh fish, I grab the sashimi soy, the Japanese ginger, and then eat the fresh fish off the bones and behind the head ... )

I know: if an American reads this they will faint dead away. And I also love sheep's and calves' brains -- braised, not raw!! Only, I can't get it anywhere any more!

[Demelza]

Zurie you are going to laugh at this, Joyful Cook has already heard this story in another forum. We are in Canada & my husband is a hunter. I am not much of a meat eater at all, and never eat wild meat. I do not let him cook his deer (whitetail & sometimes muledeer) in the house. He has to go outside and cook it on the bbq. I will shovel a path from the back door to the bbq in the winter. He does complain a wee bit when the temperature hits -40 and I expect him to cook it outdoors.

As for recipes, I don't cook it so don't have specific recipes for wild meat. He will dress his deer immediately, then cut & wrap it within 48 hours. If you happen to get a very wild/gamey animal, (it can depend on what they have been feeding on, and also if they were run a great distance, so I have heard) he says if you let it soak in some vinegar while thawing it will help. He cuts mostly steaks, grinds some to use in chili, and gets sausage made with ground pork added to it for the fat & flavour. His Mom used to also use deer in stew instead of beef.
He also hunts geese, ducks, grouse & partridge. He will cut partridge up like chicken and coat it in Shake n Bake, and do it in the oven. He does goose & ducks whole in the oven out at the farm.

I hope this gives you some ideas that you can use. Just remember you could be cooking it outdoors when the snow is up to the bottom of the bbq