Dinner on the wild side

Well, I am playing with my food again. In researching new and exciting ways to use up the venison Alex brought home from his hunt a few weeks ago, I have come across what I think is going to make this week extra-special delicious.

It's Venison Risotto. I'm just gonna let that sink in for a minute....

Yes, everything that I already love about risotto (the wine-soaked rice... the aromatics... did I mention the wine?), but with the richness of venison added. It sounds like a match made in culinary heaven if you ask me. Vension is a super lean meat (very little fat), so I will need to add some to make the overall flavour better (thinking of replacing the butter with beef tallow!). I have a feeling that this dish will not even need much to be served with it, as it sounds pretty filling all on its own.

So this is happening probably on Monday or Tuesday this week, matched with a huge green salad and maybe some homemade sourdough flatbread. What's on your menu for this week?

Venison Risotto:

·         2 tbsp. butter (use beef tallow if you have some, it’s amazing! Extra-virgin olive oil also works here)

·         ½ cup minced onion (white or yellow is best)

·         2 cloves garlic, minced

·         1 cup arborio rice

·         1½ cups chopped or shredded braised venison (see below for options)

·         Salt, to taste

·         1 tbsp. tomato paste

·         ½ cup red wine (the drier, the better!)

·         1 to 2 tsp. minced fresh sage

·         Sprig of rosemary

·         1 quart venison stock (beef stock would also work)

·         ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (you could also use pecorino here)

·         Black pepper, to taste

1)    In a medium pot over medium-high heat, heat the butter or beef tallow. When it's hot, add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes

2)    Add the garlic and rice and sauté another couple of minutes, stirring often

3)    Stir in the shredded braised meat, add a little salt and then the tomato paste. Stir this well and let it cook for about 3 minutes

4)    Add the sage and the red wine (it will spatter, so watch out and go slow!). Stir constantly until the wine cooks almost away, then add 1 cup of the stock. Stir this for about 30 seconds, then drop the heat to medium and let it cook, stirring occasionally. Add the sprig of rosemary (leave it whole)

5)    When the liquid has mostly cooked away, add another cup of stock and stir that for 30 seconds, then let it cook down again, stirring occasionally. Repeat this process until the rice is tender. You will need all four cups, and possibly more if the rice is old. Use water in that case (you want the rice to be tender but not mushy)

6)    Remove the sprig of rosemary. Stir in the grated cheese and black pepper, and another tablespoon of butter or fat if you want

7)    Serve immediately with toasted garlic bread

NOTES

Try cutting some clean, tender venison like backstrap or sinew-free hind leg meat into small dice and add this along with the last cup of stock when you are cooking the rice. 

Wild foods like venison tend to be very lean, but when cooked right, VERY tasty!

(This recipe originated at the Hunt Gather Cook website... and we can't wait to try it! They have a lot of really great content, so check them out)