VENISON RECIPES
AND A NEAT WAY TO LARD A ROAST
Saltimboca
(Bien Venidos al Gabaldon de Casa Vieja)
This is a classic recipe of the Italian cuisine, and a great way to do a tender piece of venison. For the showman, this is a natural for tableside chafing dish presentation, complete with flames and the most wonderful aroma imaginable.
For two people, you will need two, thin 4-5 ounce pieces of your venison, the sirloin or a tender slice of leg are ideal. With a meat hammer, or the side of a coke bottle, carefully flatten the meat till it is very thin. Try for a roughly square shape when you are done. On each piece of meat, place a couple very thin slices of real Italian Procciuto ham. On these, put a thin slice of good muzzarela cheese, about 1/8 inch thick. Now roll each package up, jellyroll fashion, tucking the ends in neatly. Tie in a couple places so they will hold together. The Saltimboca can be prepared to this point well ahead of when they will be needed. Just before serving, heat a heavy skillet or chafing dish, add:
2 Tbl. butter
Saute the Saltimboca in the butter until they are cooked through and lightly browned. Then add:
1/4 cup real Italian Dry Marsala Wine
Flame the wine,when flames go out, add:
2 Tbl. butter
Toss the Saltimboca around a bit until the butter is melted and forms a sauce. Serve with linguini, a nice salad and a bottle of dry red wine.
This is the old recipe from Casa Vieja Restaurant
Corrales, New Mexico, Cerca 1975
Venison Roast Marinated in Buttermilk
This is a good recipe for an older or possibly tougher piece of venison. Larding, long marinating and slow, moist cooking will make for nice, tender meat.
Take a venison leg roast, 4-5 lbs. Trim off all fat and membrane. Lard well, adding a bit of garlic here and there. (See below for an easy way to lard a roast.) Rub the roast well with a mixture of:
1 Tbl. coarse ground black pepper
2 tsp. ground red chile pepper
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. sage
1 Tbl. vinegar.
Let roast sit a couple hours, then marinate in:
4 sliced onions
4-5 bay leaves
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. whole black peppercorns
Small stick of cinnamon
1/2 gallon buttermilk
Place in refrigerater for 2-3 days, turning occasionally.
Drain roast, discard marinade. Brown roast well in a bit of bacon grease in a dutch oven. Drain grease. Add a bottle of good beer or cider. Cover and bake slowly, 300-325 for an hour or two. Add a couple onions, carrots, a couple apples and a sweet potato or two. Add more beer, cider or water to maintain liquid level. Continue to roast until vegetables and roast are tender. Serve with a green salad and corn bread.
THE SECRET OF LARDING A ROAST
Venison is a "dry" meat, meaning it has very little natural fat in it. Often it is "larded" before cooking, by adding a bit of fat to make it more tender. Traditionally, this is done with a larding needle, and can be a hard and messy job. Here is a nice, quick trick. Take a couple thick, (3/16 in.), slices of salt pork, bacon, or other fat meat. Cut into pieces a couple inches long and 3/4 inch wide at one end, and pointed at the other end. Put the pieces on a heavy plate and put the plate in the freezer until the bacon is hard frozen. Make holes in the roast with a thin bladed knife. Aim the holes toward the center of the roast. Shove a frozen piece of bacon into each hole, just like a nail. Put in a nail of bacon every square inch or two, and stuff them in good. If you are quick, you can lard a roast like this in a couple minutes. When you are done with the bacon, if you like garlic, shove thick slices into some of the holes. When done, proceed with the marinating, or the browning of the meat.
Count From January, 1998
