Venison shanks
I've been busy. With the North Idaho Wild Game Feast only two weeks away, I've been cooking, experimenting, prepping and purchasing rattlesnake, venison, alligator, elk, duck, wild boar and steelhead, ensuring each protein is fresh, properly prepared and innovative.
There are still tickets available by calling Fernan; a STEM focused school, at 664-2659. This meal provides science, technology, engineering and math educational opportunities for kindergarten through fifth-grade students in the Coeur d'Alene School District. Tickets are $75 of which $37.50 is tax deductible.
The food is not the only treat. There are amazing auction items such as box seats for Cirque de Soleil at the Spokane Arena for 30 including food and beverages, a dinner for six in your home provided by me - I will even do the dishes, a bowling party in a private home with a real bowling alley in their house including food and beverages and many more amazing offerings.
Now back to food.
This afternoon I brined four sides of steelhead with different ingredients to determine which flavor profile best fits the steelhead chowder with duck bacon I plan to prepare for the event. Tomorrow morning I will flip the trout ensuring all sides are properly coated, then smoke each side tomorrow evening for three hours at 160 degrees; one in apple wood, one in hickory, one I'll smoke with mesquite and one in alder wood. This attention to detail is required to ensure each diner's experience is transcendent.
The smallest detail requires paramount attention. Making the yogurt, chipotle aioli which tops the rattlesnake takes hours to prepare. The yogurt is simple to make but requires 12 hours to cook, ensuring the correct consistency. Balancing the flavors to build enough heat to enhance the rattlesnake without masking the flavor of the wild game requires a retrained hand. I try the sauce on a piece of chicken and the result is amazing.
Last week I fine-tuned my venison Osso Bucco recipe which I offer below. When I harvest wild game I believe in using the whole animal which is why I choose this cut of meat as my main course. The shank portion of a deer's leg is usually discarded by most hunters which I believe is a shame.
This lean piece of meat offers incredible flavor profiles not found in the rest of the deer. Slow braising the meat, bone intact, creates an amazingly earthy, clean, meaty feast that might remind some of grandma's Yankee pot-roast with a slight gamey note. The wild mushroom risotto that this shank sits on will absorb the braising liquid and become as tasty as the meat. A microgreen salad of arugula and pickled radish will top the dish offering a fresh texture to entertain your tongue as you work through the meat and creamy rice textures.
Venison Osso Bucco
Ingredients
Venison Shanks-2-inches thick
Vegetable oil
Butter
Mirepoix of 2 yellow onions, 3 medium carrots and 2 stalks celery
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoon tomato paste
16 ounces of venison stock
1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
Bouquet garni (fresh herbs tied together to be easily removed at the end of the cooking process) of rosemary, thyme and oregano
Directions
Set oven temperature at 325 degrees.
Heat oil in a heavy Dutch oven or heavy bottom cooking vessel. Dust the discs of venison shank in salt and pepper seasoned flour. Brown shanks on all sides. Set the browned discs aside on a platter.
Melt the butter in the same Dutch oven and saute the mirepoix and garlic for about seven minutes over medium heat or until softened and slightly browned. Lay the pieces of shank flat side down over the bed of vegetables.
Mix the tomato paste with the crushed tomatoes and pour over the meat. Pour enough stock to bring the liquid to the top three-quarter of the shanks.
Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven. Let it cook for a minimum of three hours, preferably four. Check on the dish approximately every hour, flip the shanks over and make sure the liquid level does not drop too low. If it evaporates to a point that the shank pieces are only half-submerged, add some more stock or water to bring the level to the three-quarter mark.
The dish is done when the meat can be picked away from the bone easily with the tip of a fork. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Make sure to dig out the little bit of marrow in the center of the bone and spread the delicious marrow on a toast point. You're in for a treat.
Send comments or other suggestions to William Rutherford at bprutherford@hotmail.com or visit pensiveparenting.com.