A Culinary Lesson from Hannibal Lecter

One crisp winter day I set out to pick juniper berries at a local park. I planned to make bigos, an old Polish stew, for a dinner party that week, for which juniper berries are a traditional ingredient. Being both frugal and old-fashioned, I decided to forage the junipers in the wild, or at least the wilds of Kinsmen Park, Saskatoon. After all, why pay for

First tomato of spring

Isn't it perfect? Tomatoes have arrived at the Saskatoon Farmers' Market. But be warned -- you must get there early (well before 9 am) to get the first tomatoes of spring.

Dinner tonight - pepper venison, fried potatoes, salad with lemon vinaigrette and (not shown) Fresh Air Flavours rhubarb relish. Every bit of it from Saskatchewan!

Soup Week 2 - VENISON SOUP

Week 2 and my New Year's resolution is still going strong ~ to make a pot of soup each week.

This week's soup is made with venison from our friend Leon and juniper berries I picked last summer at Cranberry Flats.

The recipe came from chef Tina Nordstron of Sweden, who did a Scandinavian cooking show for PBS television. You'll find the recipe here. Note: Tina's recipe is a stew so I added more water (I didn't use beer, as she did) to make it into a delicious soup. I also used Saskatchewan morels for extra local flavour. Very good when it's ~30 outside!

Locally made paté - Do it yourself!

A birthday gift to myself -- Charcuterie, by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn. Charcuterie refers to the processing of meat by smoking, curing, salting, drying, etc., and includes bacon, ham, sausages, paté, terrines, confit and more. I began with paté: Venison and Dried Sour Cherry Paté (wild venison and Saskatchewan sour cherries) and Paté de Grandmere (pork with chicken liver - pictured above). All major ingredients were locally procured. Making paté was a bit time-consuming, but not hard to do. These early forays into charcuterie were quite successsful. Next... I'm looking for a hog's head to make headcheese. (Which, contrary to popular misconception, does not include the brains!)

Hug a venison hunter - VENISON STEW

What is it about hunters that makes them so generous? Not only did Darlene and Leon invite us to share their fabulous dinner of venison osso buco, morel omelets, roast root vegetables and apple crisp (all local, I might add), but Leon gave us three hind quarters from a recently nabbed deer. My culinary prowess is a little more plebian than Leon's - I lean more toward peasant stews. So I share with you a great stew adapted from a recipe for pork from Saveur magazine (Dec. 2005).

Venison Stew with Apricots and Prunes
3 lbs venison cut in 1” pieces
Salt and pepper
6 tbsp canola oil
6 carrots, peeled and sliced crosswise
4 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup dried apricots
1 cup pitted prunes
1 lb (about 5) onions
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Flour for thickening (optional)

For the best results, start the stew on the morning or even the day before you plan to eat it.

Heat 3 tbsp of the canola oil in a heavy pot on medium-high heat. Season the venison with salt and pepper. Brown the meat on all sides, about 5 minutes. Stir in the carrots and cook until slightly tender. Add the tomato paste, apricots and 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 2-3 hours. Add the prunes.

Test the meat for tenderness. If the venison is not yet tender, simmer longer. At this point, you can turn off the heat and let the stew rest until mealtime.

Before serving, peel and cut the onions into wedges. Heat the remaining 3 tbsp of canola oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until they soften. Sprinkle on the balsamic vinegar. Continue cooking until the onions are caramelized and browned. Stir the onions into the hot stew.

If you like a thicker stew, scoop some of the hot liquid into a cup. Briskly stir in 2 tbsp flour until there are no lumps. Stir into the stew and simmer until thickened.

Serve with boiled potatoes or hardy bread.

Leg o' venison

John came home today with this lovely leg of venison, shot this morning near Saskatoon by our friend Mark. I love wild meat, and I love it when our hunting friends decide to share with us. Just last week, Jeff showed up with a box of venison, elk and moose, including bratwurst and pepperoni sticks. (I made elk bourguignon.) What exactly becomes of this leg o' venison will be the subject of future posts.

(A few days later...) John made this fabulous venison stew with all the little tidbits left over after cutting up the leg. He sautéed them in bacon fat. Added carrots, cooked potatoes and frozen peas, with enough water to simmer everything. I added some chanterelle mushrooms (which had been sautéed in butter and frozen), crumbled sage, fresh thyme and fresh oregano. We also added some of that lovely jelly left in the pot after cooking a ham. Seasoned it with salt and pepper. Yummy...

The rewards of babysitting - VENISON GOULASH

This recipe is adapted from Saveur magazine, October 2006. The venison came from our friend Rick, who hunts near Saskatoon, as payment for babysitting his kids. Even though this recipe comes from Hungary, almost every ingredient is produced locally (except the vinegar and allspice).

1½ – 2 pounds venison, cubed
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Four slices of good bacon, diced
1 big onion, finely chopped
1½ tsp paprika
½ tsp fresh thyme
¼ tsp mustard powder
4 allspice berries
1½ tbsp tomato paste
½ green pepper, finely chopped
1 cup chicken stock or water

Put the meat in a bowl, toss in the vinegar and cover with boiling water. In a heavy pot with a lid, fry the bacon until cooked. Add the onion and cook until soft. Drain the venison and add to the pot to brown on all sides. Add 1 cup of water plus the paprika, thyme, mustard powder, allspice, tomato paste and green pepper. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours.

Add the chicken broth or water. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer on low heat without the lid for another two hours, or until the sauce is thickened and the venison is fall-apart tender. Serve with boiled potatoes that have been tossed with melted butter and chopped parsley.