Tender slices of poached meatloaf, napped with handfuls of hedgehog mushrooms in a sauce spiked with paprika and lemon is what happens when you were trained to cook like a French chef, but TV dinners helped raise you. I came up with this to showoff how much fun hedgehog mushrooms can be. Hedgehogs have a…
Four-Legged
Boneless Rabbit Roulade
When I worked under the former personal chef to the princess of Monaco, boneless rabbit roulade was one of the dishes on my station. Essentially it’s a roll of rabbit, without bones, stuffed with a slice of prosciutto or other charcuterie that’s cooked and sliced, and served warm or cold. It takes some skill with…
Buttermilk Fried Rabbit
I’ve cooked rabbits a lot of different ways over the years, but buttermilk fried rabbit is, without a doubt, a contender for being one of the best rabbit recipes ever. It is everything you know and love about fried chicken, just a tiny bit different. Domestic vs wild Heck, with the domestic rabbits I used,…
Smoked Venison Kidneys
Smoked venison kidneys are not only one of the best ways I’ve had kidneys (steak and kidney pie is my other standby) but it’s one of the best recipes for offal and organ meats in my repertoire, period. If you’ve had kidneys are didn’t care for them in the past, or if you’re new to…
Smoked Venison Brisket
Yes, deer have brisket, and so do pigs, lambs and goats. While all the briskets (they sometimes go under the name of breast as well) of these animals are smaller than the typical beef brisket that most people think of when they hear the word, every one of them is worth cooking. I know there’ll…
Smoked Venison Shank and Trotter Terrine
I love a good chunk of charcuterie, and this year’s wealth of venison has been crying out to be made into a sliceable terrine en gelee./aspic. The venison trotters I mention in this post are chock-ful of collagen, making them the perfect thing to help bind a chilled headcheese-style terrine. You could definitely make a…
Venison Trotters
Today, for your viewing pleasure, I present one of the most enjoyable culinary rabbit holes I’ve been down in a very long time. Behold the lowly deer foot, also called venison trotters or Bambi tootsies. Yes, you can eat the feet of deer, including what’s inside the hoof, and, although it might sound bizarre to…
Venison Trotter Cakes (Cromesquis)
What’s golden brown, crispy-fried, ooey-goey and delicious? Venison trotter cakes. Almost like a meat-filled tater tot, trotter cakes or cromesquis as they might be called are a little chef secret I’ve adapted to venison here. Most of the time you’re going to see them made with pork, which is how I was taught to make…
Dried Venison Soup with Timpsila (Bapa Wohanpi)
Venison bapa wohanpi soup is a rich stew made from all-dried ingredients that makes for a delicious, creative meal in the winter. After I cooked my venison trotters, the first thing I wanted to make was a traditional Lakota bison hoof soup, but, once I saw how much meat I got off the venison trotters,…
How to Cook Venison Ribs
There’s a lot of overlooked cuts on a deer, but ribs are probably one of the most commonly left on the carcass or tossed into the coyote pile. It’s a shame, since they can be great if they’re prepped right, but I also understand why a lot of people don’t harvest and cook venison ribs. …
Smoked Venison Neck Chili
I love a good bowl of chili, and smoked venison chili is a great one. Deer chili is probably one of the most trusty recipes a lot of people who cook game keep around as it’s a great place to toss a couple pounds of ground or stew meat: just forget about it for a…
Smoked Lamb or Venison Country Ham
Ever wondered how to make prosciutto? Or even something similar at home? It’s a great piece of pork charcuterie, but a difficult one to make well at home unless you have some serious patience. Back at Heartland restaurant in St. Paul when I worked under Chef Lenny Russo, if there was going to be prosciutto…
Smoked Venison Leg Roast
There’s not much better than a good piece of smoked meat, especially a smoked venison / deer leg roast. If you’re a long-time reader of this site you’ll know that I love charcuterie: sausages, salami, terrines and pates, as well as the cousins like whole muscle cures and brined chunks of meat like pastrami and…