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…
Charcuterie
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 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…
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…
Smoked Venison Neck Pastrami
Pastrami made from venison neck was a great break from the usual pounded, stuffed roast-type recipes I typically do with my deer necks. You can slice it, you can dice it, boil it, put it on a sandwich, fry it up with eggs or stick it in your ear, it’s a great way to take…
Dry-Aging Meat and Game at Home
Got a special occasion coming up, or a holiday celebration? Hunter in your family shoot too many deer and you’re running out of space? If you like meat projects, dry-aging them is a good one to add to your repertoire. By now, most people have heard of dry-aged meat, and, if they haven’t tasted some…
Pork Salo, with Ramp Leaf Rub
Salo is a great piece of pork charcuterie that I found out about from one of the members of Hank Shaws great Facebook Group Hunt Gather Cook when I asked for some ideas for interesting pork cuts to take out of 2 pandemic pigs I butchered. I love cultural specialties and the rabbit holes that…
English Bacon
If you make your own bacon, or process your own hogs, you likely know how incredible homemade bacon is. A while ago, during the pandemic when hogs were a dime a dozen, I got the chance to butcher two whole pigs with my father and some friends, and before I did, I made sure to…
Spring Venison Terrine with Ramp Leaves
When things are starting to pop up in the spring, my first instinct is to go out and start putting things up and preserving. If you’re like me, you probably have some other things that need to get cleaned out of the freezer too, first. Enter pates, terrines, and all the glorious charcuterie that you…
Scrapple
Do you like bacon? Pancakes? Crispy, browned things cooked on a griddle? Maple syrup? Of course you do, so fasten your seatbelt and come aboard Alan’s organ train, because we’re traveling to scrapple country. if you like offal, shoot, even if you don’t partake in the finer parts (sucks air through teeth) if you’ve never…
Dried Ramp Leaf Venison Jerky
I make sure to dehydrate plenty of ramp leaves when I can during the spring so I can use them in whatever I want during the year–if you have access to them, there just isn’t a reason not to. They’re mild, less aggressive than something like garlic powder, but still have enough kick to flavor…
Middle Eastern Confit (Qawarma)
As I’ve worked with the lamb and goat farm for the past few years, I’ve loved researching every and all traditional recipes using lamb and goat around the world. Qawarma, or small pieces of lamb cooked in it’s own fat, is one of the most interesting I’ve found–essentially French confits attractive Arabic cousin. It all…