The days are getting
shorter (barely light by 7:00 a.m. and dark not long after 6:00 p.m.), and a
chill is permeating the air; this only means one thing: autumn is here!
Though we haven’t had
to deal with snow yet—knock on wood—winter is quickly rounding the corner to
descend on Black Hills area residents.
And when winter hits, it does so with a vengeance. It grips the region and doesn’t let go. It holds on, absolutely for dear life, for
months…and months…and months.
These sure signs not
only mean winter is very close, it also means something else in the Black
Hills. Something even more important to
many. Falls means hunting! (Add celebratory dance from outdoors men and
women who live for this time of year.)
These early autumn days, as I
have been writing about much lately, are absolutely beautiful. The temperatures are superb. The colors are delightful. And seasonal food from this time of year is delicious.
I don’t hunt; I hike…and
cook. So these cooler days when my
hunting husband and son work to fill my freezer, I look for ways to use the
game meat. The falling temps mean I can
take my time in the kitchen, letting the oven warm my house and heart, to
slowly make a great meal.
I channeled my rural,
inner Julia Child and modified a recipe found in a Cabela’s catalogue. Yes, the same place you can buy camouflage
clothes for hunting has some great recipes, especially when I add my add
twist. Here is my Venison Bourguignon.
Venison Bourguignon
1 ½ to 2 pounds venison
loin, cut into chunks (elk or moose would also be delicious)
3 strips thick-cut
bacon, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery,
chopped
1 large onion, chopped
½ to 1 pound mushrooms,
sliced
3 gloves garlic, minced
Flour
½ cup port (sherry, Madeira,
or brandy would also work)
2 bottles pinot noir (any
region, U.S., France, or other—the second bottle is to drink with the meal; I used Cartograph’s Sonoma County Pinot Noir
for the bourguignon and their Leonardo Julio
Pinot Noir for the meal)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons butter
Olive oil
Salt and pepper (to
taste)
1. Preheat
oven to 350 degrees.
2. On the stove top, heat enough olive oil to cover
the bottom of a cast iron Dutch oven; I used La Creuset cookware. Heat to
medium. Add bacon and sauté until bacon begins
to brown. Remove and set aside.
3.
Dry the cubed venison on paper towels.
4.
Brown the meat in small batches in the olive
oil/bacon drippings. Remove and set
aside with bacon.
5.
Cook chopped onion, celery, and carrots in the
drippings until soft, about ten minutes.
Will not caramelize. Add the
garlic. Sauté another few minutes.
6.
Add the port.
With a spatula, rub the bottom of the pan so drippings blend into the
port and veggies. Stir well to coat all
the veggies.
7.
Flambé port in pan by tipping up to pool port in
the corner of the pan. Light to burn off
the alcohol.
8.
Lightly dust venison with flour. Return meat to the vegetable mixture in the
Dutch oven. Also return bacon.
9.
Add salt and pepper. The sauce will reduce, so go lighter on the
salt.
10. Add
one entire bottle of pinot noir. If liquid doesn’t cover the meat and veggie mixture, add up to one more cup from the
second bottle of wine. (There should
still be plenty of the second bottle to have with the meal. If worried, grab a third bottle! Can also add water or beef stock for extra
liquid.)
11. Turn
the oven down to 300 degrees. Cover the
stew. Simmer in the oven for two to three
hours. The wine/port sauce should be
reduced and thickened. If too much sauce
reduced, add more wine, beef stock, or water at any point, remembering water
may dilute the flavor more than wine or stock.
12. After
the two to three hours, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan on the
stove top. Sauté the mushrooms until begin
to caramelize. Add to the stew.
13. Melt
the last 2 tablespoons of butter. Add up
to 2 teaspoons of cornstarch; stir into a paste. If reduction sauce is very thick, use less
cornstarch. Add paste into stew.
14. Cook
in oven ten more minutes.
15. Serve! Can serve with corn bread (which is what I
did because I loved the oven going all day) or use the stove top to make a
creamy polenta. Could also boil or mash
potatoes for side dish, as well.
16. Pour
a glass of the wine used in the recipe for a natural marriage pairing…and
enjoy!
Fall may mean cooler
temperatures and beautiful scenery, but in my household, and for many where I
live, it means hunting! Using game meat
is a special treat that can be enjoyed on days when much time and joy can be
given to the cooking process.
Put on that wool
sweater and turn on the oven. Connect
with your inner chef using autumn’s recipes, which are great well into winter.
Enjoy the comfort food all season long.
