This is a delicious rabbit casserole, cooked in red wine with pearl onions and mushrooms. Just like most casseroles, this benefits from being prepared the night before, cooled and then reheated when needed.

2 lb rabbit cut into 8 pieces

4 tbsp all purpose flour

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter

4 oz fatty beef bacon (or pork, which I dont eat) cut into strips

1 lb pearl onions peeled

2 1/2 cups red wine

2 cloves of garlic crushed

1 bouquet garni

1 lb white mushrooms halved

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put flour in plastic bag and season the rabbit with salt and pepper, then add to bag with the flour and coat evenly. Heat the oil and butter in a casserole dish and cook the rabbit over medium high heat for about 5 minutes or until browned. You may need to do this in 2 batches, if so, remove 1st batch of rabbit from heat and keep warm. Add the bacon to the pan and cook for about 4 minutes or until slightly crisp, remove and keep warm.

Add onions to the pan and cook over high heat for 4-5 minutes until they begin to brown. Pour in the wine and stir well to remove any sediment from the bottom of the pan.

Return the bacon and rabbit to the pan and add the garlic and bouquet garni, then bring to a boil, cover and place in the center of a preheated oven for 1 1/4 hours.

Add the mushrooms and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Discard the bouquet garni, remove the rabbit pieces, bacon, onions and mushrooms with a slotted spoon, and put them into a serving dish.

Put the pan back on a burner and bring to a rapid boil to thicken the sauce, then pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. Serve with some crusty baguette and Bon Appetit.

Pan Seared Venison Steak with Pineapple Ginger Sauce & served over Arugala Salad

I live in NYC, a place that has maybe the most diverse food scene in the world. Here I have tried a wide range of food from different countries and cultures. When it comes to food I have a pretty open mind and I am willing to try most cuisines (I do have my exceptions, which you’ll learn soon enough on this blog). Wild game is one of the only cuisines you don’t stumble upon everyday, even in the Big Apple. I am not saying you can’t find it here. Restaurants such as The Waterfront Alehouse (which I reviewed here), Jean-Georges in Manhattan, and Henry’s End in Brooklyn Heights, which has a “wild game festival”, are just a few I know of.

Most people up here in the north won’t eat anything other than beef, pork, chicken and fish. Two years ago I stumbled upon this website http://www.fossilfarms.com that had almost every type of game meat. I made a mental note to order from them, but it slipped back into the dungeons of my busy brain. A few weeks ago I visited the website and was overjoyed to find that they opened a factory store right in New Jersey. The only catch was that it was a one hour and fifteen minute drive from my home(yikes!). So my girlfriend and I decided to make a day of it and hit a shopping mall and have lunch at Joe’s Crab Shack (yummy).

When we arrived I was not disappointed, the freezers were stocked with everything: alligator, antelope, buffalo, elk, ostrich, kobe beef, fois gras and the list goes on. I opted to buy quite a few of these meats since I’m such a daring cook and not afraid to try new things. In the future I will bring these dishes to you, so stay tuned! But tonight we cook elk which is a naturally lean alternative to mainstream meats, very low in fat and cholesterol. Elk is referred to as “Red Deer” and is very similar to beef, although it has yet to be generally accepted in steak houses and restaurants. Supermarkets are also reluctant to stock up on elk meat. It’s often served as a rare exotic dish and is mostly popular among meat lovers. The elk from Fossil Farms is all natural and never fed any growth hormones, steroids or antibiotics. The taste of it was savory, and the flavor was pretty close to venison but slightly more “gamey” — although my raspberry wine sauce quickly tamed it! I braised carrots and asparagus in kobe beef stock and served it all up with wild rice. Yummy dish!

Elk Tenderloin with Raspberry Wine Sauce

Antelope Burger with Pineapple/Ginger Sauce

“Gamey” flavor just refers to the wild taste that game, like deer or elk, has. It is a stronger, tangy, earthy flavor that is very difficult to describe if you haven’t tasted it. Although wild game is lower in fat than grocery store meat, that doesn’t make it taste gamey. Also, although wild game tends to be tougher, because the animals get more exercise, that doesn’t make it taste gamey either. Gamey flavor comes from the fact that the animals in the wild eat a very varied diet of weeds, acorns, wood bark, etc. This flavors the meat distinctively. Since we are used to eating meat that is grain fed, which has a much milder flavor. Game meat tastes strange to us now.

Watch for future game meat coming from Gourmet De-Constructed. If you’re interested in purchasing wild game from Fossil Farms you can visit the website if you are in the tri-state area take a drive into New Jersey. They are located at 81 Fulton St., Boonton, NJ.

Venison Cutlets with Cranberry/Merlot sauce, Fingerling Potatoes Roasted in Thyme & Rendered Duck fat

It’s November, and as we prepare for Thanksgiving here in NYC I wanted to cook something different with a holiday twist. Growing up, Thanksgiving in my home was a big event, with my grandmother pulling out her cape and being a “superwoman” in the kitchen as usual. Turkey, mac & cheese, greens, yams, cakes, and sweet potato pies, which she always made too many of every year. Occasionally she would make a ham (which I did not partake in), or a roast beef. We generally think of Thanksgiving as a uniquely American holiday, but there’s actually a long tradition of harvest-time celebrations and thanksgiving celebrations around the world. In Canada, Thanksgiving Day occurring on the second Monday in October, is an annual Canadian holiday to give thanks at the close of the harvest season. In the West African country of Liberia, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the first Thursday of November. You can also find celebrations in a number of other countries such as Grenada, Netherlands, and parts of Australia , such as Norfolk Island. The actual type of celebration may vary, but one thing that’s universal with all of the celebrations is food!

This week I want to give you a few ideas of different types of dishes to add to your menu for this holiday season. Today we will do a venison meatloaf w/cranberries and a bourbon/walnut sweet potato mash. This dish is sure to be a hit as a side addition to your holiday feast. I mean, the ingredients themselves spell harvest season. Most people add pork to the venison meatloaf, since the meat is so lean. I decided to add some ground chuck beef instead as I don’t eat pork. Add the bourbon sweet potato mash and the veggie of your choice (I roasted brussells sprouts), and you will have everyone clamoring for more and more! I hope you all enjoy my pre-Thanksgiving creation! 🙂

venison meatloaf w/cranberries and bourbon/walnut sweet potato mash

venison meatloaf w/cranberries and bourbon/walnut sweet potato mash

Bourbon sweet potato mash:
4 pounds of baked sweet potatoes
1/2 cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons (3/4 cup) butter
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons bourbon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Roast potatoes on rimmed baking sheet until tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Cool slightly. Scoop flesh into large bowl; discard skins. Mash hot potatoes until coarse puree forms.

Heat cream and butter in heavy small saucepan over low heat until butter melts, stirring occasionally. Gradually stir hot cream mixture into hot potatoes. Stir in syrup, bourbon, and all spices. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with walnuts.

Venison meatloaf:

1 1/2 pounds of ground venison
1/2 pound of ground chuck beef
1 tbs olive oil
1 large chopped shallot
1/2 cup of oats
3 garlic cloves minced
1/2 cup of dried cranberries
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
3 large eggs beaten
2 tablespoons of tomato paste

Heat olive oil in a pan and saute garlic and shallots until soft but not brown, remove from heat and allow to cool. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and in a separate bowl mix eggs, salt, pepper, allspice, and celery salt  together and whisk well. Knead the venison, beef, oats, and cranberries together without over-mixing, which will make your loaf tough. Add the egg mixture and garlic and shallots to the venison and continue to knead gently until well mixed. Form your loaf and place in a meatloaf pan, I don’t have a meatloaf pan so I used a large casserole dish. Spread very thin even layer of the tomato paste over the top and bake for 1 hour or until oven thermometer reads 160 degrees F. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, slice and serve with bourbon sweet potatoes. Bon Appetit!

Mozzarella Stuffed Elk Meatballs in a Chilean Red Wine & Tomato Sauce

After trying out elk meat last month and loving it, I decided to give it another shot, this time with ground elk. I love to cook meatballs when I have any type of ground meat. Earlier this month I gave you North African venison meatballs and Piedmontese meatballs, so I wondered what can I do differently with this meat? Hey, why not stuff them! So with that idea, off to the market for some fresh ingredients.

Instead of traditional Italian tomato sauce, I had a bottle of a very dry, full bodied Chilean Cabernet Sauvingon along with some fresh vine tomatoes to form my base. I also decided to make very large meatballs (2 1/2 inches) so I could stuff them with plenty of fresh mozarella cheese. In the end, the meal had intense and interesting flavors, and I will try this again very soon, perhaps with another type of meat. Enjoy!

1 -½ lbs ground elk
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium white onion diced
3 garlic cloves diced
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 sprig fresh rosemary
4 slices white bread crust removed
1/2 cup milk
1 egg beaten
½ cup fresh grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
Mozzarella cheese rolled into small balls (maybe the size of a large cherry)
6 fresh vine tomatoes, diced
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
½ cup dry red wine of your choice

DIRECTIONS
1) Heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil in cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add diced white onion and 3 diced garlic cloves. Cook until onions are soft and translucent, add thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper and then remove from heat. Set aside to cool.

2) In a separate bowl tear bread into small pieces and soak in milk for 5 minutes. Drain the milk from bread by squeezing it out and place bread in another bowl. Add elk meat, egg, parmigiano-reggiano, and onion mixture and mix together with your hands.

3) Begin to form meatballs, being sure to add a mozzarella cheese ball in the center of each meatball. The meatball sizes are up to you. You can make them small, medium or large depending on how you want to serve this dish up. Place meatballs on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour.

4) Add remaining oil to cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Place each meatball into skillet and cook on all sides. Remove meatballs from pan when browned.

5) Add ½ cup dry red wine to skillet to deglaze pan. Add tomatoes and ¼ cup fresh chopped basil. Bring sauce to a simmer, add meatballs and reduce heat to low. Continue to simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.

6) Serve alone or with the pasta of your choice and garnish with basil.

As we move along into the month of September in which I have featured quite a few wild game dishes, I got together with fellow Chef Jim Takacs and we decided to do a dinner party. But this was no normal dinner party because it was going to have a few interesting items on the menu. I thought the idea of doing something a little different would be fun. And since I still have a couple of products left over  from my Fossil Farms trip, I was more than ready to get it rocking in the kitchen! So far I don’t think I have cooked anything extreme for you. I have done elk and deer meat which I don’t view as extreme game meat. But tonight I give you some thing different. Alligator.

Jim’s panko crusted quail

When most people I know here in NYC hear alligator meat, they cringe at the thought of eating it. It is viewed as a scary monster-looking reptile that will eat a human in a heartbeat. While this may be true, humans make more meals out of gators than they of us (which is extremely rare). Farm raising alligators for food has been around since the early 20th century, and the meat has been consumed by humans for centuries, especially in southern cooking. Now I know that so far I have not diminished the “ewwwww” factor yet in some of you, especially my daughter, but read on. Alligator meat actually looks and taste like chicken. I know you have heard this before but it is true. Alligator meat is lean, and is a more concentrated source of protein than some other meats. Like chicken, alligator meat is also low in fat and a good source of protein.

The dishes I chose for “game day” were North African venison meatballs, which can be viewed HERE, and Alligator Etoufee. I mean, you don’t get any more Cajun than alligator. On a trip to New Orleans, my girlfriend and I went on a swamp tour in the bayou and actually saw people out hunting gators in the wild (post is here). Actually this trip was the very first time I’d eaten gator meat, and I liked it. I must admit it was a dangerous move to attempt to cook a meat I’ve never prepared before for a bunch of people that I would meet for the first time. But after watching the Giants beat the Eagles and my beloved Yankees kick the crap out of the Red Sox, I knew the day was off to a good start.

Cant you just smell this food?

Upon arriving to the dinner everyone was antsy to get it started since I was late (as usual). I was pleasantly surprised by the courses that were on deck. The first dish was prepared by Adam which was a freshly grilled rabbit marinated with olive oil, garlic and rosemary and served with a polenta that had fresh pecorino romano cheese and grated zucchini, topped with a roasted tomato with garlic and fresh oregano. This was an absolutely great dish, and we were off to a good start. Next up was the alligator (fingers crossed), Swoosh! I nailed it, and it had just enough Cajun “kick” to wake up everyone’s taste buds. The meat was very tender and the Etoufee was very flavorful, totally Cajun! Next up Jim prepared panko crusted quail on ginger wasabi cole slaw and garnished with sriracha sauce, which I thought was a very clever and delicious dish. On to the venison meatballs that were definately a hit with its nice African flavors. Then Jim put out the last dish which was roasted shredded duck served with cashew butter and sorrano pepper jelly sandwich with an arugala, roast beet and fig salad. Yummy! Carol wrapped up the night with her delicious strawberry cheesecake. It was so good that I wish I had grabbed a slice to go. Overall all of the food was fantastic, I had a chance to catch up with a childhood friend (Whaddup Kim!), my NY teams ruled, and I ended my day happy. I wish every Sunday was this good. 🙂 Special thanks to Jim & Andrea for hosting, also Adam, Alyssa, Kim, Steve, Carol, and Jerry.

Update: My good friend Jim Takacs passed away on June 22 2018. I just want to express my deepest sympathies to his family and many friends. Rest in peace brother.

Adam also added rabbit sausage to this great dish

Carol’s cheesecake

Game Day!

I am no stranger to cooking African food; I actually love to cook it! The spices and fresh herbs combine to make any household smell like a restaurant. Lately I’ve been on a wild game kick as you’ve seen in my last post. But before I took that trip to Fossil Farms, a childhood friend of mine who goes hunting every season, gave me some of the deer he bagged on a trip (shout out to George Perkins). Venison is a meat that is mild tasting and similar to elk but less “gamey”. I have made venison in various ways because he gives me so many different cuts to be versatile with. For tonight’s dish we will use some ground venison which is much leaner than ground beef.

Venison meatballs are ready to go!

You might want to add venison to your diet if you are a meat eater because not only is it delicious, it is also a healthier alternative to the meats we normally eat. I did my research and found that venison, elk, and buffalo were probably the first red meats eaten by man/woman (after mastodons).Venison is not only low in fat and cholesterol, but high in vital nutrients like B vitamins, iron, and phosphorus. Venison is resistant to disease and does not live on a diet of antibiotics and steroids.

Deer are indigenous to North and South America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, which is the inspiration for tonight’s dish. Now I love African food because of the bold, flavorful spices and herbs that are common to the cuisine. The spices used in North African food resemble ingredients used in a variety of dishes from India and southeast Asia. Spices such as cumin, coriander, tumeric, and fresh herbs such as cilantro and ginger are used in most dishes. Some people I know steer clear of African food because they say it’s too spicy, but when you cook at home you can “tweak” it, and spice it to your taste. I like my African food with a kick (lol) so I go full speed ahead with the spices! I decided to cook North African meatballs  since i love venison and meatballs, I have cooked venison steaks and tenderloins before, but never ground venison.

Cant you just smell this food?

This dish was alive with flavors but yet it didn’t overpower the mild venison meat, which, by the way melted in my mouth. I served it up with a sundried Tomato and Lentil Cous Cous and there you have it, a North African dish made in Brooklyn! So overall, I think it was a great dish and I look forward to bringing you more of these fabulous dishes.Feel free to drop by and subscribe to this blog and request this recipe, Bon Appetit 🙂