Great Venison Cooking

Archive for the ‘Sauces and Salsas’ Category

this piloncillo comes wrapped in corn husks.

Any recipe that requires a visit to Bestway, my local Hispanic food market, is cause for excitement. I just love that market, full of interesting vegetables and condiments that can’t be found at any of the other six grocery stores within a mile of my house. This recipe comes from Natural Health magazine (April/May 2011, pg. 76) and the ingredient I was curious to find was piloncillo, which is a very unrefined brown sugar that comes in big blocks. I had to research what it even was before I could go to the store and know which aisle to look in (thank you Wikipedia). The store had a few varieties, but the store manager said the one wrapped in the corn husks was best, and I believed him.

Aside from the fun new ingredient I got to use, I was also drawn to the salsa that goes with the meat. I love Pico de Gallo and I love anything made with ginger. I was intrigued by the combination of ginger with the tomatillos and cilantro. The ginger gives the sauce a nice zing, which for me counter-balanced the heat of the serrano pepper in it. It’s a lovely salsa.

The magazine recipe calls for tuna steaks, which I switched out for venison steaks. I used a flank roast cut into 1-inch thick steaks. And since our grill is currently broken (very sad story), I broiled the steaks. I think the switch worked…very, very well.

Recipe: Venison Steaks with Cilantro-Ginger Salsa

Summary: tender venison meat with a zingy salsa perfect for spring evenings

Ingredients

1. 1 cup water
2. 1/4 cup piloncillo
3. 1 ancho chile
4. 3 tbs soy sauce
5. 3/4 cups water
6. 2 tbs rice vinegar
7. 1/2 tsp salt
8. 1/4 tsp pepper
9. 4 6-oz venison flank steaks (1-inch thick)
10. Cilantro-Ginger Pico de Gallo (recipe below)

Instructions

Marinate the venison flank steaks for at least 20 minutes.

1. Preheat broiler or grill.
2. In a small sauce pan, bring 1 cup water to boil. Add the piloncillo and ancho chile and boil until sugar is dissolved and chili is tender.
3. Let cool slightly, then blend in blender.
4. Stir in the soy sauce, 3/4 cup water, vinegar, salt, and pepper.
5. Place venison steaks in baking dish and cover with marinade. Let marinate for at least 20 minutes.
6. Place steaks on broiler pan and broil until medium, about 5 minutes per side.

Variations

This recipe originally called for tuna steaks, which would also be nice.

Cooking time (duration): 20

Number of servings (yield): 4

Meal type: dinner

This post is the first in many (I hope) to post in the Food Renegade Fight Back Friday blog. I’ve always been interested in sustainable food practices, but in the past few months I’ve been taking a more proactive stance in clean eating. Access to a steady supply of wild game and an organic garden where I can grow produce (I use the term “I” loosely…Rick does all of the hunting and gardening in our household. I do the cooking and eating) helps. So does sharing it with others.

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A good Pico de Gallo is an absolute must for most Mexican or Tex-Mex dishes. This recipe is easy to whip up and guaranteed to go fast (I often wonder why I never make a double batch, but I never learn).

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If you love store-brought picante sauce with your chips, this salsa recipe is very close. The tomato sauce and tomato paste give the picante sauce that rich tomato flavor. Picante sauce is more “saucy” than Pico de Gallo with much more tomato. This recipe is mild, so just add more jalapeno or habanero sauce if you need more kick!

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