Great Venison Cooking

Posts Tagged ‘flank steak’

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.

Some people turn to meatloaf, mashed potatoes, or mac and cheese when they want comfort food. I turn to pad thai. I love the peanut sauce and noodles. Every time a new Thai place opens (and they seem to open all the time here in Northern Virginia), I have to go and try the pad thai. I’m lucky to have two places within walking distance that have a stellar version. What they don’t have is a venison version. Who does? To my knowledge, deer aren’t common in Thailand. Did that stop my from making a venison pad thai? Never!

The venison is actually very nice in this dish. I think the meat is lean enough so work well with the fat in peanut sauce—beef would probably be way too heavy in this. The venison meat, however, was lovely.

One of the few ways I can get Rick to eat leafy green vegetables is if I put them in a stir fry. Come to think of it, that’s pretty much the only way he’ll eat greens! I found myself with some bok choy and broccoli on hand, so I thought I’d try a venison stir fry. The result was delicious, although my kitchen was a mess.