Oh, Deer!

So, my neighbor gifted me with 5 lbs of ground venison this Christmas. SCORE! I love game meats. Elk and caribou are my favorites followed by bison, moose, venison and antelope. I have tried alligator, bear, and kangaroo - wasn't too keen on those. Anyway, with the onset of colder weather, I decided to make some venison chopped steak for dinner. It was divine! Hubs is not big on game meat so I am happy to say the remaining 4 pounds are all MINE!

A couple of special steps were necessary for this recipe due to the natural leanness of venison. The first was to make a pomade to add fat to the meat. The second was using a good red wine to mellow out any gaminess in the meat. To accomplish this I mixed bread, wine, and a good amount of bacon fat into a paste and mixed that into the meat and let it sit overnight. I didn't originally intend to let it sit but life got in the way and I had to wait a day to cook this meal.

Chopped Venison Steak

1 lb ground venison
1-2 slices stale white bread (I used and old hot dog bun)
2-3 T good red wine (I used a cabernet)
3 T rendered bacon fat, softened to room temp
1 Tbs Penzey's Chicago Steak Seasoning
2-3 shakes worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp gravy master or kitchen bouquet
1 tsp dried shallots

1 - Mix bread, wine, and bacon fat into a paste (e.g. pomade)
2 - add pomade and remaining seasonings to meat mixture and incorporate into the ground venison thoroughly.
3 - Set aside or refrigerate overnight

4 - Oil and heat a cast iron skillet until hot
5 - Shape meat mixture into at least 4 hamburger steaks
6 - Add steaks to hot skillet and brown on each side
7 - Remove steaks from pan and set aside.
8 - Add 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic to pan and quickly saute
9 - Deglaze pan with a splash of red wine
10 - Return steaks to skillet and add 1-2 cups beef broth (or water + bouillon cube)
11 - add the following seasoning to the skillet:

1 bay leaf
2 juniper berries
1 pinch of thyme

12 - reduce heat, cover and simmer until cooked through.
Thicken sauce with a slurry of cornstarch and water to make a gravy. Enjoy

Day Late, Dollar Short

Atkins, South Beach, Keto all mean the same thing in my book - LOW CARB! I did the Atkins thing back when it was cool and I lost a TON of weight. Even managed to keep it off for a while BUT old habits die hard and eventually I gained it all back and then some. Now KETO is all the rage and to me it's all the same damn thing. I have been restricting my carb intake because I would like to lose weight but I am not killing myself over it. Pizza has always been the Achilles heel of these diets for me,,,, well that and pasta, and potatoes, and rice. OK I am the Carbo Queen! Anyway, I have been messing with low carb bread substitutes to try and make sticking to the low carb thing a little easier and I finally found something I think I like. I just made a pizza crust and I would not guess that is has cauliflower in it for one minute. The texture is bready and the flavor is not eggy!. It is a melding of cauliflower pizza crust recipe and fat head dough.Even my husband has proclaimed that it was something he could eat. That is really saying something, lol.

Low Carb Pizza Crust

1 1/2 C mozzarella Cheese, shredded
2T cream cheese
2 eggs
1 tsp ground psyllium husks and chia seeds
2 tsp prepared pesto
1 1/2C almond flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
2 Cups chopped cauliflower (cauliflower rice), steamed and dried

preheat over to 425F

Place mozzarella and cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted and combined
While cheeses are melting, beat eggs with psyllium/chia seeds and pesto
In the bowl of a stand mixer place almond flour, baking soda, salt and prepared cauliflower.
When cheeses are melted add to stand mixer bowl and mix on medium speed
Add eggs
Continue mixing until fully combined. Add more almond flour if mixture seems to wet.

Oil a foil lined baking sheet. Turn out mixture onto baking sheet and press out to desired thickness for pizza or shape into buns. Bake until golden (approx 12-15 minutes)

For pizza, allow to cool after first bake then top with desired pizza topping and bake again at 425F for 10-15 minutes

NOTE: I had bought the psyllium husks in an attempt at another low carb bread recipe that I did not like at all. I believe the brand was NOW and I got it on amazon. It wasn't cheap so I am glad to have found a use for the leftovers. I simply add equal parts whole chia seeds and the ground psyllium husks in a coffee grinder and spin them to make a fine powder.