taste of the west - western recipes
Game Plans
We hunted up some of the best game recipes around from the pages of Fired Up! More Adventures and Recipes from Hudson’s on the Bend, recipesborn in Hudson’s on the Bend Restaurant in Austin, Texas owned by Jeff Blank. Known for his originality and creativity in the kitchen, Blank is an award-winning chef whose motto is “Let’s see how far they will drive to eat our food.” You won’t have to drive far to enjoy his eye-catching, expertly crafted cuisine.
Espresso Rubbed Venison with Jumbo Lump Crab In Chipotle Bock Beer Blanc Butter
Espresso Rub
½ cup espresso coffee, ground fine
2 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 pounds venison backstrap
- Combine all ingredients except the venison, and mix well.
- Rub the mixture on the venison 1 hour prior to smoking.
Smoking and Holding
2 quarts vegetable oil
Small 4-quart cooler/small ice chest that holds a 6-pack of sodas (Igloo Playmate)
Probe meat thermometer
Stovetop smoker
- Smoke the venison over high heat in the stovetop smoker until the internal temperature reaches 130 degrees. This will take approximately 15 to 18 minutes.
- In a saucepan, warm the oil to 140 degrees.
- Pour the warm oil into the 4-quart cooler.
- Submerge the venison into the oil. This will hold the backstrap at a perfect medium rare for hours
Shiner Boch Beer Blanc with Lime Chipotle Peppers and Blue Lump Crab
12 ounces jumbo lump crab (held for final assembly)
1 Shiner Bock beer (all bock beers work)
2 shallots, ¼-inch diced
2 cloves garlic, ¼-inch diced
2 chipotle peppers in adobe sauce
¼ cup fresh lime juice (3 limes)
¼ cup heavy cream
2 sticks of butter, room temperature, cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and pepper to taste
- Simmer, and reduce 12 ounces of bock beer to ¼ cup in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat
- Add shallots, garlic, chipotle peppers, and heavy cream. Simmer until it has reduced in volume by half.
- Add lime juice, and return to a simmer.
- Pour mixture into blender while very hot and puree.
- While pureeing, add the butter cubes, one at a time.
- Add salt to taste
- Hold in a thermal pitcher.
Assembly
- Warm the crab in a small saucepan with a little beer.
- Remove the venison from the warm oil.
- With paper towel, pat off excess oil from the tenderloin.
- Slice the tender into ½-inch pieces.
- Fan 3 pieces across each plate.
- Top with sauce and crab meat.
Serves 6 to 8
Variations: Elk, antelope, or beef backstraps
Timing: All must be done the day of service. The chipotle bock beer blanc can be done an hour prior to cooking of backstrap.
Garnish: Rosemary and begonias
Tools:
Blender
Smoker/stovetop smoker
Igloo Playmate cooler
5-quart saucepan
Mixing bowls
Chef’s knife
Boning knife
Probe thermometer
Thermal pitcher
Saucepan
Wild Lolli-Chop Salad Atop a Macadamia Lemon Honey Dressing
Spicy Oriental Shellac
Like many of our sauces, you will have some left over. It is great on anything you might be grilling, including fish shrimp, or poultry. You can refrigerate any extra sauce for two weeks.
1 cup rice wine
2 tablespoons red chili flakes
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup hoisin sauce*
1 cup tomato paste
¼ cup fish sauce*
¼ cup shallots, minced
¼ cup garlic, minced
2 cups dark brown sugar
Sea salt to taste
1 stick butter, ½-inch cubes
*These are found in the Asian aisle of you grocery store.
- Simmer rice wine with the garlic, shallots, and chili flakes for 10 minutes over medium heat.
- Add all remaining ingredients except the butter.
- Simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, and whisk in the butter.
- Hold warm while you grill the chops.
Lemon Honey Macadamia Nut Oil Vinaigette
This a simple, zesty, and healthy dressing that is made in the blender. Macadamia nut oil has a mild nutty flavor and is high in monosaturates, which is very heart healthy. It can be found in health minded grocery stores or on the Web at www.macnutoil.com. This oil is great for frying! Its smoking point is 410o F.
½ cup fresh lemon juice
Zest from 3 lemons
½ cup honey
½ cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon shallots, rough chop
1 whole egg
1 cup macadamia nut oil
Salt to taste (1/2 tablespoon)
- Set the nut oil aside.
- Combine all the other ingredients in a blender, and puree.
- In a slow and steady stream, add the macadamia nut oil.
- Hold in refrigerator until the final assembly.
Salad
3 heads Boston lettuce
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 Granny Smith apple, julienned and reserved for garnish
1 cup toasted macadamia nuts, reserved for garnish
1 cucumber, sliced in wheels
1 red onion, slice in rings
- Wash the lettuce, and tear into bite-size pieces.
- Add the tomatoes, cucumber, and onion.
- Toss together in a large bowl.
- Add the vinaigrette dressing.
- Toss.
- Refrigerate while you grill chops.
Grilling
6 wild boar chops
6 lamb shops
6 venison chops
Sea salt and pepper
(Any combination of chops will work. If you prefer to stick with one type of meat, that is okay.)
- Season each chop with sea salt and pepper before grilling.
- Grill over a hot wood fire. We like to serve 3 chops (whatever variety you choose) per person.
- The chop needs only 3 minutes on each side over the hot fire to cook.
Assembly
- Place salad on a plate.
- Dip the chops in the spicy Oriental Shellac.
- Place the chops on the salad.
- Garnish with apple juliennes and macadamia nuts.
Variations: A variety of all game chops, from antelope to wild boar to venison, anything you can hunt down. Lamb shops are perfect for a springtime Sunday brunch.
Timing: Oriental Shellac can be made the day before The dressing can be prepared 2 hours in advance.
Garnish: Nuts ’n apples
Tools:
Wood-fired grill
Blender
5-quart saucepot
Chef’s knife
Paring knife
Whisk
Grilled Duck Breast Shingled with Seared Scallops In a Cranberry Chipotle Port Sauce
Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup shallots, minced
1 cup ginger, minced
1 cup raspberry vinegar
1 cup dark brown sugar
3 cups port wine
3 oranges, juice and zest
3 cups veal stock, reduced
2 cups fresh cranberries (frozen is acceptable if fresh is ot in season)
2 chipotle peppers en adobo sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
- Saute shallots and ginger in butter until they are soft.
- Deglaze the shallots and ginger with the raspberry vinegar
- Add the brown sugar, and over high heat, reduce the liquid to a syrupy consistency.
- Add the port wine, and over medium-high heat, reduce the liquid by half.
- Add the remaining ingredients, except the dried cranberries, and cook and reduce over medium-high heat until you have a sauce consistency.
- Strain through a sieve.
- Add the dried cranberries, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
Duck
1 dead duck, deboned and defeathered, unless you prefer the roughage of bones and the fluffy taste of feathers. (Or go to your butcher counter, and buy duck breasts.)
Salt and pepper
- Season the dick breasts liberally with salt and pepper.
- Place on the grill. Over a hot, hardwood fire, grill with the skin side facing down first.
- We like our duck medium to medium-rare, internal degrees about 135.
- Hold the duck breasts in a warm spot while you are preparing the scallops.
Scallops
16 U-10 sea scallops (U-10 means less than 10 scallops per pound)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt
- Liberally salt the sea scallops.
- Heat a large sauté pan with the extra virgin olive oil.
- Cook the scallops for approximately 3 minutes on each side. You should have a nice brown caramelization on both sides. We like ours a little underdone in the center.
Assembly
- Slice the duck breasts with your chef’s knife, leaning on a 45-degree angle. Slice the breasts into 6 even slice.
- Lay the scallops on their side, and slice them into 3 equal size slices.
- Layer, or shingle the scallops between each slice of duck.
- Finish with a ladle of 2 to 3 ounces of the chipotle port sauce.
Serves 8
Variations: The duck breast could be replace with pork tenders if you are unable to get your hands on duck breasts.
Timing: The sauce can be made 24 hours in advance. The duck and scallops must be prepared just prior to serving.
Garnish: Dried cranberries
Tools:
Grill
Sieve
Tongs
Ladle
Saucepan
Whisk
Sharp knife
Zester
12-inch skillet |
