Greek Veni Burgers

This is a really easy recipe that adds a new twist to your typical venison burger meat!

Burger Ingedients:
1 1/2 lbs ground venison
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup manzanilla olives, chopped or sliced
1/4 cup black olives, chopped or sliced
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 Egg (optional)
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper

Buns/Fixens:
4 sturdy burger buns or Kaiser rolls
4 large lettuce leaves
4 slices onion
8 strips of bacon
4 slices tomato

Instructions:
Combine ground venison with all burger ingredients and mix well (If the meat is really lean and has a hard time forming up, then either add an egg or additional fatty beef burger meat to the mixture). Anyway, form into 4 patties about 3/4-inch thick. Oil and butter a pan (preferably a circular pan) over medium heat. Once pan is hot, place the patties onto the pan and cook on each side about 4-5 minutes per side. While this is going on prepare and cook 8 slices of bacon. Then, place your burgers in buns with lettuce, tomato, onion, bacon and your choice of condiments!

Beverage of choice for this meal was... He'Brew's Rejewvenator *Harvest to harvest ale*! :tu

Swiss Venison and Southern Rice

This recipe rocks. The venison is amazing and so tender.

The meat and marinade:
2 – 4 venison round steaks
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup red wine
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon worth of garlic, minced

Mix all of that together in a bowl, making sure that it is mixed extremely well. Always trim and clean your meat, I don't care how good your butcher is, but you need to prep your meat. Take it out of the package, trim off all silver and fat and give it a good washing. Place the meat in a quart sized zip lock bag, then pour your marinade over it. Get as much of the air as you can out, then seal and place in the fridge for 4-8 hours.

Southern Rice:
1 cup of rice
1 can of corn
A good bunch of fresh cilantro
Lime juice
salt

Cook the rice like normal... when it is done, add a full can of corn, a good bunch of fresh cilantro (sloppy chopped), lime juice to your liking and then some salt to your liking! You can even add some diced up jalepeno's for a little kick. It goes absolutely perfect with any kind of BBQ'd meat, and it's even better if you add in some baked beans to the mix! Make sure to add a little lime juice then taste, then so on and so forth. You just want a hint of the lime.

BBQ the meat:
DON'T OVERCOOK THE MEAT! I cooked mine on high heat, about 1-2 minutes per side.

Enjoy!

Sorry for the horrible food pic.

Wild Duck Scaloppine

Scaloppine is a traditional Italian dish that typically consists of thinly sliced veal or chicken (as opposed to duck) that is then dredged in flour, sautéed, then heated and served with either a wine/tomato sauce or a piccata sauce, which denotes a caper and lemon sauce. I paraphrased that a bit, so don't think I made all that up on my own. Anyway, this recipe calls for a sauce that is more along the lines both the traditional piccata and the tomato/wine sauce. Regardless, this recipe boasts massive flavors that are both sweet and tangy... the capers and Italian seasoning create a stunning aroma and succulent flavor that is unique and unlike anything I've ever tasted before... This is a magnificent recipe for those weary about trying wild game and even the seasoned veteran hunters that want to try something new for a change. I give it 4 stars out of 4 and can almost guarantee your personal enjoyment of such a dish as long as it is prepared correctly. I paired it up with a fine Cabernet Sauvignon, which really balanced out the flavors and complimented this dish quite well. The green onion is just an obsession of mine. Anyway, without further ado...

Wild Duck Scaloppine

3 servings

6 duck breast halves, skin removed
salt and coarsely ground black pepper
2/3 cup all purpose flour
6 tablespoons butter, divided in half
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons FRESH lemon juice, don't go lazy here.
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry red wine (Preferably a dry Marsala)
1/4 cup beef broth
2 cups mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and drained (If you enjoy capers like I do, then feel free to add more)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (or substitute fresh herbs)
1 cup tomato, seeded, peeled and diced
warm, cooked pasta
shredded Parmesan cheese

Instructions
Place duck breasts between a zipper-lock bag and pound lightly until each piece is approximately 1/8-inch thick. Season with salt and pepper and press seasoning into the meat. Place flour in a shallow dish and dredge seasoned duck lightly in flour.

Heat half of the butter with the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add duck, a few pieces at a time, browning evenly on both sides – about 1 minute per side. DO NOT OVERCOOK THE DUCK. You want the meat to be pink on the inside in order to avoid chewiness. When cooked, transfer to a plate with paper towels to drain. Cover with foil and keep warm.

When all duck is browned, add lemon juice, garlic, wine and broth to pan. Stir to scrape bits and add mushroom, capers and Italian seasoning. Cook until liquid is reduced to 1/3 cup. Stir in remaining butter until melted. Stir in tomato.

Mound pasta on plates, arrange cooked duck over pasta and spoon sauce over. Top with Parmesan cheese.

*Credit is due to the gentleman at "huntfishcook.com" for creating this recipe*

Tato Bombs and Tri-Tip

I've known about potato bombs for quite some time as guys will post them up from time to time on a BBQ forum that I am a part of, but I've never made them, until now.

Simple, core the tatos!



Stuff, with whatever you dig. For us, diced canned jalepenos, green onions, bacon bits and cheddar. Then plug each end.



Butter, garlic salt, and crushed garlic... then wrap in foil.



Handle your meat.



On the Q, I prefer an indirect set up, 275-300.



Drink some drank!





Tatos will be done in about an hour give or take... I left these on for one hour and fifteen minutes and they were perfect. Tri Tip came off at an IT of 130 degrees.




Euphoria.

Ain't Your Momma's Mac N Cheese

INGREDIENTS
1 Box (16 oz.) Macaroni
1/2 Red Onion, Sliced and Diced
1 Package Spicy Pork Sausage (Or any pork sausage)
1 Package of Bacon
1/4 Cup butter, Sliced
2 1/2 Cups of Milk
16 oz Velveeta Jalapeno Cheese, sliced
2 Cups Pepperjack Cheese
1 Cup of Cheddar Cheese
1/4 Cup of Panko
2 Tablespoons of Flour

Directions:

1) If cooking in the oven, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. If cooking on a Weber or BBQ get your temps stabled out to the same.
2) Cook the macaroni Al Dente or according to the package, then set aside
3) While the mac is cooking, if you have not prepared/cooked the pork sausage ahead of time, then now would be a good time, as well as the bacon. Once you've cooked both the bacon and sausage, remove from them from their fat and grease and let em sit for a bit. After the bacon has cooled, dice up half of what you've got and add the diced up bits to the sausage along with the diced red onion.
4)  In a large sauce pan add the butter, milk, and Velveeta cheese. Heat until everything is melted, I like to keep stirring with a whisk throughout this entire process. In order to thicken up the cheese sauce you've just created, whisk in the flour. You can also mix in the bacon, sausage and onion mixture straight into the sauce at this time.
5) Mix sauce mixture in with pasta and add your pepperjack cheese.
6) Then place the pasta into a baking dish.
7) Top with panko, more bacon bits and cheddar cheese
8) Bake or BBQ/Smoke for about 20-30 minutes.
9) Enjoy :)

Particularly, I like this dish to compliment some good ol' BBQ, but it really is a tasty side that can go with just about anything.

American Sniper... Afterthoughts.

I just finished reading Chris Kyle's book, American Sniper. I guess I have a soft spot for SEAL's, because reading about the soldier's lost, the pain felt, and Mr. Kyle's firsthand experience of war, I found myself getting choked up a bit at times and even more so when I think about his recent death. I'm so far removed from his life and his family in one aspect, and in another aspect I can't be any closer as what he did over there, was in a lot of ways with me in mind, in fact with every American in mind. Soldier's follow orders, politics send them to war, but if you have any hatred for these men who are out there laying their lives on the line day to day for our Country, the words I have for you I cannot type. Every serviceman deserves honor and many thanks for having more courage and patriotism than most. Respect, not something typically demanded from any soldier I have ever met, but it is certainly due. You can be anti-politics all you want, curse those who made the decisions to send our guys over to fight a war on foreign ground, but direct that hatred to an American soldier for following orders and I'll take the position that you are less of a human. Less than an American. This country needs more patriots, respect the flag, respect your fellow man and give thanks to those who are actively fighting for our freedoms and those who have died trying. RIP Chris, and I do believe that God will have a special place for you up there.

Campin and Camp Cookin' Done Right

With waterfowl season officially coming to a close, it was time for our traditional weekend getaway at Lake New Hogan. My folks, family and friends have been making this trip on President's Weekend for about 8 or 9 years now, and it's always a relaxing and wonderful time while we're there. The temperature and weather can range from sunny and low 70's, to cold, rainy and low 40's. This trip, mother nature decided to spoil us with what all of us considered, perfect weather, which would be sunny and low 70's. Unlike years past, I never got the chance to wet a line in the lake, but that's not to say I did not have some fun. This trip, for me, was all about cooking/smokin', relaxing in my favorite camp chair and a good book. So much to share, so I'll let the photos do most of the talkin.

 

 Friday, after we set up camp, we decided to test our burger stuffers with some ground venison that I had. Stuffed with red onion, Monterrey jack cheese and avocado. These things are man burgers through and through and burger is a meal all in itself, maybe even two meals.

 

 

Saturday mornin'... My buddy/BBQ bro Chad wanted to try out his hand at making some Ziploc omelets, and that's exactly what we did. We fired up a big pot of water and brought it a boil and off we went. These were easy and quite tasty as well.

 

 

Saturday evenin'... Well, that was my time to shine. On the menu was pulled pork tacos, beans and macaroni salad. Rubbin a butt, always gets a good laugh, but that's exactly what you do.

 

With the butt rubbed, and the weber set up, I lit some coal. This is a typical indirect set up that I use. Meat goes over the water pans, I use fire bricks as a means to retain heat and set up a barrier. Cold coals (unlit coal) are laid down first, and then I add a few hot coals on top, a type of cook that is referred to as the minion method. Which allows the coals to gradually light over a duration of time, so essentially I get more bang for my buck and can cook for a really long time in stable temps. I also did not want to be watching a butt for 10-12 hours, so I used the "hot and fast" method, which is where you cook the butt at a target temp ranging between 325-350 degrees, once the internal temp of the butt gets to 150-160 you foil it, throw it back on till it is at about 190-200 or when it passes a fork test. This type of cook usually takes anywhere between 5-6 hours.

 

With the meat on, it was time to sit back with a cold one and read about a true American hero. I can't talk too much about Chris Kyle, because the thought about how that man was murdered makes my blood boil, but if you do not know who he was and what that man did for his Country, my Country. You should get yourself brought up to speed on the life he lived and the courageous efforts of his over in Iraq.

 

 

 

The results of my cook...

 

 

Later that evening we prepared some fatty's for breakfast the next mornin'. Much thanks to Jeanie cowgirlscountry.blogspot.com/ for showing me the ways of the fatty piston, because that thing flat out rocks and it is super easy to make. Anyway, here's how we did it.

 

 

Breakfast Sunday mornin'...

 

 

 

Sunday evenin'... Chad's cook and our version of Italian Pulled Beef Sandwiches!

 

Can't forget the ribeyes and sweet potatoes!

 

 

This meal, was amazing.

 

 

Chad also threw together a "Dump Cake", which basically means just that... he dumped some apple pie filling, and some white cake mix in a pan and we threw it on a weber. It tasted, sinfully good.

 



 



Other than food... we just had a good time doing what us country folk do! Sharing laughs, playing games and watching the dogs get into trouble.

 

 

That's a refined redneck for ya!

 

And the last sunrise we had the pleasure to watch out there...

 

 

Thanks for taking a look!