Episode 76: Game

Braised Venison Shanks
Musk Ox and Wild Berry Casserole
Musk Ox Scaloppini
Rabbit Phyllo Spring Rolls
Hunter Chutney

BRAISED VENISON SHANKS
 4 Venison shanks
3 cups fruit wood chips, apple or cherry
750 milliliters of Pelee Island Cabernet/Merlot red wine (1 bottle)
8 tomatoes, peeled with seeds removed
2 cups demi glace (500 milliliters)
2 cinnamon sticks
2 teaspoons allspice (10 milliliters)
2 fresh bay leaves

Preparation time is 1 hour with 3 ½ hours cooking time
Ease of preparation is moderate
Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit

Place the wood chips in the bottom of a roasting pan. Put a rack on top and then place the venison shanks on top of this. Place in the 300 degree oven for 40 minutes to lightly smoke or place the pan on the stove top, covered with tin foil, over a low heat.

Meanwhile peel the tomatoes by cutting a shallow ‘X’ at the top of each tomato and dropping them into a bowl of boiling water for a moment. Refresh under cold water and peel away the skins.

Take the smoked venison shanks from the oven. Remove the wood chips and add the red wine, tomatoes, demi glace, cinnamon sticks, allspice, and fresh bay leaves. Cover with a tent of tin foil and return to the oven. The venison is cooked when it is fork tender, about 3 ½ hours at 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Yield: 4 servings
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MUSK OX AND WILD BERRY CASSEROLE
2 tablespoons canola oil (30 milliliters)
2 onions, diced
salt and pepper
1 kilogram musk ox shoulder cubes (2 pounds)
3 parsnips, roughly chopped
3 carrots, roughly chopped
12 shallots, peeled and whole
750 milliliters of Pelee Island Pinot Noir red wine (1 bottle)
2 cups demi glace (500 milliliters)
2 cups wild berries (cloudberries, blackberries, Saskatoon berries). If fresh not available, use a good compote. IKEA makes a great one.

Preparation time is 1 ½ hours
Ease of preparation is easy

Put the canola oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Sear the well-seasoned meat. Remove the meat from the pan and Add the onions and allow to seal for a couple of minutes or until they begin to caramelize. Add the seasoned musk ox pieces. Seal the meat by browning it. Add the red wine, parsnips, carrots, shallots and simmer until tender, about 45 minutes.

Add 3 tablespoons of the IKEA compote to the musk ox before serving.

Yield: 6 servings
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MUSK OX SCALOPPINI
4 escalope of musk ox, 80 to 100 grams each (3 to 4 ounces)
1 cup flour
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil (30 milliliters)
4 shallots, sliced
4 cups wild mushrooms, sliced
500 milliliters port (2 cups)

Preparation time is 25 minutes
Ease of preparation is easy

Place the escalope of musk ox between two layers of plastic wrap and pound until thin with a rolling pin or the bottom of a saucepan. Cover both sides of the scaloppini with well-seasoned flour. Put the olive oil in a pan over a high heat. Sear the scaloppini and remove from the pan and keep warm once browned.

Turn the heat down to medium and add the shallots. Once they begin to caramelize add the mushrooms and cook for about 2 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the port and allow to simmer for a couple of minutes. Serve on a plate with the port and mushroom sauce over the top.

Yield: 4 servings
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RABBIT PHYLLO SPRING ROLLS
1 whole 2 to 3 pound rabbit, cut into pieces
½ cup of Pelee Island Sauvignon Blanc white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large carrots, julienned
1 cup morel mushrooms, chopped
3 large cabbage leaves, shredded
5 green onions, chopped
1 sprig of thyme, leaves removed
2 juniper berries
24 6 inch squares of phyllo dough
salt and pepper

Preparation time is 45 minutes
Ease of preparation is moderate
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Season then sear the rabbit in the olive oil in a pan. Once it starts to brown, add the white wine, cover with tin foil and move to the oven to continue roasting. This should take about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and julienne the carrots. Blanch them in boiling, salted water for 20 seconds. Drain and refresh.

Chop the spring onions and the morel mushrooms. Crush the juniper berries under the flat blade of a knife. Sauté the mushrooms, green onions, juniper berries and thyme leaves in a pan together in just enough olive oil to prevent them burning. Shred the cabbage leaves and blanch in salted, boiling water for 20 seconds. Drain and refresh.

Once well roasted (you do not want this rabbit to be rare), remove from the oven. Allow to cool so that you can handle it. Remove the meat from the bones and shred into small pieces. Mix the meat with the shredded cabbage, mushroom and onion mix and the julienned carrots. Season with salt and pepper.

Take 12 squares of phyllo and brush lightly with oil. Place the remaining 12 on top of them. With the corner of the square facing you, place a heaped teaspoonful of the rabbit mixture across the centre of each square. Fold over the left and right of each square so that they overlap in the middle. Brush a bit of oil over the top half of the wrapper. Fold the bottom half up, then roll up tightly. The oil will seal the roll. Place on a lightly oiled baking tray.

Bake the rabbit spring rolls for 15 minutes or until golden brown and hot.

Serving: 12 rolls
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HUNTER CHUTNEY
4 large onions, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 slices of bacon, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, sliced

Preparation time is 40 minutes
Ease of preparation is easy

Put the onions in a pan with the olive oil. Sauté slowly over a low heat until the onions begin to caramelize, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, in another pan, sauté the bacon pieces and the mushrooms. Once the onions are browned, cut them up with some scissors to ensure that they are not long and stringy. Stir in the mushroom and bacon mixture. Serve warm with the rabbit spring rolls.

Yield: 6 servings
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Recipe Courtesy of Chef Michael Allemeier, Executive Chef at Teatro in Calgary, Alberta, Canada