Thursday, October 21, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Slow roasted venison: amazing!
I recently made a slow cooked 31/2 pound venison roast; it was roasted with a raisin/orange juice sauce that gave it a wonderfully sweet taste. There is enough of the raisin concoction to use as a condiment served with the meal, as well.
It cooked in the oven for over 4 hours, but, wow, was it worth the wait! I've had venison roasts often over the years, but rarely used them because I wasn't sure how to cook them; plus, some of my escapades with the cut were chewy and dry: Figured it out!!
The recipe is from a fantastic book by Shannon Hayes, called "The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook": Love this book! If you cook grass fed meats, I suggest you pick up a copy; every recipe seems better than the next.
As usual, I support grass fed (pastured) meats because of the incredible nutritional value; the support to local and small farmers; and the environmentally sound and more humane approach. Funny, but I just commented on an article written by a vegan who was bashing the organic poultry and meat farmers. The commercial organic farmers are guilty of all the crimes he suggested, but I brought up the need to let his readers know about pastured animals for the reasons I mentioned above.
Hope you try the recipe and the grass fed meats! Here's the recipe:
For the raisin sauce:
2 T unsalted butter
1 sm. onion, finely diced
1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced
2 c. raisins
1/3 c honey
2 c fresh orange juice
1/4 c fresh lemon juice
2 T orange zest
For the roast:
Oregano-Salt Rub
1 t dried rosemary
2 T dried oregano
2 t coarse salt
1 t freshly ground black pepper
1 venison raost, about 3 pounds
4 slices thick-cut bacon (also grass fed if possible)
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
To make the raisin sauce: Heat the butter in a medium-size saucepan. Add the onion and apple, and saute over medium heat until soft. Add the raisins, and saute 1 minute longer. Stir in the honey and the orange and lemon juices. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer. Cook until the sauce is reduced by one-third. Add the zest, and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes longer.
Using a potato masher, squash half of the fruit to blend it with the liquid. Remove 3/4 cup of the sauce ot use for basting the roast. Reserve the rest to serve alongside the cooked meat.
Rub the Oregano-Salt Rub into the meat. Lay the strips of bacon on top of the roast, blanketing it as completely as possible. Set the meat on a rack in a roasting pan. roast for 30 minutes at 250 degrees, basting at least twice with the raisin sauce. Turn the heat down to 170 degrees, insert a meat thermometer, and cook until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 130-135 degrees, about 3-4 hours. Baste every 30 minutes with the raisin sauce.
Remove the roast from the oven, and tent loosely with foil. Allow the meat to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before carving. Spoon any pan juices on top of the sliced venson adn bacon, and pass the reserved raisin sauce seperately.
Enjoy!
It cooked in the oven for over 4 hours, but, wow, was it worth the wait! I've had venison roasts often over the years, but rarely used them because I wasn't sure how to cook them; plus, some of my escapades with the cut were chewy and dry: Figured it out!!
The recipe is from a fantastic book by Shannon Hayes, called "The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook": Love this book! If you cook grass fed meats, I suggest you pick up a copy; every recipe seems better than the next.
As usual, I support grass fed (pastured) meats because of the incredible nutritional value; the support to local and small farmers; and the environmentally sound and more humane approach. Funny, but I just commented on an article written by a vegan who was bashing the organic poultry and meat farmers. The commercial organic farmers are guilty of all the crimes he suggested, but I brought up the need to let his readers know about pastured animals for the reasons I mentioned above.
Hope you try the recipe and the grass fed meats! Here's the recipe:
For the raisin sauce:
2 T unsalted butter
1 sm. onion, finely diced
1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced
2 c. raisins
1/3 c honey
2 c fresh orange juice
1/4 c fresh lemon juice
2 T orange zest
For the roast:
Oregano-Salt Rub
1 t dried rosemary
2 T dried oregano
2 t coarse salt
1 t freshly ground black pepper
1 venison raost, about 3 pounds
4 slices thick-cut bacon (also grass fed if possible)
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
To make the raisin sauce: Heat the butter in a medium-size saucepan. Add the onion and apple, and saute over medium heat until soft. Add the raisins, and saute 1 minute longer. Stir in the honey and the orange and lemon juices. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer. Cook until the sauce is reduced by one-third. Add the zest, and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes longer.
Using a potato masher, squash half of the fruit to blend it with the liquid. Remove 3/4 cup of the sauce ot use for basting the roast. Reserve the rest to serve alongside the cooked meat.
Rub the Oregano-Salt Rub into the meat. Lay the strips of bacon on top of the roast, blanketing it as completely as possible. Set the meat on a rack in a roasting pan. roast for 30 minutes at 250 degrees, basting at least twice with the raisin sauce. Turn the heat down to 170 degrees, insert a meat thermometer, and cook until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 130-135 degrees, about 3-4 hours. Baste every 30 minutes with the raisin sauce.
Remove the roast from the oven, and tent loosely with foil. Allow the meat to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before carving. Spoon any pan juices on top of the sliced venson adn bacon, and pass the reserved raisin sauce seperately.
Enjoy!
Friday, October 8, 2010
Colbert Report on Raw Milk: great parody with some truth!
The Colbert Report on raw milk is well done! It makes a joke out of a raw milk raid recently in California. My guess, however, is that no one doing the parody actually knows about raw milk's true benefits. It's possible that the jokes about the possiblity of illness from raw milk was used to balance out the piece; I would have preferred if they asked the FDA to show them documentation of those illnesses that they claim is the reason for protecting the public from this health food.
It is a positive thing, though, to see a parody done on the topic. This is definitely a testament to the fact that the issue of raw milk and the FDA harrassment is making people pay attention. There was also an article this month in Time magazine.
I have said it before, and I am not alone in this thought, but this is a real issue of our freedom. Food freedom is our right, and protecting that right starts with voting! It also involves making healthy choices, and supporting small farmers. Now, I think I'll down a large glass of cold grass fed raw milk---and draw the shades before I do so.
It is a positive thing, though, to see a parody done on the topic. This is definitely a testament to the fact that the issue of raw milk and the FDA harrassment is making people pay attention. There was also an article this month in Time magazine.
I have said it before, and I am not alone in this thought, but this is a real issue of our freedom. Food freedom is our right, and protecting that right starts with voting! It also involves making healthy choices, and supporting small farmers. Now, I think I'll down a large glass of cold grass fed raw milk---and draw the shades before I do so.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Nutrition course for teens
I'm absolutely signing up for this course on teaching teens (I have two...well, one's a tween) nutrition. It's not that I don't, somehow, interject my beliefs on nutrition, at least once a day; or show them how to cook something to make it more nutritous, but this course is seperate from me. Yeah, and sometimes kids learn differently from others than they do from Mom: "Mom says that all the time", is an anthem running through their heads, but not necessarily a deep learned skill. Even homeschooled children are sent to other parent's homes for that very reason.
It's also good to support others who are spreading this most vital message to our children: Our children will be the teachers, mothers, and lawmakers one day. Information about real food, butter, healthy animal fats, pasture raised animals; and packing your body with nutrient dense foods before having children, once you are pregnant and while you nurse, are skills for life. Teaching this information now may produce a different outcome for your children's children--basically, your grandchildren!
Hope you'll give it a look! Thanks for reading.
It's also good to support others who are spreading this most vital message to our children: Our children will be the teachers, mothers, and lawmakers one day. Information about real food, butter, healthy animal fats, pasture raised animals; and packing your body with nutrient dense foods before having children, once you are pregnant and while you nurse, are skills for life. Teaching this information now may produce a different outcome for your children's children--basically, your grandchildren!
Hope you'll give it a look! Thanks for reading.
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