First timers - Venison & Gazpacho

Since the wife had herself booked most of the weekend, I figured I would try a few new things in the kitchen.


Venison Burgers, Gazpacho & Plantains


#1 Venison Burgers - Over the last couple of years, as I've taken my what I eat more seriously, I have become very interested in knowing where my food comes from. This has lead me (whenever possible) to buy my food from as close to its source as possible; many times this means from farmer's markets and from co-ops, but there are also a few retail outfits that work very closely with their farmers, ranchers & fishermen. Staying close to the source means that your food is going to taste better & will last longer in your pantry - you also won't have to worry whether your tomatoes were 'processed' next to raw chicken.


So what does all of that ranting have to do with Venison? Glad you asked. I was recently fortunate enough to come along some free meat - my wife's cousin Johnny hunts & he offered me some of his bounty of Wild Boar and Venison. The best thing about all of this protein (other than being free & delicious) is that Johnny butchered all of the meat himself - meaning that no one except God, Johnny & me has touched this meat. When I was handed the ground Venison, I was informed that it contained no fat, so it wouldn't work for burgers - not without a little work anyway. So I began to look for some fat to augment the Venison into grillin' quality Burgers. I ran into some resistance trying to obtain beef fat from anyone, so I looked towards the fat of fats - bacon. I ended up trimming the bacon of all its meat & finely chopped all of the remaining fat. I then mixed 85% meat to 15% fat, formed the patties and allowed them to rest for an hour. Grilled about 5-6 minutes per side & yummies.


#2 Gazpacho - Ever since summer began I have had the taste for a nice Gazpacho. This cold tomato soup is quite refreshing on a hot summer day, plus it is very healthy and extremely easy to make. All you do is take the list of ingredients below, puree and chill in the fridge for at least two hours. You can omit or replace any of the spices as you see fit or feel free to replace the sherry vinegar with any other vinegar you fancy (except for white vinegar, it is only good for cleaning windows). As for a garnish, you could go a couple of different ways. I had it twice Sunday, once with some garlic fried plantains (method below) and another time with an Avocado-Corn Salsa. You could also serve it as a sauce under some grilled shrimp, or simply sprinkle a little herbs on top (like parsley, cilantro or chives to name a few).


#3 Plantains, I love these things whenever I get Puerto Rican food, so when I saw some at the local mega-mart, I grabbed one. I had trouble smashing the bastards, so I ended up dicing them. I then browned them in some garlic oil, seasoned them with salt and pepper & garnished them with a little chopped roasted garlic.


[To make the garlic & garlic oil, simply roast 2 cloves of garlic (still in their husks) in enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a pan until browned. Remove the Garlic and use the oil for sauteeing. Let the garlic cool before handling.]


Gazpacho:

1-1/2 lbs. Tomatoes (peeled, cored, seeded & diced - liquid reserved)

1 large Cucumber (seeded, peeled & diced)

1 medium Red Pepper (seeded, ribbed & diced)

1 small onion (diced)

1 Jalapeno (seeded and diced)

2 cloves Garlic (minced)

3 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Juice of 1/2 Lime

2 tsp. Sherry Vinegar

2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1/2 tsp. Sweet Paprika

1/2 tsp. Coriander

1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

salt & pepper




Venison Burger photo by DROOO