Oh no, I am married to a butcher! He loves red meat and lots of it. To the vexation of others, he even hunts during the winter, and yes, we eat the resulting venison. Oh no, the horror! This is a picture of ground venison to the left. You can imagine now why I am devouring Tara Austen Weaver’s new book, “The Butcher and The Vegetarian”. I recommend it if you are trying to gain some perspective on the “eating read meat” dilemma.
I am so tired of the health arguments between the eating camps. While we are arguing, millions of children are gaining weight. We have an obesity epidemic that is going to explode on our healthcare system and affect the quality of life for millions of people. So can we agree that we need to support, in a community way, our brother's and sister's that eat meat and work to educate them that they should ONLY chose ethically raised meat? Can we put our foot down on diet soda and push diets rich in fruits and vegetables? These are just a few example of healthy ways we can change our culture. So onto the fun.
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I am going to share with you a venison recipe for Shepherd’s Pie. I chose venison because we eat the meat of hunting season and because I love its clean non-greasy taste. Venison can be ground, just like ground hamburger for stews and soups. I took two pounds of ground venison to make a memorable meat dish.
Ingredients:
2 lbs of venison (ground)
3 T of butter
1 white onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks or ribs of celery, chopped
1 can of sodium reduced white corn
1 can of early peas
1 cup of mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 T of tomato paste
½ cup of vegetable stock
2 T of Parmesan cheese-shredded
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Mashed Potatoes
4 lbs of mashed potatoes prepared according to your favorite recipe
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Make mashed potatoes, set aside
In a frying pan, melt the butter
Add the minced garlic
Sauté for two minutes over medium heat
Add the onions, carrots, and celery
Continue to sauté for 7-10 minutes. (I like vegetables crunchy so I may go shorter here)
Salt and pepper to taste
Add tomato paste and stir over heat until well mixed
Add ground meat and vegetable stock
Cook for 10 minutes or so until meat is browned don all sides
(Using a wooden spoon, break meat into small pieces and brown thoroughly)
Spoon meat mixture into a 13 x 9 pan
Cover with mashed potatoes
Use a fork to make peaks of potatoes
Sprinkle cheese on top with a couple pads of butter.
Cook for 40 minutes until it bubbles!
Serve with chopped salad and hot sauce.
I do not suggest that you substitute the venison with ground beef. If you must, make sure to brown the meat separately with the garlic so you can drain the grease before then adding the vegetables to sauté.
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