Stilton Cheese Venison Burger

 

Homemade Scottish venison burger with Stilton cheese

A cheeseburger comes in an increasing number of forms in modern times. All too often, however, the assemblies are not of the greatest quality, with fat oozing, greasy burgers making for soggy buns, stringy cheese and very little quality in terms of flavour or nourishment. The best way around this problem when you do have an inkling for a burger is of course to prepare it yourself. You may not of course have access to venison or be particularly fond of Stilton cheese, but a little bit of care and imagination can still help you create something many steps up from the mass produced, fast food offerings so readily available. And you will probably find that a homemade burger is a lot cheaper than a fast food one, as well as much better!

Cook Time

Prep time: 5 min

Cook time: 12 min

Ready in: 17 min

Yields: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 1 homemade venison burger, or quality venison burger from such as farm shop
• Vegetable oil for frying
• 2 or 3 slices of Stilton cheese, as required
• 3 cherry tomatoes, halved down through the core
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed or grated
• Pinch chilli powder (optional)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 soft burger bun, halved horizontally
• 3 or 4 thin slices from stem of spring/green onion

Method

Pour the extra virgin olive oil into a glass bowl and add the garlic and chilli powder. Season with salt and pepper and stir well. Add the tomato halves and carefully stir fold to ensure even covering in the marinade. Cover until required.

Homemade venison burger is put on to fry

Pour the vegetable oil into a small, non-stick frying pan and bring it up to a medium heat. Fry the venison burger over a medium heat for 5 minutes each side or until done as you like it.

When the burger is turned to fry on its second side, put your kitchen grill (broiler) on to preheat to its maximum setting.

Stilton cheese is laid on venison burger

When the burger still has a couple of minutes to cook, arrange the Stilton cheese slices carefully on top in a single but slightly overlapping layer. When the cooking time is up, turn the heat off under the pan and allow the cheese to complete melting in the residual heat for a further couple of minutes.

Venison cheeseburger on bun

Toast the cut sides of the bun under your grill and lay the halves on your serving plate, cut sides up. Lift the cheesy burger on to the bottom half of the bun with a spatula.

Marinated tomatoes and spring onion on venison burger

Lift the tomato halves from the marinade with a fork and arrange them on top of the cheese. Add the sliced spring onion last of all and close the bun over to serve.

Caviar and Scottish Cold Smoked Salmon Venison Burger

 

Venison burger with Scottish smoked salmon and caviar

Venison burgers are a fabulous, healthier and tastier alternative to the vast majority of fast food or supermarket bought burgers. They can be bought from farm shops or farmers' markets around Scotland and beyond - or, of course, made at home. The venison burger featured in this recipe had been homemade at an earlier date from minced (ground) venison and 15% beef fat as part of a batch and frozen for later use. The cold smoked salmon is of course Scottish and the caviar is budget friendly, lumpfish caviar, available from a wide variety of High Street supermarkets in modern times - though the more expensive varieties could of course be used instead for a special treat or occasion!

Cook Time

Prep time: 5 min

Cook time: 15 min

Ready in: 20 min

Yields: 1 serving

Ingredients

• Scottish venison quarter pounder
• Vegetable oil for frying
• 1 brioche bun (or bun of choice)
• Small handful baby spinach
• 3 strips/slices cold smoked Scottish salmon, or as required
• Generous teaspoon horseradish sauce
• Large spoon lumpfish caviar (or caviar of choice)*

*NB - It is vitally important that you never use a metal spoon when serving caviar. It should always be a dedicated mother of pearl caviar spoon, or alternatively, a plastic spoon may be used instead. Metal quickly oxidises and spoils caviar and is an absolute no-no. 

Method

Pour a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil into a small, non-stick frying pan and bring it up to a medium heat. The time that your burger takes to cook will of course vary considerably depending on size. This fairly thick and substantial burger (fully defrosted in fridge overnight) took about 6 or 7 minutes each side on a medium heat, turned only once.

Spinach is laid on toasted brioche bun

When the burger is almost ready, cut the brioche bun in half and toast the cut sides only under your kitchen grill (broiler) until golden. Wash the spinach, shake dry and lay on the bottom half of the bun.

Take the cooked burger from the pan and sit on kitchen paper on a plate for a minute or so to drain the excess oil/fat.

Smoked salmon is added to burger assembly

Lay the smoked salmon slices, slightly overlapping, on top of the spinach.

Horseradish sauce is added to smoked salmon

Spoon the horseradish sauce on to the cold smoked salmon and carefully smooth it out with the back of the spoon.

Venison burger is added to bun assembly

Carefully lift the venison burger on to the smoked salmon and spinach bed.

Caviar is spooned on to venison burger

Spoon the caviar on to the venison burger and gently spread it around. Sit the top of the bun lightly in place and serve immediately.

Venison and Mediterranean Vegetables Tagliatelle Pasta

 

Venison loin with tagliatelle pasta

Venison may not be the first meat we would think of to serve with pasta but, as this recipe will hopefully show, it works incredibly well if incorporated in the right fashion. The slow cooked meat becomes deliciously tender and serves as the perfect accompaniment to the al dente pasta and assorted fruit and vegetable selections.

Coarsely diced loin of venison

Cook Time

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 2 hours

Ready in: 2 hours 30 min

Yields: 1 serving

Venison pasta sundry ingredients

Ingredients

• 6 ounces (150g) venison loin, diced to 1 inch (2.5cm) chunks
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 pint (568ml) beef stock
• Nest of dried tagliatelle pasta (approximately 4 ounces/100g)
• 8 pitted black olives, halved down through core
• 4 sun dried tomato (jarred in olive oil) pieces, roughly chopped
• 2 medium chestnut mushrooms, wiped and sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced or chopped
• 2 teaspoons freshly chopped parsley

Browning venison in olive oil

Method

Pour the olive oil in to a medium saucepan and gently heat. Season the venison with salt and pepper and add to the warmed oil. Turn the heat up and stir with a wooden spoon for a couple of minutes until the meat is browned all over.

Venison is simmered in beef stock

Pour the beef stock in to the pot and bring to a simmer. Cover and continue to simmer as gently as possible for up to 2 hours until just tender. Check it frequently for liquid level and add a little more if necessary.

When the venison is done, lift from the stock with a slotted spoon to a separate plate, cover and allow to rest. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil and add the tagliatelle. Cook on a medium simmer for 7 to 8 minutes until cooked.

Prepared olives, tomatoes and mushrooms

Prepare the olives, tomatoes and mushrooms while the pasta is cooking.

Olives, tomatoes and mushrooms are gently sauteed

Drain the tagliatelle through a colander at your sink. Pour a little olive oil into the emptied pot and gently heat before adding the mushrooms, tomatoes and olives. Saute for a minute or two over  a medium heat, just to warm though and slightly soften the mushrooms.

Tagliatelle and venison are added to sauteed vegetables

Add the tagliatelle and the venison to the pot and very carefully stir fold for a couple of minutes to evenly combine and coat in oil.

Parsley is added to venison tagliatelle

Add the parsley to the pot, give a final, careful stir fold and plate for service.

Slow Cooked Roe Deer Venison Ribs

 

Roe deer venison ribs with spicy tomato dip

Ribs of many different types that have been cooked in a number of different ways represent a popular dish around the world. While the ribs served may more frequently be beef or even pork, venison ribs also make a very tasty finger food to be served at any meal time or family gathering. As a further change from convention, I have in this instance slow cooked them as opposed to roasting or barbecuing.

Inside (bony side) of venison ribs rack

Cook Time

Prep time: 45 min (including resting time for cooked ribs)

Cook time: 8 hours

Ready in: 8 hours 45 min

Yields: 2 servings

Outside (fleshy side) venison ribs rack

Ingredients

• 1 rack of roe deer ribs
• 2 medium carrots, washed, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 4 sticks celery, washed, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Black pepper
• Cold water as required 

Venison ribs and flavourings ready for cooking

Method

It is extremely likely that you will have to chop the rack of ribs in half in order to fit it into your slow cooker. With these smaller venison ribs, you should be able to do this with a large knife or cleaver and without the need for a bone saw. Simply sit the ribs upright on a hard surface with the pointed, curved bone edge down. Cut down between the middle two ribs until you hit the bottom bone. The two halves should then be able to be snapped/pulled apart by hand.

Put the ribs into your slow cooker with the vegetables and seasonings and pour in enough cold water until they are comfortably covered. Cook on a low setting for 8 hours.

Cooked roe deer venison ribs

When the ribs are done, lift them carefully from the slow cooker with a large spatula or cooking tongs to a deep plate. Cover and leave to cool and rest for a minimum half hour.

You can of course serve the ribs with any dipping sauce or accompaniments of your choice. The sauce I served in this instance was made from half a 14-ounce (400g) can of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice, 2 finely chopped birds' eyes chillies, 2 peeled and grated garlic cloves and some salt and pepper. Mix together in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Cover and allow to cool completely.

Venison ribs are cut for service

Lift the cooled and rested ribs to a chopping board. The large knife or cleaver you used earlier should be used to cut them into individual ribs.

Plated venison ribs ready for service

Divide the ribs between two serving plates. They should be served with the spicy sauce in ramekins and any other accompaniment of choice, such as the broccoli served in this instance.

Slow Cooked Roe Deer Venison Shoulder

 

Slow cooked venison shoulder with chilli and garlic mash

Venison is probably the King of Scottish Wild Game - at least of all the land-sourced varieties, anyway. The type of deer will vary from the large red deer to the small roe deer with several types in between but the delicious, rich, gamey flavour is present in all varieties. If venison does present one particular challenge when it comes to the cooking process, it is that the meat in many instances requires to be cooked long and slow in an appropriate fashion to avoid being served dry, tough and unpalatable.

Venison shank and shoulder are separated

In this instance, I had a whole roe deer foreleg in my freezer which I fully defrosted in my fridge over a thirty-six hour period. I then used a large chef's knife to separate the shank and the shoulder. The shank was used in a separate recipe in the preparation of venison broth.

Venison shoulder ready for slow cooking

Depending upon the size of the venison shoulder and your slow cooker, it may be that you can fit the shoulder whole into the cooking device. In this instance, it was not possible, so I had to separate the shoulder at the joint and place the two pieces separately into the chamber, along with half an onion, a teaspoon of dried thyme, salt, pepper and enough water to ensure the meat was comfortably covered. I then switched the slow cooker on to the low setting and cooked the shoulder for 8 hours.

Slow cooked venison shoulder

A large slotted spoon and a carving fork were used to lift the pieces of shoulder from the slow cooker when done to a large plate. They were then covered and left to rest.

Straining venison stock

It may of course be that you have no use for the stock that is now remaining in your slow cooker after the venison shoulder has been removed but, in this instance, I intended using it the following day in the soup that would be prepared with the venison shank. I therefore allowed it to cool slightly before lining a sieve with a sheet of kitchen paper and suspending it over a large bowl. The stock was slowly ladled into the sieve and allowed to strain. You will likely have to change the paper 2 or 3 times as it becomes clogged with fat. The strained stock should then be covered, allowed to cool completely and refrigerated overnight until required. 

I kept some of the shoulder meat to go into the soup with the meat from the shank and the following is the full recipe for how I served some of the remainder as shown in the photo at the top of this post.

Cook Time (not including venison loin)

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 20 min

Ready in: 30 min

Yields: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 2 medium baking type potatoes, peeled and chopped to 1.5 inch (4cm) chunks
• Salt
• 3 Chantenay carrots, trimmed
• Generous handful frozen peas
• Butter
• 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed or grated
• 2 teaspoons freshly chopped parsley
• 1 small birds' eye chilli, finely sliced
• Generous pinch caraway seeds
• Black pepper and malt vinegar 
• Venison loin meat slices/chunks as required

Method

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil and add the chunks of potato. Adjust the heat to achieve a gentle simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are just softened.

Add the carrots to a second pot of boiling, salted water to simmer for 10 minutes.

Drain the potatoes through a colander at your sink, return them to the empty pot and set aside to let them steam off and partly dry out for 2 or 3 minutes. Add the frozen peas to a small pot of boiling salted water and simmer for 3 minutes.

Butter is added to potatoes prior to mashing

Add a little bit of butter to the potatoes and mash until just smooth with a hand masher. Drain the carrots, return to the empty pot and also set aside to briefly steam off.

Various flavourants are added to mashed potatoes

Add the garlic, parsley and chilli to the mash and stir well with a wooden spoon to fully combine.

Drain the peas, return to the empty pot and season with malt vinegar and black pepper to taste. Gently swirl the pot to combine.

Butter and caraway seeds are added to carrots

Add a little butter and the caraway seeds to the carrot, swirl the pot to evenly coat and plate your meal for service.

Venison Curry in Giant Yorkshire Pudding

 

Spicy venison curry in a giant Yorkshire pudding

While curry of any kind is most often served with rice and/or a wide potential variety of Indian flatbreads, it works wonderfully well served in a number of different ways. In this instance, we will see a tasty, homemade roe deer venison curry served inside a larger than standard Yorkshire pudding to excellent effect. Note that meaty stews - wild game or otherwise - work equally well served in this fashion.

Cook Time

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 3 hours 15 min

Ready in: 3 hours 30 min

Yields: 2 servings

Ingredients (Venison Curry)

• 1 pound/450g roe deer venison loin meat, diced to 1 inch/2.5cm chunks
• 4 tablespoons vegetable (or sunflower) oil
• 2 teaspoons medium hot curry powder
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• Salt and pepper
• 1 small onion, peeled and sliced
• 14 ounce/400g can chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
• 1/2 each red, green, yellow bell peppers, seeded and sliced
• 1 medium to large red chilli, thinly sliced, seeds in
• 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 pint/568ml fresh chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped coriander leaf/cilantro, plus extra to garnish

Ingredients (per Yorkshire Pudding)

• 2 small eggs
• Equal quantity by volume plain/all purpose flour
• Equal quantity by volume full cream milk
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• Black pepper
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Venison is browned in spiced oil

Method

Pour the vegetable oil into a large stew pot and add all the powdered/ground spices. Put the pot on to a low to medium heat and stir the spices around in the warming oil for a couple of minutes with a wooden spoon. This helps both to release the flavours from the spices as well as to cook off the harshness that may otherwise be imparted into the curry. Be careful not to overcook and burn the spices or they will turn bitter.

Add the venison chunks to the pot, turn up the heat slightly and stir for 2 or 3 minutes until the meat is evenly browned and sealed all over. Add the sliced onion and cook in a similar fashion for a further couple of minutes until the onion strands are just starting to soften.

Tomatoes and peppers are added to the spiced venison and onion

Pour the canned tomatoes into the pot. Add the sliced bell peppers, chilli and garlic - as well as salt and pepper to taste - and stir well to combine everything together. Pour the chicken stock into the pot, stir again and turn up the heat until you achieve a very gentle simmer. Cover and continue to simmer as gently as possible for 3 hours, stirring occasionally and ensuring the mixture doesn't start to boil dry. If absolutely necessary, add a little more chicken stock or boiling water but note that this can impart negatively on the flavour of the finished dish.

Yorkshire pudding principal ingredients

When the curry has been simmering for around 2 hours, it's time to start making the Yorkshire puddings. These little 3-inch/7.5cm diameter ramekins are perfect for measuring out the Yorkshire pudding batter ingredients, as well as for many other not always so obvious purposes in the kitchen (but  much more to come on that at later dates!) Simply break the 2 eggs carefully into one of them before filling 2 more to similar levels with flour and milk.

Pour the eggs, flour and milk into a mixing bowl and season with the turmeric, salt and black pepper. Whisk to combine and form a smooth batter. Put the bowl into your fridge for the batter to rest while you heat the oven and cooking dishes. Note that you will need to prepare batter this way for each Yorkshire pudding you intend making.

Pour a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil into a 7-inch/18cm diameter casserole dish and place the dish into the cold oven before turning the oven on to preheat to 220C/450F/Gas Mark 8. If making 2 puddings, you will obviously require 2 cooking vessels.

Yorkshire pudding batter is poured into hot oil

Very carefully, lift the heated casserole dish(es) to a heatproof surface. Pour in the chilled batter, being careful of potentially splashing hot oil. Put the dish(es) straight back into the hot oven and cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not open the oven to check on the pudding(s) before the 25 minutes are up as this could affect the rising of the pudding(s).

Coriander is added to venison curry

When the Yorkshire pudding(s) is/are in the oven, add the coriander/cilantro to the curry, stir carefully but well and simmer for 15 final minutes before turning off the heat under the pot.

Giant Yorkshire pudding removed from the oven

The Yorkshire pudding(s) should come out of the oven beautifully golden and risen around the edges, with plenty of room in the centre for serving the curry. They should lift easily from the casserole dish with a large slotted spoon to your serving plate.

Venison curry spooned into Yorkshire pudding

Spoon the curry carefully into each pudding, garnish with the last of the coriander and serve immediately.