Venison Chop with Pan-Roasted Butternut Squash and Braised Shallots

I grew up in South Central Pennsylvania in a little town not far from the Susquehanna River, and within spitting distance of the Amish country. Not that the Amish are big spitters. Neither were we. It's just a colloquialism. Nevermind.

Soooooooo, when I was in high school, no one would show up to class the Monday after Thanksgiving because it was the first day of hunting season. Seriously. Of my entire class of 144 students, only 3 or 4 of us turned up to school that day every year. Everyone else went hunting, or their parents went hunting so they played hooky. A few days later, the kids would bring in photos of their kill. Picture after picture of a ten-point buck, fully gutted and hanging from an open garage door, with a garden hose rinsing out their insides. From these deer, people made bologna, steak, and other cuts we all grew up referring to as "venison." I'm not opposed to hunting at all, but I could never get those images out of my head every time I tried deer bologna or venison, so I could never really enjoy it.

Add to that the fact that when I was much younger (maybe 7 or 8), my dad's secretary's brother (or something like that) went hunting somewhere in Alaska or Canada or Outer Mongolia and brought back what he said was venison. He gave a slab of it to my parents and my mom decided to invite some people over for dinner (including the hunter's family member who worked for my dad, but not the hunter himself, oddly) to try it. She said recently that just by looking at the meat, she knew it was going to be tough and might be difficult to prepare. I don't remember how she ended up doing it -- part braise, and part something else I think -- and when it was done, it was the same blue-ish, purple color it was when it started out. Mmmmm-mmmm....

I think they had to break out the electric knife (normally used for turkey carving) that night to slice individual servings. Using steak knives, each of us sawed away to try and get a taste of the meat, and had to chew each bite for two or three minutes to break it down enough to swallow it and not choke. I remember taking one bite and excusing myself (with less dramatic flair than you might imagine) to go spit it out in the toilet. Man, that stuff was bad. We found out later it was caribou or moose or yak or something, and not deer or elk or what most of us consider traditional venison. Now that I'm an adult, I've ordered venison twice in a restaurant since then and I didn't like it. Both times, it was dry and tough, and utterly tasteless.

So, you can imagine my JOY! and DELIGHT! when I knew I'd be making venison as part of this project. When I went shopping for it, I didn't like any of the cuts I saw at Eastern Market, so I decided to order it online from D'Artagnan. They source their venison from a farm in New Zealand, so it wasn't the cheapest thing in the world. But, people whose opinions I respect kept telling me how much they liked venison, and how good it is for you (low in fat, high in protein), so I was hoping to change my venison mojo and make this a dish we'd all enjoy.

The first thing I did was the day before the venison arrived -- I made venison quick sauce. These "quick sauces" are anything but fast to prepare, but I do think they make a difference in some of the dishes. The first thing I did was heat some canola oil in a stock pot, in which I later seared and browned some beef bones.


I cooked them for about ten minutes on each side, then added some water to the pot. I deglazed the pan and kept cooking it until the water had evaporated and the bones began sizzling and popping again. Next, I added some turkey stock. The French Laundry Cookbook calls for chicken stock but I had run out of it, so I used the turkey stock I'd made just after Thanksgiving and had frozen. I kept cooking the bones until the stock had evaporated, further deglazing the pan.


For the next deglazing, I added carrots, onions, leeks and blueberries:


The recipe called for huckleberries, which I couldn't find anywhere here in the area (fresh or frozen), so I substituted blueberries. The moisture in the vegetables allowed for this third deglazing:


After the vegetables had caramelized a bit, for the fourth deglazing, I added two cups of veal stock, more turkey stock, and a few cups of water. I simmered this mixture for nearly an hour, skimming every few minutes to remove the oil and other impurities that rose to the top:


I strained this liquid through a strainer, first to remove the bones, vegetables and other nonsense, then two more times just to further clarify the liquid. I put the liquid into a smaller saucepan and reduced it over medium-low heat until there was just about a cup of it left:


That's how you do Quick Sauce, kids. And, doing it the day before you're going to make the actual dish is a big help. I wish I'd had venison bones to use, but I only had beef bones. I think it worked well, but I'm curious to know how different it would be not only to use venison bones, but also huckleberries.

So now, let's talk about the actual venison dish, 'cause I can tell you're getting hungry.

The first thing I did was prepare the shallots. I put two shallots with some thyme, olive oil and a wee bit of salt onto some tinfoil, which I then folded closed and put into a 350-degree oven for a half hour:


When they were done, I peeled them and cut off the root end, then cut them into small wedges:



While the shallots were in the oven, I prepared the venison. After frenching the bones as best I could, I tied a piece of kitchen twine around each chop to hold it together and bring the bone closer in:



I put the chops into the refrigerator as I finished preparing the rest of the dish. Next up? The butternut squash. I peeled that sucker with my kickass can-peel-anything-even-George-Hamilton's-face-probably OXO peeler and cut out some rounds, which I then made even more gorgeous by using a 2" biscuit cutter:




I scored each of the rounds and seasoned it with a little salt and pepper while I brought a pot of water up to a boil. I blanched and drained the squash rounds and got them ready for their final cooking step, which you'll see shortly.

I got the venison quick sauce out of the refrigerator and gently warmed it over low-medium heat. I also added some brunoise and butter to the shallots and warmed that over low-medium heat.


My final prep step before finishing this dish was to make some tasty, delicious, marvelous, wonderful, love-tastic bacon. Each serving of this dish was to be topped with a slice or two of bacon. Mine? Had five slices.


When the bacon was crispy and I was finished drooling all over the place like a lovesick puppy, I drained it on paper towels, cracked my knuckles, got out all my serving plates and silverware and prepared to dazzle myself by pulling this dish together because it already smelled to good in my house that I was really getting hungry. I called to give my neighbors the five-minute warning that they needed to get their butts over to my house, pronto!

Then, my WonderTwin powers activated and I took the shape of someone who can simultaneously cook venison AND butternut squash rounds AT THE SAME TIME without burning them or setting the house on fire. I heated some canola oil in two large sauté pans. I seasoned the venison with salt and pepper and put them in the pan. While they started cooking (I didn't touch them for about 3 minutes when they were ready to be turned over), I put the blanched (parboiled, technically, I suppose) butternut squash rounds into the other pan.


I cooked the other sides of both the venison and the squash and set about plating. Here we go; first, a spoonful of the venison quick sauce (which smelled so hearty, meaty and earthy):


Next, the squash:


Now, the venison (with the twine removed, obviously):


And finally, something I love even more than the idea of Mike Bloomberg being my boyfriend, or you know, the President of the United States... bacon:


I also put the shallot mixture off to the side, as you can see in that photo. This was outstanding. The venison was cooked just right -- medium to medium-rare -- and those who didn't like the rare-ish parts just ate around the edges. More for me, thankyouverymuch! The combination of these elements, in both taste and texture, were spectacular. It's completely changed how I look at and think about venison. I'm definitely adding it to my repertoire on a more regular basis, just like I have with duck breast since I made that. The venison sauce was full-bodied and reminded me of how different yet familiar an Oregon pinot noir was the first time I tasted it. The butternut squash was gorgeous and went so well with the dish. The venison chop was delicious... really, really good. And, well, who doesn't love bacon?

All in all, this was a great dish, and one I would happily do again and again. And, one that clearly the wildlife in my neighborhood enjoyed, too:


That raccoon (who lives under my deck and is that fat because I obviously have awesome garbage to eat) dragged the venison bones all around my yard and down the street that night. Dick.

Up Next: "Coffee and Doughnuts" -- Cappuccino Semifreddo with Cinnamon-Sugar Doughnuts

Resources:
Venison chops from D'Artagnan
Produce and herbs from Whole Foods
Bacon from Niman Ranch

Music to Cook By: Peter Gabriel; Shaking the Tree. I don't know how to put into words why I love this album, or why I love Peter Gabriel's music. I just do, and I have since I was 14. There's something to be said for that, I think.

Read my previous post: Happy Blogiversary!