Fire It Up - Andrew Schloss [87]
½ cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons brandy
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ teaspoon coarse salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
For the deer: Put the brine and vinegar in a jumbo (2-gallon) zipper-lock bag. Add the roast, press out the air, seal, and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours. Remove the roast and discard the brine. Pat the roast dry, and then coat all over with the olive oil and the spice rub. Let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
Light a grill for indirect medium heat, about 325°F, with smoke. Brush and oil the grill grate. Put the roast on the grill, rib-side down, away from the heat. Put the wood chips in the grill. Cover and grill-roast to an internal temperature of 130 to 140°F for rare to medium-rare, about 1¼ to 1½ hours. Remove to a platter and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
For the hunter’s sauce: Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Stir in the flour and keep stirring until the mixture (or roux) turns caramel brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 cups of the stock and bring to a boil over high heat; boil for 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring now and then.
Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until they brown lightly and begin to lose their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the shallots and fennel seeds and cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine, brandy, and rosemary and simmer until the liquid reduces in volume by about one-third. Stir in the tomato paste and the brown sauce that’s been simmering. Stir in the parsley, salt, and pepper. If the sauce is too thick, add more stock.
Carve the roast and serve with the sauce.
VENISON SHOULDER
Venison Shoulder Roast with Forest Rub and Applejack Mop
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
The robust taste of deer pairs perfectly with woodsy flavors like rosemary and juniper. Add some wafting smoke from a nearby fire, and you’ve got the makings of a memorable meal. We keep the flavors all-American here with applejack, New Jersey’s mouth-watering legacy to the world of distilled spirits. Its caramel-y aromas meld with the juniper-rosemary rub and the molasses in the barbecue sauce to balance the venison’s assertive earthiness.
INGREDIENTS:
4 cups wood chips, preferably apple, cherry, oak, or hickory, soaked in water for 1 hour
1 bone-in deer shoulder roast (2 to 4 pounds)
¼ cup Forest Rub
2⅓ cups Applejack Mop
½ cup apple cider
2 cups Applejack Barbecue Sauce
DIRECTIONS:
Sprinkle the roast with the spice rub and refrigerate in a 1-gallon zipper-lock bag for 6 hours or overnight. Remove and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
Light a grill for indirect low heat, about 225°F, with smoke. Brush the grill grate and coat with oil. Drain 1 cup of the wood chips and add to the grill. When you see smoke, put the roast, fatty side up, on the grill away from the heat over a drip pan half-filled with water. Cover and cook for 1 hour, replacing the wood chips (and charcoal or wood) as necessary to maintain smoke in the grill. After 1 hour, drizzle the mop generously over the roast and continue mopping once every 30 minutes. After 2 hours of cooking, place the roast on a large square of foil and drizzle once more. Wrap tightly in the foil and continue cooking to an internal temperature of 135 to 140°F for medium-rare to medium-done, about 3 to 4 hours total, depending on the size of your roast. Remove to a platter and unwrap, reserving any juices in the platter. Let stand for 15 minutes.
Mix the apple cider and juices from the platter into the barbecue sauce and keep warm. Slice the roast thinly and serve with the sauce.
WHOLE RABBIT
Rabbit Grilled Tuscan-Style with Rosemary, Fennel, and Parmesan
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
In the United Kingdom, Italy, and other parts of Europe, most butchers and farmers’ markets carry rabbit. But bunnies haven’t caught on as well in the United States. Maybe Americans are still charmed