Venison Liver and Onions

Venison Liver and Onions

• Butter and lard
• Fresh venison liver, rinsed
• 1 to 4 onions, cut in half and sliced
• 5 stalks celery, cut into 3″ long pieces (optional)
• 1 c. flour (used einkorn)
• 1 to 2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 to 2 tsp. paprika
• 1 to 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 to 2 tsp. beef base (used better than bouillon)
• ~1/2 c. water

Slice the venison liver into thin strips (can remove skin before hand if you want less chewy pieces, but not necessary). Place in medium sized bowl and cover with buttermilk. Set in refrigerator for at least one hour.

Saute the onions and celery in 2 Tbs. butter until soft (about 10 min) in a large deep pan. Remove and set aside.

Place the liver strips in a colander and drain. Whisk together the flour, salt, paprika, and garlic powder. Coat the strips with the flour mix (can use gallon bag to shake, can dip, etc…). Heat 2 Tbs. butter and 1 Tbs. lard in the large pan over medium high heat. Cook the liver strips, stirring occasionally. When the flours sticks to the bottom of the pan a bunch, add water and beef base. Add the cooked onions and celery. Cook until liver is cooked through (15 min. should do it).

Brine for raccoon

Brine for ~12 lb. raccoon (from heraldstandard.com)

• 2 c. sugar
• 1 c. kosher salt
• 1 handful of fresh thyme
• 2 Tbs. black peppercorns
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 gallon of water

Bring all the ingredients to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in 1 quart of ice or more to cool the brine down quickly. Strain the brine into a large pot and soak quartered raccoon for 24 hrs.

Followup: Wrap in foil and put in crockpot on low for 6-8 hrs. After cooked, debone and mix with barbecue pizza sauce recipe, then freeze in batches.

Barbecue Pizza Sauce

Barbecue Pizza Sauce (adapted from seriouseats.com)

• Olive oil
• 1/2 c. onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves/2 tsp. garlic, crushed and minced or 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes
• 3 Tbs. tomato paste
• 1/3 c. rapadura
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbs. molasses
• 2 tsp. yellow mustard
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. dried oregano

Saute onion in olive oil until soft, about 5 min. Stir in garlic, cook until fragrant (about 30 sec). Add in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer ~20 min. Use immersion blender to puree until smooth.

Carob walnut brownies

Carob walnut brownies (adapted from J.J. Waters recipe at allrecipes.com)

• 1/4 c. butter, melted and cooled
• 6 Tbs. carob powder
• 3/4 c. coconut sugar
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 c. flour (used einkorn)
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 1 c. chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Grease an 8 inch pan and set aside.

Melt the butter and set aside to cool. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and stir until everything is wet (do not overstir). Bake about 30 to 45 min. (until toothpick comes out clean). Let cool 10 to 15 minutes before cutting.