Recipes / The Cookbook

[rebel]

Sawmill gravy ( call the doctor snert, damn good but take your statin drugs )
In a cast iron skillet fry up some pork sausage. If store bought it really makes no grease so when crumbled sausage is just done, cut off heat and add a half stick of butter, whisk well to lift the tasty bits off the pan. Add two tablespoons of APF and stir that in till everything is smooth and glossy.
Pour in whole milk, about half a pan (if you are impressing a chick with a breakfast use whole cream )
Turn heat back on and stir, never stop stirring, don't walk away from it. When it thickens shut it off and serve over biscuits. If gravy gets pasty add some water and keep stirring. To many, good gravy is necromancy but it's really simple once you get a feel for it. Keep the heat low and you'll do fine.

 

[KMart]

Squash Pie
I know it sounds weird, but it's a delicious way to fix those excess yellow squash!
This makes 2 pies.
2 to 21/2 cups of grated yellow squash.
4 beaten eggs.
2 tbsp.of vanilla extract
2 tbsp. of APF
1 1/2 cups of sugar
2 tbsp of lemon juice
You can use bakers coconut if you wish. The wife is allergic so I don't. If so, about a 1/4 cup.
Mix together and fill 2 frozen pie crusts.
Bake for 40 minutes @ 350 degrees.
If you like a custard, you will love it. The squash flavor is amazing with the vanilla and sugar.

Mom made a pie once that tasted just like fresh pear (just picked off the tree) pie. It was made exactly like she made her pear or apple pies except it was made with green button/paddy pan squash. Damn it was good.

 

[Kurz]

Sawmill gravy ( call the doctor snert, damn good but take your statin drugs )

Absolutely! This is one of my most favorite breakfast celebrations. I know this sounds corny but I stood at my grandmother's elbow learning what to do with a stove and recipes. Sawmill or sausage gravy will always be my favorite! I made it for my son when he was little and he makes it for his wife now, devoted followers.

When the sausage makes some fat in the bottom of the skillet, I add some flour and stir it in until incorporated then let is cook a little to get rid of the pasty flavor while it soaks up the flavor of the sausage. Then slowly add whole milk, half & half or cream stirring all the time. Let the gravy thicken and build on the sausage flavor. Now add black pepper, lots of it! Be sure to sample before serving to be sure you have it the way you want it to taste. A warm plate, Cat Head Biscuits and eggs any style! OH MY GAWD! This is living!

 

[markT]

Vid was not a recipe.

 

[brainiac]

For biscuits my wife started fixin them on parchment paper and they fluff even more. Awesome eatin.

 

[Sieg]

Good stuff people! Keep it up.

I'll try to posts a few favorite comfort foods..... even though I've always cooked by feel and taste.

 

[markT]

Girlfriend is raving about a “instacooker.”
Anyone have experience with these cookers? She claims good sounding recipes for venison. Thoughts / comments?

 

[rebel]

Mark, i dunno about new gimmicks.Low heat, time and cast iron been working for a few hundred years. Words like insta and microwave scare me a bit. Now if thats nothing but a pressure cooker, then hell yeah I'm all ears.

 

[markT]

Thanks Rebel. That’s what I’m thinking. Anew name for crock pot or pressure cooker. Add some electronics and rename it. Maybe someone else knows for sure.

 

[jamesh]

Yes the instapot is nothing more than an electric pressure cooker with some preset time settings and some different temperature settings so you can also use it as a crockpot. If I recall correctly they are set for 10 psi. I have one and almost never use it.

 

[rebel]

TARTAR SAUCE

1/4 CUP DUKES MAYONNAISE ( this is only available in the south, if you don't have access, consider suicide or use the least sweet mayo you can find and add apple cider vinegar )
1/4 LARGE SWEET ONION-GRATED WITH THE JUICE
2 TBLSP. LEMON JUICE
1 ANCHOVIE MELTED IN A SMALL AMOUNT OF BUTTER
2 TBLSP OF CAPERS
1/4 CUP OF DILL CUBES
1 TEASP OLIVE OIL

MIX UP AND SPRINKLE DILL WEED OVER THE BOWL TILL THE TOP IS WELL COVERED.
LET IT SIT FOR AT LEAST 4 HOURS
SERVE WITH ANYTHING THAT SWIMS

 

[rebel]

WESTERN CAROLINA BBQ SAUCE
Apple Cider vinegar (1 cup )
Tomato juice ( 2 cups )
Cayenne pepper sauce ( 1/4 cup )
2 Tbls kosher salt
1/8 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of water
dash of W - sauce
BRING TO A BOIL AND REDUCE BY A THIRD ON SIMMER. DO THIS AHEAD OF TIME AT LET SIT FOR A FEW DAYS TO CONCENTRATE FLAVOR. Serve over Pork, Chicken, deer, anything.

 

[rebel]

Red Eye Gravy

Fry a 12 inch skillet full of southern country ham ( salt or sugar cured ).
After ham has browned up remove from heat and reserve. Add some butter to the pan and with a whisk or fork remove all tasty bits stuck to the skillet. ( to any reading, I always assume you are using cast iron. This will flat f-up a yuppie not stick job )
Add coffee till the pan is half full, put on high heat and let reduce by half. While reducing add salt to taste and a bit of sugar to reduce the bitterness of the coffee.
While reducing I throw the ham back in, this reduces the saltiness of the ham and adds flavor to the gravy.
Serve over grits, rice and scrambled eggs.

 

[markT]

Dukes mayonnaise!!! I live about 1000 yards from the plant. Love some Dukes..

 

[markT]

Thought about posting this on some of the coyote threads bit figured I’d just post it here. This is my hunting buddy inside a coyote in Sonoma CA. The coyotes head is a weather vane and moves in the direction of the wind. Too cool.

 

[Oso]

I thought I would post a picture since I am just finishing curing a ham getting ready to cook it on New Year's day (tomorrow). This is in connection to my Wild Pig Ham Recipe on Page 1 of this thread. This is what the rear leg of a wild hog and this is what it looks like after curing (wet brining) for 14 days. Note the color change to a dark pink to brick red as result of seasonings and sodium nitrite. The fat becomes a dark butter yellow. It now gets cooked / smoked for roughly 4-6 hours until internal temperature reaches 145F. It will truly taste like ham and not simply like a pork loin.

 

[Oso]

GUMBO for Wild Game (George Craig's recipe RIP)

Back Story - I learned this recipe so that I could make Wood Ducks edible.... from eating acorns and pecans (shell and all) the meat is almost purple and the flavor makes liver taste mild. Guests always assumed that it was just beef in the Gumbo...not wild ducks. Couldn't make enough of it. We hunted flooded timber so always shot our 2 Woody limit per person...guaranteed to come home with 8 wood ducks and a handful of mixed others (teal, spoonies, gadwall, fulvous & whistling ducks, and occasional mallard or pintail). It took me a little while to locate this recipe... I thought some of you might enjoy this even if you haven't been to the South and don't know real Cajun food this is a great recipe that is easy to make and lends itself to any type of meat. If you aren't used to spicy food then when you make the Roux ("rew") keep it to the lighter color of milk chocolate... if you like strong then go toward dark chocolate color.

STOCK Ingredients:
3 lbs. Meat (Beef, Chicken, Turkey, or Duck) – no skin
1 gallon Water (enough to cover the meat)
1 cup Wine (Red or White depending upon type of meat)... everything but seafood gets Red Wine
2 Large Yellow Onions, medium chopped (Do not use White or Red Onions)
1 stalk Celery, chopped coarsely (leaves and everything)
5 Stems Fresh Parsley
2 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
2 Bay Leaves
1 tspn Crushed dried Mint
1-2 tspb Cayenne Pepper
1-2 Tbsp. Minced Garlic (from jar)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Steps (Cooking Ducks & Stock):
1) Place meat (at least 3 pounds worth of meat) in pot and cover with water and add wine.
2) Bring to boil and skim off fat on surface.
3) Add vegetables, seasonings, and brazed bones (see “Option” below)
4) Reduce heat and let simmer for 3-4 hours.
5) After cooking, transfer the stock (only) into a separate pot and let cool. Use a strainer or cheesecloth to transfer the stock.
6) Skim off the fat that congeals on the surface of the stock after it cools. Refrigerate the stock and use later. Stock will hold for 1 week in refrigerator or can be frozen to be used later.
7) De-bone the ducks, and set meat to side for use in Gumbo.

*Option: Brazed Bones
1. Requires that meat has already been de-boned.
2. Coat bones in olive oil and break large bones in half (to expose bone marrow).
3. Place on cookie sheet and place in oven on 425 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Must keep watch and remove when bones are brown…different types of bone have different densities requiring different cooking time.
4. Add the brazed bones to the stock and begin cooking.
* Bones don’t add that much flavor in the case of beef and fowl, with the exception of veal.

GUMBO Ingredients:
3lbs Meat, already de-boned (Beef or Fowl)
½ cup Olive Oil (Olive Oil is smoother and has greater heat tolerance)
1 cup All Purpose Flour (see “Option-Toasted Flour” below)
1 - 1 ½ cups Green Onions (finely chopped) – 1 bunch
1 - 1 ½ cups Yellow Onions (finely chopped) – 2 large onions
½ - ¾ cup Green Bell Peppers (medium diced) – 4 bell peppers
3 cups Okra (Optional….if use Okra then don’t serve with File’, both are thickening agents) – 2 bags
½ - ¾ cup Fresh Parsley (finely chopped) – one medium bunch
¼ - ½ cup Celery (chopped - Remember - Celery is a taste killer so don’t overdue it)
1 gallon Stock (see previous recipe & directions)
1 Tblspn Minced Garlic (from jar)
½ - 1 tspn Dried Mint
1 – 2lbs. Andouille Sausage (Pronounced – “Ann-Dew-ee”) &/or Tasso (spiced smoked beef)
1-2 Tblspn Louisiana Hot Sauce or Tabasco or Similar vinegar based hot sauce
2 Tblspn Worcestershire Sauce
Salt to taste

ROUX Preparation:
1) Heat cast iron skillet/Dutch oven. Don’t bother using a non-stick pan because for whatever scientific explanation it does not work.
2) Add Olive Oil and warm…..Heat should be between Medium and Low (do not want to burn the oil).
3) Add flour slowly while whisking.
4) Continuously whisk for 45 minutes while cooking. If Roux get burned (small black flecks in mixture show up) then throw it away and start over.
5) The Roux will become a thick brown Hershey colored mixture as the flour absorbs the oil.
6) Transfer Roux to the pot to be used to cook the Gumbo.

*Option – Toasted Flour
1) Toasting flour brings out a nutty flavor.
2) Place flour on sheet pan in oven on 200 degrees for 4 hours + until becomes a light golden brown.
3) Some people leave in oven over night while sleeping.
4) Traditional method is to toast it in Dutch oven iron skillet.
5) View: Doesn’t make that much difference and can be accomplished by using non-bleached flour or variant.

Gumbo Preparation:
1) Add Roux to pot.
2) Add Yellow Onions, Green Onions, Parsley, Bell Pepper, and Celery and cook on Medium.
3) Add Stock to mixture while cooking 1 cup at a time. Cook mixture until onions become translucent.
Note: Since the Roux is Hot Temperature then the Stock must be cool temperature. Never mix hot Roux with hot Stock or cold Roux with cold Stock…bad chemical reaction that ruins the entire recipe.
4) Stir in remaining Stock…heat.
5) Add minced Garlic…heat.
6) Add crushed dried Mint (to taste), Andouille Sausage, Duck, and Okra (optional). Okra thickens the Gumbo…so if use Okra them do not use File’ (dried Sassafras leaves)…heat.
Note: Crushed Mint Leaves are the key to reducing any gamey flavor. This is the trick for making Wild Duck (think marsh/saltwater ducks or Wood Ducks) taste fantastic...no need to soak the duck overnight in salt water or pet milk.
7) Add Hot Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, and Salt…heat.
8) Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 3-4 hours…stir…

Serve over White Rice. If want to thicken consistence then add File’ (dried ground Sassafras leaves). Never add File’ to gumbo while it is over heat because make a green slimy mess that looks unappealing….add it to the individual bowl after served. If used Okra in Gumbo then do not use File’ because both are thickening agents.

 

[markT]

Collard greens with black eye peas. Yum.
Your girl friend serves them with a roll of Charmin.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Sawmill gravy ( call the doctor snert, damn good but take your statin drugs )
In a cast iron skillet fry up some pork sausage. If store bought it really makes no grease so when crumbled sausage is just done, cut off heat and add a half stick of butter, whisk well to lift the tasty bits off the pan. Add two tablespoons of APF and stir that in till everything is smooth and glossy.
Pour in whole milk, about half a pan (if you are impressing a chick with a breakfast use whole cream )
Turn heat back on and stir, never stop stirring, don't walk away from it. When it thickens shut it off and serve over biscuits. If gravy gets pasty add some water and keep stirring. To many, good gravy is necromancy but it's really simple once you get a feel for it. Keep the heat low and you'll do fine.

I grew up calling it Scab gravy!

 

[Angela71]

Well from a southern woman (KY)..i love to hunt, kill, skin, and cook venison / deer meat... how i fix mine is simple but scrumptious
Get cast iron skillet nice and hot, add just enough oil to cover the the bottom of it ( inside of course!) Lol...toss your deer meat in flour for a nice coating, then place in skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Brown on each side about 5-7 minutes. Remove meat and place in a baking dish. Slice 1-2 large onions and place on top of meat . I break my onion slices apart. Mix 2 cans cream of mushroom soup to equal parts milk. Pour over meat and onions. Cover and place in oven about 30 - 40 minutes at 425 until onions are tender. You can cut the meat with a fork. Serve with mashed potatoes and biscuits..you already have your gravy within the deer