Field to Table: Venison Salad Buger

I know, it's a goofy name but it just kind of happened that way. We decided to make burgers the other night. Because I try and eat really healthy and because I don't eat meat unless I personally dispatch the animal, I don't eat a lot of burgers anymore. Yet, America loves burgers so I was really excited to be eating one. It's been a long time coming.

So why the name Venison Salad Burger? Well, I wanted to make sure that I got plenty of vegetables on my burger so I pulled out whatever I could find in the refrigerator: lettuce, red cabbage, cilantro, onions, avocado, and tomato. We also had some homemade salsa (it's in the jelly jar in the picture; I didn't put raspberry jelly on my burger) and some homemade Shiner Bock Mustard made by my friend Chef Christina Lee. The Missus was going to make a salad but noticed that I was putting my salad on my burger, hence the name. So get the idea of venison mixed with mayonnaise and stuff out of your head.


As you can see, I have lots of venison in my freezer (along with a bag of peas, some puff pastry and a bag of mice for The Kid's pet snake). To be exact I have 4 1/2 deer and 1/2 a hog jammed in there.


So I thawed out a little bit of the burger grind, seasoned it with salt and pepper, shaped it into patties, and sautéed it in a pan. If you look closely you will notice that I make an indention in the center of each patty. This helps to keep the patties flat as they cook (have you ever cooked a burger patty and it puffs up on you?). Then I simply piled everything on my wonderful bun and chowed down.





The Missus made some lovely "crack" potatoes to go with it. Just boil some potatoes (any kind will work) until they are soft. Then smash them flat, season them with salt and pepper and EVOO, and toast them in the oven at 425° until they are kind of crunchy/crusty. I call them crack potatoes because they are pretty addictive.

About the bun. Whole Foods Market makes these wonderful sea salt and olive oil rolls. It's basically a ciabatta but it has a little more moisture to it, giving it a nice tenderness and chew. I haven't found another roll anywhere quite like them. They are simply divine. Search them out.

The Kid wanted me to take a picture of his plate of food, too. He opts for the Deconstructed Minimalist Burger with a side of pasta dressed with EVOO and fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano. Don't forget the ketchup, either (none for me, please).

Apple Pie

I usually like to come up with some clever, catchy title for my posts (in hindsight they are usually pretty stupid, though, but who cares?). So as I thought about this post I eventually realized that there is no other way to elicit joy from the dish known as Apple Pie. The words themselves simply drip with flavor. Apple Pie. Yum. Just saying the words makes me smell it, gets my salivary glands working. You must make one before the season is over and all of our apples start coming from South America or New Zealand.

I made one earlier this year, for Thanksgiving dinner to be exact. I will make another one soon. To me, this pastry purely evokes the tastes, aromas, and sights of the fall/winter season. Apple Pie is a very versatile dish, too. It is good warm, warm and a la mode, warm with cheddar cheese on it, cold in the middle of the night standing in front of the refrigerator, and cold for breakfast. The possibilities are virtually endless. So let us begin.

Make your filling first. Because it was Thanksgiving I chose to add some cranberries and a little rosemary to the Apple Pie. This doesn't effect the amount of apples called for in the recipe. But if you don't like the cranberries to be too tart then you may want to add about 1/4 cup more sugar. I like the tartness so I leave everything as is. I also like the filling to be a little thick but not too much so. I stir in about 3 Tbsp. of flour to help thicken the juices.

Put your fruit and seasonings together in a bowl.

Now mix it all up and let it sit while you prepare the crust. This resting period allows the fruit to macerate and release it's juices.

Now for the crust. A flaky crust is a good thing. Fat provides flakiness. Some folks like to use all shortening. But my problem with this is that shortening has zero flavor. None. Zip. To solve this problem some folks like to mix shortening and butter. But I really, really like the flavor that butter provides so I use, simply, all butter. You may sacrifice a little flakiness but with a few tricks that sacrifice will be marginal.

Once you get the crust made it is important that you keep it cold. Use cold butter and ice water when mixing the ingredients for the crust. Also, when cutting in the butter you want to leave some pea-sized bits of butter in the flour. When the Apple Pie cooks these cold bits of butter will begin to melt and release steam. This releasing of steam will help the crust 'puff' slightly like a puff pastry, giving you some nice flakiness. After the dough has been mixed shape it into two balls, one slightly larger than the other. Flatten the balls into disks, wrap them in plastic and allow them to rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. This lets the butter cool down which, in turn, helps develop flakiness.
Now that the dough is resting and the fruit is macerating sit back and enjoy an adult beverage of your choice. Or kill stormtroopers with your son. You could also make the crust first and, while it is resting, then make your filling. But I like the downtime so that I can kill stormtroopers.

30 minutes later roll out the small disk of dough.

Fold it into quarters. Gently lift the dough and place the point in the center of the pie pan. Gently unfold the dough.

Now fill the Apple Pie shell. Be sure and get all the juices into the filling.

Don't worry if the fruit seems like a really tall pile. It will be. As the Apple Pie cooks the fruit will cook down. Because I use all butter the crust is very sturdy. As the Apple Pie cools after it has been cooked the crust will remain tall. There will be a gap between the fruit and the crust. When you cut the Apple Pie the crust will crack and start to fall. It's o.k. Don't worry about it. It's going to be so yummy.

Now roll out the larger disk of dough and transfer it the same way you did with the smaller disk.

Trim the overhanging dough and tuck the top edge of the crust under the bottom edge of crust. Crimp the edges and cut about 6 slits in the top crust so that steam can escape while the Apple Pie cooks. Place the Apple Pie in the freezer for about 15 minutes or in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes. Remove the Apple Pie and brush the top with beaten egg white. Sprinkle sugar all over the top of the Apple Pie and bake it in a preheated oven. Allow the Apple Pie to rest for about 4 hours before serving (good luck with that!).

Let's look at it again, shall we?

Apple Pie

2 recipes for Pie Crust
2 # Jazz or Pink Lady Apples
2# McIntosh or Cortland Apples
½ cup Sugar, plus more for pie topping
Zest from 1 Lemon
1 ½ Tbsp. Lemon Juice
¼ tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Ground Nutmeg
½ tsp. Ground Cinnamon
¼ tsp. Ground Allspice
3 Tbsp. Flour
1 Egg White, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 425°.

Prepare the pie dough as directed, shape into two disks, and refrigerate until needed.

Roll one disk of dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12 – inch circle. Set the dough in a 9 – inch pie pan and gently press it into the bottom and sides of the pan. Allow the excess dough to hang over the lip of the pan. Refrigerate the dough while you prepare the filling.

Peel, core, and cut the apples into ½ - inch thick slices. Toss the apple slices with the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, spices, and flour. Turn the fruit mixture into the chilled pie shell, creating a slight mound in the center.

Roll out the second disk of dough and place it over the filling. Trim the edges of the dough to about ½ inch past the pan lip. Tuck this rim of dough under itself so that it forms a seal and is in line with the edge of the pan. Flute the edges of the pie with your fingers or seal it by pressing the tines of a fork on top of it. Cut four slits in the top of the pie so that steam may escape. Place the pie in the freezer for up to 30 minutes.

Remove the pie from the freezer and brush the top with egg white. Sprinkle sugar evenly over the pie and bake for 25 minutes or until the top crust is golden. Reduce the oven heat to 375° and continue baking the pie for about 30 minutes more. The top of the pie should be a deep golden brown and the juices should be bubbling. Cool the pie on a rack for at least 4 hours before cutting.


Pie Crust

1 ½ cups Flour
½ tsp. Salt
¼ # cold Butter, cut into pieces
3-5 Tbsp. Ice Water

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in the butter using your fingers until the mixture resembles course sand. Sprinkle the water over the flour/butter mixture one tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together in a ball. Flatten the dough in a disk, wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. When you are ready to make the pie, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface into a disk about 1/8” thick.