My friend Lara dropped a line the other day. Her husband finally got an elk in the hills of Idaho, after 4 days of trekking. The note reminded me of an evening spent in her kitchen last year, arms and conversation deep into ‘production cooking,’ otherwise known for time immemorial as ‘putting food by.’
We made breakfast sausages that night, and I delved into the very same tastes this morning. Blaine, the caretaker of the larger surrounding farm, gave Michael and I some ground deer meat a couple of weeks ago. Now it’s time to return the favor with some treats for his belly. This recipe should do the trick. It’s doubly satisfying in the morning with the protein punch and sweet seasoning. Make extra to freeze for easy meals at a later date.
You’ll need: 2 lbs ground venison/elk/regular beef; 5 Tbs minced fresh sage (from your perennial garden! – use youngest leaves); 3 Tbs maple syrup; salt and pepper, 2 Tbs butter.
Saute the sage in the butter for several minutes; pour this onto the ground meat, mix in with remaining ingredients (if your venison or elk is not fatty enough, you may need some olive oil or more melted butter to help it all stick – the deer here in PA are eating a lot of corn, so we don’t need extra fat anymore!). Form patties 1/2 the size of your palm, smoosh to 1-inch thickness. Fry in a pan used for butter and sage, roughly 2 minutes each side. For patties you will freeze, undercook a little.
Related Posts:
Recent Comments