Seared Venison with Braised Red Cabbage, Pancetta Crisps & Red Wine Jus

Hello!

I can't help but feel compelled to begin each blog post these days with an apology for the lack of updates. Most nights I'd try to sit in front of the laptop to write up new post but often just  end up giving in because of how tired I felt at the time. I'm quite the social media fanatic so would be great if you got connected with me on my Instagram (@winceeee) and Facebook page (The Hungry Excavator) too!

It's such a lame and overused excuse but work really has been quite busy for me. I guess in many ways I feel like I've reached a milestone in my career sooner than I expected and it's definitely kept my plate full but at the same time, fuelled me to want to keep going even further/harder. It's because of the pressing nature of my work that makes me so grateful to have a blog or blogging related activities to look forward to after I clock off to unwind. Anyway, I've got lots of recipes lined up in my backlog that I can't wait to share with you guys so please stay tuned.

Righto, back to the recipe. A friend of mine went hunting one weekend and managed to shoot two deers that time. I haven't been hunting myself but I do know that deers are not easy to hunt at all. Most of the time, people would come back empty handed so for him to have shot not one, but two deers was very impressive.

I was definitely happy for my friend because it was his first time successfully hunting one down but if I'm being honest, I was even happier about the fact that he shared them with me too! I feel very grateful when people think of me and specifically share their food with me (maybe because I think people know that I always appreciate it). I heart people!

As soon as I got these beautiful venison backstraps, I flipped through an old cookbook I got from a good friend a few years ago for my 21st in search of some inspiration. Came across a couple in there that looked really good so decided to combine and modify them a bit to suit my liking. The final result was very delicious. I don't normally cook many recipes like these but it's actually quite simple and at the end of the day, it's always great to try something different in the kitchen. Every element actually worked and enhanced the other so I am definitely a fan of this combination. 

This plate of food was definitely delicious to eat and actually very simple to make. There's lots of things you could substitute the venison backstrap for if you haven't got it available. I think veal or lamb backstraps would work beautifully too or even liver instead of meat too! Something that's lean or quick to sear.

Hope you give this a go and that you have a fantastic week ahead!

So difficult to not sneak a piece... Or five as soon as they came out of the oven (!!)

Seared Venison with Braised Red Cabbage, Pancetta Crisps & Red Wine Jus

(recipe adapted from the cookbook "Must Eat" by Russell Blaikie)

Click here to print the recipe

Ingredients

For the braised cabbage:
1/4 red cabbage
4 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1 brown onion (chopped finely)
150ml red wine vinegar
150g sugar
Cracked salt and pepper

For the red wine jus:
125ml red wine
50ml port wine
1 litre beef stock
50g unsalted butter
Cracked salt and pepper

Other:
200g venison backstrap (cut to thin strips) *
12 slices pancetta
Olive oil
Fresh sage leaves
Cracked salt and pepper
60g unsalted butter

* may be substituted with veal, lamb or even liver instead of backstrap

Method

For the braised cabbage:
1. Remove the core of the cabbage and slice it finely. Heat up the oil in a pot. Add the garlic and onions and cook until soft and fragrant. 

2. Add the vinegar and sugar, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add in the cabbage and place the lid on to simmer on low heat for 25 - 30 minutes (or until cabbage is tender), stirring occasionally.

3. Season with cracked salt and pepper and cook with the lid off for a further 15 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Set aside until ready for use. Can be stored in refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.

For the red wine jus:
1. Pour the red wine and port into a saucepan and reduce on high heat until about 60ml or quarter of a cup liquid left.

2. Add the beef stock and boil on high heat (and skimming regularly) until the sauce has reduced to about three quarters of the volume left. Stock should be a little thick, viscous and glossy.

3. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter until well combined. Season with cracked salt and pepper to taste.

For the remainder of the dish:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line the pancetta slices on a wire rack and bake in the oven for 8 - 10 minutes or until  the pancetta is golden brown and crisp. Remove and allow to cool to room temperature on the wire rack. Refrain with every ounce of your being from nibbling away on these lip smackingly good pancetta crisps. 

2. Heat a little olive oil in a pan until hot and add in the fresh sage leaves to cook for about 10 - 15 seconds or until crisp. Remove and drain excess oil on kitchen towel.

3. Season the venison/veal/lamb backstrap on both sides with cracked salt and pepper. Heat the pan with a little more olive oil until hot. Place the backstrap into the pan and sear or cook for about 30 seconds per side (depending on thickness of cut). The meat should still have a little blood still when slicing into it (you don't want it overcooked).

4. Add the butter into the pan and allow it to foam and brown slightly. Coat the backstraps in the butter and remove from heat.

5. To serve, place the braised red cabbage on a plate and the seared meat on top. Scatter with crisp sage leaves and top with pancetta crisps. Drizzle some red wine jus around the plate. Enjoy.

"Aussie Salad" with Grilled Kangaroo, Roasted Beetroot & Macadamia Nuts

My friends Jo, Bryan and I do this thing from time to time where we'd meet up for a simple homecooked meal. This idea came about when we decided that it'd be nice to cook and share food that we've prepared ourselves instead of eating out. Plus, we found out that all 3 of us lived so close to one another. 

We take turns to host and would pick a theme for every meet up. The cuisines may be different each time, but the idea still comes back down to wholesome homecooked food, which most people know that I am ALL about. We've been doing this fun little get together for just over a year now and have had so many great memories together from it in the past, with more to come, I'm sure =)

Seriously tender and flavourful 'roo!

Anyway, back to this salad. We decided to meet up for dinner on Australia Day, so naturally, the theme for the evening was "Aussie food". I've wanted to cook kangaroo for the longest time, so this was the perfect occasion for it. It wasn't as tricky as I thought and it turned out surprisingly good, even though it was my first time. Because, as we all know, there really is nothing worse than overcooked kangaroo. They're so lean to begin with so once you cross that fine line, you'd basically be biting into a rubber tyre.

Got these golden beets from Victoria Market. Never seen or had them before, which was exciting to try

It didn't take me long to plan how I wanted to make this Aussie Salad. What protein? Kangaroo, naturally. Marinade was honey soy, which I thought to be quite Aussie as I don't recall having this combo until I got to Australia and started seeing it everywhere. Also, roasted beetroots were a natural fit as we get such beautiful beets here in Australia. Finally, there's no "Aussie-er" nut than the macadamia. Perfect. 

The whole salad came together really beautifully and turned out very delicious. We all enjoyed it a lot. Good thing about this is that it's so easy to make in big portions to share at parties. Plus, they're so quick to make too!

Hope you give this recipe a go. Also, Happy Long Weekend to everyone this Easter! Hope you're all having a meaningful one with good friends and family =)

"Aussie Salad" with Grilled Kangaroo, Roasted Beetroot & Macadamia Nuts

Ingredients

For the steak:

1 piece kangaroo fillet (approx 500g)

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tbsp honey

1/2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

2 birds eye chillies (sliced)

For the beets:

3 baby red beetroots (approx. 1.5" diameter)

3 baby golden beetroots (approx. 1.5" diameter)

drizzle of olive oil

cracked salt and pepper

Other:

100g salted macadamia nuts (chopped in half)

150g mixed salad leaves

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Method:

1. Place all ingredients for steak in a bowl to marinate overnight in the fridge. Remove from fridge 1 hour before cooking.

2. Heat up a pan until very hot. Remove the steak from bowl (without the juices). For a steak of approx. 1 inch thick, cook for 3 minutes per side. Return the steak to rest in the same bowl of marinade (with the remaining juices) for 15 minutes. Slice to thin strips.

3. Peel the beetroots and place on a baking tray. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and cracked salt and pepper. Roast them whole in a preheated oven for 40 minutes at 200°C. Allow to cool before cutting it to thin slices.

4. Toast the nuts in a pan until they are golden and fragrant. Set aside.

5.Wash and drain the salad leaves. Dress with a bit of EVOO, cracked salt and pepper.

6. Mix the salad, beets, nuts together and serve on a plate. Place the sliced kangaroo on top and enjoy.

Do keep this recipe in mind, especially for next Australia Day!

Easy Roast Pork in Milk with Crackling Recipe!

...With Buttery Mash, Orange & Pomegranate Rocket Salad too

As much as 2013 is for me about venturing into the working world, it is almost just as much about... Pork crackling.

I have been so obsessed with roasting pork with crackling this year that I've made it 7 times the past 7 months. Including one occasion where my friends and I made a huge, huge batch of it when we were cooking for a charity lunch to feed close to 100 people while raising funds for some non-profit organisations in Melbourne. 

Love crackling but so frustrated when you get crispy crackling but overcooked meat? Or moist meat but chewy crackling? Or good crackling on some parts only? I hear ya...

After so much experimentation, I feel like I've finally cracked it. Pun intended, hur hur... The thing is, I've tried so many methods that people swear by but for some reason, it just doesn't work for me. I then realised that no matter how much people say that they've got "the best roast pork with crackling recipe ever", it may not work for everyone. Everyone's got different ways of achieving the same result. Every method has its own logic and rationale. However, there's so many variables (from the oven, to the pork, to the person itself) that at the end of the day, it really is just about finding one that works best for you.

To date, I have officially made roast pork 12 times. I was ecstatic when my very first attempt 2 years ago turned out so successful. Then, for some reason, I just could not get it right the next 3 times for some damn reason so I stopped for a very long time. I have tried everything since from:

- leaving pork covered/uncovered in the fridge overnight

- taking pork out midway to stab the skin vigorously with fork

- brushing skin with vinegar

- salting the skin few hours before/overnight

- salting the skin just before roasting

- oil or no oil on the skin

- pouring hot water on the pork

- roasting it covered/uncovered in the oven

- scoring the skin/not scoring the skin

- high heat first, then low heat later

- low heat first, then high heat later

I've made so many mistakes and learned from every single one. And nothing annoyed me more than when people say to me, "maybe it's because you didn't leave it in the fridge uncovered overnight". PLEASE.

After reading this post by my good friend Sarah, I was inspired to try again. I think the biggest thing she's pointed out is that the pork really does need to spend enough time in the oven. This is where it gets tricky. You need to roast it long enough that it COMPLETELY crackles, but not so long that your meat dries out. Which is why I thought her method of roasting it covered first at a low temperature, before uncovering it at the end was so clever. It yielded a seriously moist meat while giving it the time it needed.

Most of those methods I've tried made very little difference and wasn't as helpful compared to roasting it longer in the oven. Sure, you could do the usual method of just cooking it at higher temperature, uncovered, shorter amount of time. But this method that Sarah suggested is way more fail proof and reliable for consistent results every time. There are people out there who don't struggle with having good results each time, but I did until I used this method.

And if you're wondering, the main difference between recipes like these and the Chinese Roasted Crispy Skin Pork (烧肉) is that the Chinese version is usually roasted with charcoal until skin is BLACK before scraping off all the burnt bits. This leaves extra smoky flavour in the meat but you get a much thinner but crispy skin as most of it has been removed. I prefer this normal roast pork version more because you get thick, crunchy crackling.

Made this Roast Pork with Crackling and also my easy and delicious Beef Ribs Pasta (recipe: here) for the charity lunch

Yes, that's right... Pork in milk

After much tweaking, I find this recipe to be simplest and highest chance of success. Also, I've adjusted the flavour profile to completely suit my liking. Don't be alarmed when you see milk in the recipe, it actually is quite common to cook pork in milk (brings out the sweetness) and sitting it on a bed of garlic just does magic to the flavours. Plus, I think that the super buttery mash and zesty, fresh orange and pomegranate rocket salad really is my favourite combo to go with the roast pork by far. You'll see that I make it together all the time. Also, I still prefer making this with pork belly instead of other cuts like leg or shoulder simply because of the meat to skin ratio.

I host dinners at my place fairly often and the reason why I LOVE making this so often because it's incredibly delicious and takes minimal effort to cook. Plus, crackling gets EVERYBODY excited, which is why it's such a treat to share with your guests. 

Giving them the joy of seeing crackling on the table, before hearing the loud crunchy sounds it makes when they bite into it and followed by being pleasantly surprised that it's crunchier than they expected. Really is a gift worth sharing. This pork crackling recipe is just so easy that anyone can make it! Why? Because there honestly is close to no cooking involved. Just chuck the things together and whack it in the oven.

So, I hope you give this one a go. Not only because you will enjoy it, but you know that your friends and family will as well.

Good luck!

PERFECT for dinner parties!

Roast pork shoulder... But I still prefer belly

Don't need to score the skin but I just find that it makes it easier to carve

 Easy Roast Pork in Milk with Crackling

(inspired by this recipe by Sarah Cooks)

Ingredients:

1 slab of pork belly (1.5kg - 2.5kg)

1 bulb of garlic

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 tsp oil

Cracked sea salt

Fennel seeds (optional)

Note: You can just use 1 cup of milk and omit the wine, if you like

Method:

1. Leave the pork skin side up and uncovered in the fridge overnight. Remove from fridge just before cooking and score the meat with lines at 1cm apart.

2. Preheat the oven to 130°C. Place the garlic on its side and slice it directly in half. Place at the bottom of a baking tray. Place the pork belly (meat side down) on top of the garlic.

3. Pour the milk and white wine around the pork, making sure it doesn't touch the skin. 

4. Rub the oil on the skin (helps salt stick). Crack lots and lots of sea salt on the skin until you see a visible layer on top. Sprinkle with some fennel seeds, if using.

5. Wrap the baking tray with aluminium foil, making sure the tray is airtight but doesn't touch the skin of the pork. Otherwise, salt won't dissolve and will form a salt crust instead of crackling.

6. Bake in oven for 2.5 hours. After that, remove the foil and increase the heat to 240°C. Bake for a further 30 minutes or until skin has completely crackled.

7. Remove meat from tray and leave to rest for 15 minutes before carving to serve.

Yes! Moist meat, perfect crackling throughout. Win.

Buttery Mash Potato

Ingredients:

5 medium to large potatoes

125g butter

Milk

Cracked salt and pepper 

To garnish: Cayenne pepper or paprika

Method:

1. Cut potatoes into cubes and boil in water until extremely fork tender. You don't have to peel the potatoes if you don't want to, I rarely do. Am that lazy.

2. Drain the potatoes in a colander and return back to the pot. While hot, add in the butter and mash with potato masher or wooden spoon until butter melted. Never actually owned a potato masher.

3. Add milk until desired consistency is reached. If you like your mash thin, add more milk.  

4. Add cracked salt and pepper to taste. Dish in bowl or individual plates. Garnish with paprika or cayenne pepper (for looks).

Orange and Pomegranate Rocket Salad

Ingredients:

Rocket leaves

Extra virgin olive oil

Balsamic or wine vinegar

Cracked salt 

Pomegranate 

Orange

Method:

1. Rinse and drain rocket leaves. Remove the seeds from the pomegranate and cut the oranges into segments. Quantity is as you like.

2. Add in extra virgin olive oil and vinegar and mix until salad leaves are lightly coated. Crack a little bit of salt to taste.

3. Mix pomegranate seeds and sliced oranges.

Time to have a crackling party -- CHEERS!

EDIT: Photo above taken from when I made it again for my family for Christmas Day lunch 2013 as seen on my blog post: here

EDIT: Photo added on 23/03/15 from the time I prepared Chinese New Year dinner (full post: here)