a hearty winter meal...and what i think of hunting and modern farming

It's that time of year when hunters are enjoying the fruits of their labor - maybe a venison stew or chili. I'm not a hunter (although maybe some day), and neither is Ashley, but a friend sent him a package of bacon-wrapped venison chop steaks so we enjoyed the fruits of a hunter's labor as well.

This is the first time I ever cooked venison, and really the first time I've ever had a meal of it. I've heard cooking venison can be a little tricky, so I emailed the processing company to find out if they had any tips or recipes. The chop steaks are basically really thick burgers, and the bacon wrapped around the edge of them gives them a little moisture while they cook.

The cooking recommendation from Hudson Meats was to cook the chop steak like you'd cook a burger. Sprinkle the steaks with a little salt, pepper and garlic, or another preferred seasoning. Use high heat to sear both sides (on a grill or in a frying pan), then reduce the heat to medium to cook the steak through, reaching an internal temperature of at least 150 degrees (160 for a well-done steak).

Here's what I prepared:

Bacon-wrapped venison chop steak, mashed red potatoes
with cheese and roasted brussels sprouts with garlic.

To prepare the steak, I used:
-salt
-pepper
-worcestershire sauce

Rub each side of the steak with a little worcestershire sauce, and then sprinkle with a little salt and black pepper. Sear each side on high heat, then reduce the heat and let the steak cook through. Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature.

The steaks took quite a long time to cook through. I'm used to brussels sprouts taking the longest, so I put them in the oven for 10 minutes before beginning the steaks in a frying pan. Next time, I'll start them at the same time.

I haven't eaten beef in years, but when I did, I like a medium-well steak or burger. Parts of this venison steak were still a little too pink for my tastes, though. We still have a few more in the freezer, so next time I'd like to try cooking them on the charcoal grill, or perhaps under the broiler in the oven.

And...just because...here's my two cents on hunting and why I think I'd like to hunt in the future:

Many of us are meat eaters, and meat tends to be the most expensive part of a meal whether it is chicken, beef, pork or even fish. Already being the most expensive part of your meal, that makes buying the humanely raised and slaughtered and properly fed (or wild caught, for fish) meat even more of a stretch. I've done some shopping around for local, free-range chicken and even those prices are a little shocking. However, I know the value that goes into raising and processing and animal and I do think it's worth it.

I think modern day agriculture sucks...both for produce and for meat. We use a lot of chemicals. We see the bottom line now, more than ever, and often getting there and ensuring it's the largest bottom line possible involves some short cuts. We owe a lot to the animals that live just to die for our consumption, and I don't think they get anywhere close to the treatment they deserve for such a large sacrifice. Can you imagine existing solely to die? Sometimes I wonder, considering factory farmed animals, whether we deserve to eat an animal if we can't stand to see it suffer and die. I had this thought recently while re-watching Food, Inc. and feeling unhappy as the pigs at a factory farm were run through the gates to be slaughtered. It's tough to watch. And really, what makes us so privileged that we feel we can or even should be removed from all aspects of our food's growth and production? Yeah...I can't answer that one, because I don't think we should be so removed. That's what makes it dangerous.

So anyway, I think when people hunt for food (more than for sport), they are or become more appreciative of the source of food. You spend time with the animal in its environment...maybe gain even more appreciation for nature, the resources found in it and the peace it can bring us when we take care of it. The animal you kill has lived a natural life. It hasn't been confined between metal bars, or fed antibiotics or forced to eat an unnatural diet (you do know that factory farmed cows are often fed fish meal, right? and that you wouldn't naturally find a cow chomping on an ear of corn? ...just making sure). As soon as that animal you're hunting goes down, you can thank it for its sacrifice. Not only is it feeding you, but it's allowing you to sharpen your skills...patience, hunting, relaxation, maybe even butchering. You won't find that on sale at the supermarket.        

super sides: sweet potato chips

Sweet potato fries and chips seem to be a big hit now that various "caveman" diets have become so popular (think Paleo and Whole30). While still craving the favorite side to grass-fed beef or free-range turkey burger, dieters are opting for sweet potato over the traditional white potato for fries and chips.

But why? Livestrong.com authors did a little research for a comparison between white and sweet potatoes. While the amount of calories, carbohydrates, fiber, protein and fat were fairly close between the 100 g servings of each potato, the sweet potato was the clear winner when it came to vitamins. The amount of Vitamin C and Vitamin A per serving (compared to a white potato) are a likely reason the sweet potato prevails as the healthier choice. However, the white potato can offer a slightly higher amount of iron and potassium.

Nutritional information aside, the way you prepare your food also has a hand in how healthy it is when you eat it. Common sense tells you that fresh veggies are great, but if you load them up with a fatty dressing or lots of melted butter, you're adding calories and perhaps some ingredients you could better live without.

This week, I planned on a dinner of turkey burgers and sweet potato chips. I read countless recipes online, each with loads of comments from readers and at-home chefs who tried and maybe tweaked the recipes, sharing their results. The bottom line? Everyone had an opinion as to how to make the best and crispiest sweet potato treat.

Make your raw sweet potato slices as thin as possible.

I began by following a set of instructions for baking the sweet potato chips. Why baking? Less oil, less mess and less effort.

what you need:
sweet potatoes
mandolin or a sharp knife and steady hand
olive oil
sea salt or other seasonings of your choice

what you do:
1. Wash your sweet potatoes, peel if desired (I chose not to) and slice as thin as possible.
2. Put the sweet potato slices in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil, mixing the potato slices with your hands to ensure they all get a light coating of oil.
3. Lay the slices out on a baking sheet (I chose a broiler pan with holes that rests on top of a deeper pan) and sprinkle with sea salt or other seasonings (I used Old Bay).
4. Place the pan on the lower rack of a 400º oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, turning the potato slices over halfway through baking time.

Now, here's where I went wrong. Some recipes and comments suggested turning up the heat partway through the baking process, so I upped the temperature to nearly 450º. After throwing in a load of laundry, I came back to the kitchen to find half of the chips crispy and edible, the rest charred. Perhaps if I baked the sweet potato slices longer and at the lower temperature, they all would have turned out great. The edible ones were pretty fantastic though.

Luckily I had three sweet potatoes, so I tried another method - a combination of oil frying and baking.

what you need:
sweet potatoes
mandolin or a sharp knife and a steady hand
cooking oil
sea salt or other seasonings of your choice

what you do:
1. What your sweet potatoes, peel if desired (again, I did not) and slice as thin as possible.
2. Cover the bottom of a large frying pan with cooking oil (1/4-1/2 inch) and turn the burner on medium heat to begin warming the oil.
3. Using a spatula or large spoon, carefully place sweet potato slices in the frying pan. After a couple of minutes, flip the slices over. Continue frying in the oil until you see the slices shrivel and begin resembling a potato chip.
4. Before the chips get too brown, use the spatula to remove them from the oil, allowing excess oil to drain back into the frying pan. Spread the chips out on a baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt or other seasonings.
5. Once all sweet potato slices have been fried and are on the baking sheet, place the sheet in the oven at 400º. After about 3-5 minutes, check and flip the chips on the cookie sheet. Salt or season the flipped side of the chips and bake for another 3-5 minutes.
6. When you remove the chips from the oven, place them on a paper towel to absorb excess oil before serving.

Although more labor intensive, the second method produced much better chips. They were crispy (except the ones I got a little impatient with while frying), crunchy and a perfect side to homemade turkey burgers. These were definitely worth the effort to make again.