Volume 12, Issue 040 - February 23, 2007

Hello Chef,

Wow! What a great week of content and recipes. Thanks for all your notes this week. When you see venison on a menu, always ask if it is Cervena that the restaurant is serving. It is your guarantee of quality. I would like to thank the fine folks at Cervena for their content this week, and especially Geralyn Delaney Graham from Resources PR for all her hard work getting us this great information, recipes and images.

Next week we will explore the cuisine of great historic American Hotels. Stay tuned!

Have a great weekend, You deserve it!

Cervena Cuts:

Cervena arrives to you in vacuum packs either freshly chilled or frozen. Cervena is easy to recognize by the distinctive stripes, gold for chilled, silver for frozen.

Cervena cuts offer value for money. With virtually no fat or sinews, Cervena provides high yield and little cooking shrinkage. Cuts can be ordered from your supplier 12 months of the year according to your requirements.

New Zealand farmed deer are predominantly red deer, but limited quantities of North American Elk (Wapiti) are also available from New Zealand.

The table below provides a guide on the Cervena cuts available and the weights of the packs.

The Saddle:
The most traditional of venison cuts and contains two rib racks, two striploins, two shortloins, and two tenderloins.

To see the hind leg cuts, click here

Source: Cervena.com

Natural Tender Venison from the Open Farmlands of New Zealand. Resources, Cooking Guides, Who's Using Cervena, Recipes and More!

Cervena Venison Quesadillas with Monterey Jack, Avocado and Backyard Salsa

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds loin of Cervena venison, cleaned, trimmed and cut into four 6 ounce pieces
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
6 flour tortillas
1/2 cup grated Monterey jack cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
3 avocados, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup Backyard Salsa (recipe follows)

Preparation:

Heat grill to high heat. Drizzle Cervena with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin and garlic powder. Grill loin cut on high heat until medium temperature, approximately 6 to 8 minutes on each side. Remove from grill and cool.

Take the flour tortillas and lay on a flat surface. Cut loin into slices, approximately 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle cheese onto tortillas, top with sliced Cervena and sliced avocado. Fold the tortilla in half, like a sandwich, to form the quesadilla. Place quesadilla back onto grill and cook for approximately 3 minutes per side or until warmed through and cheese has melted. Remove from the heat and cut into wedges. Serve Backyard Salsa on the side.

Backyard Salsa

Ingredients:

3 heirloom tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 small red onion, peeled and minced
1/2 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
3 sprigs of cilantro, chopped
3 leaves "backyard" basil, chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients and allow flavors to infuse for at least 2 hours.

Recipe by: Chef Todd Gray, Equinox, Washington DC

Meet Two Cervena Farmers:

Charlie Ewing, Cattle Flat Station
Lake Wanaka, New Zealand

Location: Cattle Flat Station is in the southern portion of the South Island near Lake Wanaka. It is situated in the Matukituki Valley, which was formed by glaciers millions of years ago.

About the Farm: Our family has owned this farm for 30 years and we've farmed deer for the last ten of them. Among those who work the farm with me is our daughter Pip, making the fourth generation of the Ewing family to farm in this area. The station is 10,000 acres with about 50 paddocks, the largest ones being up to 500 acres. It is in a beautiful setting surrounded by mountain ranges with the 10,000 foot high Mt. Aspiring right in our backyard.

Our deer graze on improved pastures and over-sown hill country up to 5,000 feet. We grow supplemental winter feed on our farm, mainly Swedes - a kind of turnip - and brassicas, which is in the cabbage family, in addition to silage. We normally "break feed" the deer, allowing the stock a portion of the paddock for part of the day before moving them. Last year we raised 4,000 deer for the Cervena label.

The Rewards of Deer Farming: We are proud to be part of such a quality product as Cervena and believe it is a privilege to be able to work outside with our healthy herd in such a beautiful environment. Originally we farmed just cattle and sheep, but diversifying into farming deer on the hill country where our farm is located seemed a natural fit.

Favorite Venison Dishes: Our family enjoys the clean flavor of the venison so much that we prepare it very simply. This also makes it a really easy-to-prepare dinner as well! Our two favorite cuts to serve at home are the whole fillet and steaks. For the fillet, lightly oil the meat and sprinkle well with sea salt crystals; sear the meat and then move to the oven or a covered barbecue and cook to rare. The steaks go right on a very hot grill and are flashed on each side, then served immediately.

Trevor Pearce, Northbank Station,
Rakaia, New Zealand

Location: About 35 miles south of Christchurch on the South Island, near the Rakaia river and 12 miles from the Pacific Coast.

About the Farm: I manage Northbank Station, which is a family-owned farm of 1600 acres, with 1500 acres being effectively farmed. The farm has about 100 paddocks on which the deer roam and graze. The deer are grass fed and supplemented with sileage and barley grown on the farm during the winter months. Last year, 5000 animals were farmed for the Cervena label.

Northbank is beautifully laid out with shelter and fresh clean water available in each paddock. We feed our deer clean young grass and have initiated a ‘center lane system' for moving our herds from one paddock to another to graze, eliminating the stress factor that can be associated with that. And our farm is serviced by an irrigation system that draws water from the nearby Rakaia River, ensuring our animals new grass even during times of drought.

The Rewards of Deer Farming: I enjoy the reward of deer farming and the challenge of raising a new herd of animals to the high standards of the Cervena label each and every season. I am proud to say that our venison is a lean, clean product based on principles of sustainable farming.

Favorite Venison Dishes: "One of our favorite ways to eat venison is to marinate thick cuts from the loin in a mixture of plum sauce, garlic and equal amounts of olive oil and orange juice. A quick 2 to 3 minutes on each side on the barbecue and it's ready. Another dish we enjoy is a rolled roast served with fresh home grown vegetables like Kumura pumpkin; we put the roast in a roasting bag so that we have a lovely rich gravy from the juices."

Source: Cervena.com

Prairie Harvest ships game meats to professional chefs, home chefs, resorts and restaurants.

Cervena Venison Burgers with Sweet and Sour Tomatoes and Horseradish Crème Fraîche

These burgers have been a big hit whether I served them as a special at PUBLIC or when I prepare them at home for friends and family. You can use any cut of Cervena for this recipe, but I would suggest a leg cut, which is more affordable than the loin. Remember, that Cervena venison is a lean and healthy meat with about 1/5 the fat of beef, so it cooks quickly! Here are some tips to keep the burgers nice and moist:

• If you have a butcher grind the meat, ask him to make a course mix on the largest setting.
• When making the meat into patties, pack them loosely - the texture is nicer and the meat will cook better.
• Use a medium flame and don't cook the burgers past medium.

I like serving the burgers on miso buns that we make at the restaurant, but you can use egg buns or drizzle some olive oil over the buns and grill them to get richer, moister bread. The two toppings go great together with the flavor of the meat.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

Venison Burgers:

2 1/4 pounds Cervena venison from the leg
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 stems flat leaf parsley, leaves removed and finely chopped
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons Maldon salt (see note)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

You can make the venison into ground meat in three ways:

1. (Recommended method) Chop the meat by hand until the pieces are about the size of lentils. Place it in a mixing bowl with the other ingredients and mix until well incorporated.

2. Roughly chop the meat, place in a food processor with all of the other ingredients and lightly pulse the blade until the venison looks like ground meat.

3. If you have a meat grinder or the proper attachment to your mixer, mix all of the ingredients together and push through the grinder.

Once the meat mix is ground, separate it into 4 equal portions. With your hands, lightly form the meat into patties, taking care not to pack them too tightly.

Grill over a medium flame to medium rare, about 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Be careful not to overcook the burgers as the meat cooks very quickly.

Sweet and Sour Tomatoes

Ingredients:

1 pound can peeled and crushed tomatoes
1/2 thumb ginger, peeled and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Tabasco
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
5 tablespoons cider vinegar

Preparation:

Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan and place on medium heat. Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook the sauce on a low simmer for 30 minutes, until it becomes thick and glossy. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. This keeps very well in the refrigerator.

Horseradish Crème Fraîche

Ingredients:

1/4 cup crème fraîche
1/4 teaspoon Maldon or Kosher salt
1 tablespoon horseradish
1/2 bunch chives, chopped
1 grind pepper

Preparation:

Combine all in a mixing bowl and stir until well mixed.

To Serve:

Put a dollop of the horseradish crème fraîche on a toasted bun. Place the medium rare grilled venison burger on the bun and top with a spoonful of the sweet and spicy tomatoes.

Note: *Maldon Salt is a flavorful salt from the UK that can be found in specialty stores, but Kosher salt can also be used.

Recipe by: Chef Brad Farmerie, PUBLIC, New York City