Morel Mushroom, Dijon, Rosemary Lamb Chops
Okay sports fans here is the deal. Lamb chops are the bomb. I have made them for parties, and catered dinners and they are always the big hit of the party. I always serve them first too when everyone is still sober so the remember the one thing that tasted great. It is relatively easy, all you need is a rack of lamb which you can get at Costco.
Just take a sharp knife and start cutting in between the ribs. I like to cut any fat off the chops because lamb fat is nasty, and if you like lamb fat then you are naturally a nasty person. Just saying.
Remember the morel’s I picked a few months ago? I am going to hydrate them in warm water, about 2 cups of water.
Do not start swinging at these chops like ole John Henry on the rail road tracks. Take a plastic bag and gently pound with a mallet to flatten the meat a little bit….gently.
Pour the liquid from the bowl of morel’s you were using to hydrate the mushrooms. Bring to a boil, add 3 tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons of Dijon, a few love dashes of pepper. Boil for about 3-5 minutes until it reduces to a 1/3rd.
Then take 3 whole clove garlic, 3 sprigs of rosemary, the morels 1/2 cup, salt, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and put in a blender.
Then your going to pour your morel Dijon reduction into the blender and let it rip until its nice and thick and creamy like peanut butter.
Get your bbq rolling to around 375-400 degrees, or nice and hot. Olive oil and sea salt the chops. Toss them on your que and let them go with the top down for about 4-5 minutes or until nice and brown. Once you have good color flip them and add your mixture to the top and shut bbq again and let them cook for 4-5 minutes.
This is what it looks like after coming out of the bbq and ready for plating. Try making them then tell me what you think. They are a good appetizer, or a meal. If you do not like lamb, try it anyways. I have turned a lot of previous bad opinions about lamb with this dish.
And that there folks is how you do it. For all my gangster hunting chefs out there, I am throwing you a little whoop whoop.
Hunting Chef
Big Wayne and his Famous Water Bathed Brisket
This is my buddy Wayne.
Wayne is about 6’5″ and two inches shorter than Todd. Wayne is tall and big, he is very sensitive. Here is Big Wayne feeding the wild life pototoe salad. This little doe will probably not make the cute little poop pellets like she should tommorow morning.
You may recognize him from our wedding because he was in charge of smoking the 12 pound New York cuts in the Traeger smoker.
That day, the boys hit it out of the ball park. Everyone was very impressed with the meat produced by my buddies. This was a huge success and both Steph and I were indebted to them for the huge gift they gave us that day and we both went to bed that night thankful of all our great friends that we are truly blessed to have.
Why Wayne is working his magic we have a botchy ball tourney, which Steph and I lose to Alice and Bo in the finals.
Wayne is still over with his water bath brisket. It has been in the Caja China for roughly two hours and I think at this point he starts to realize he might be in trouble.
It’s roughly 6 pm at this point and the brisket has turned color but has not made the process that is needed. Todd walks over to me and under his breath whispers “We got a problem, there is no way that it is gonna be any good, its gonna be as tough as a leather boot.”. I reply “Dont worry I got an idea”.
So we busted out a rotisserie and I went and grabbed a marinated tri-tip that I brought for those food emergencies such as this one.
So we begin the rescue mission, Wayne doesn’t really notice what we are doing…well because…..
Asleep on the couch, he abandoned his bbq post. Meanwhile, we are completing this beautiful piece of meat on the rotissierie.
This is a picture of me with the tri tip roast coming off the La Caja China. Notice two things in this photo. One, I am representing….a little shout out to all my Bronco fans out there. Secondly, where in the $#^@ is Big Wayne?
We pull off the tri-tip roast, and the sleeping giant awakes to check his brisket. He pulls it out of the hot box and makes one incision down the middle of this masterpiece.
He is devastated, and I am laughing at him saying “I told you, that is one shitty piece of meat.” However, I have you covered with a tri-tip. We put the brisket back into the box and left it until morning. The meat was broken down but still dry and well….shitty. His neighbor comes down and we asked him if he wanted brisket. He said “that brisket is a delicacy.” I replied “Where are you from?” He snorted “Texas”. At that moment it hit me. I knew now why the South had lost the civil war.
“No Sir, I am not going to go charge the line. I have been eating that shitty hard tack brisket for 3 weeks, I am so bound up I can hardly walk. I am going to sit this one out.”
Wayne, returned to his couch as a defeated bbq pit master. I know he is still awake in the picture but faking he is asleep. He is thinking, “That brisket is one piece of shitty meat” then he and his belly full of tri-tip went to sleep until his wife told him to go get in his bed.
3 Rednecks and the familes and a whole lot of eating…….
Once a year, two other couples and us get together for rafting, eating, and little bit of drinking. This year we had to change the plan because of our kids, so we ventured over to Todd and Alice’s place by Billy Chinook Lake. We knew it was going to be a food fest because all of us boys are quite talented in the outdoor cooking arena. However, this weekend would challenge us all. Todd was doing slow smoked pulled pork sandwiches, to Todd’s amazement the pork wasnt “pull able” until around 2:00 am that night. We know this because Todd and I, the only ones still awake to try it. So there we were like to rabid raccoons eating of the que in the dark.
The next morning, I was called up from the bull pen to bring out the Big Iron. When I say Big Iron, I mean exactly that. My good friend, Grover had this World War II griddle that he found at some antique store and every time we go camping he would bring it and his son and I would argue who was going to get it in the will. Finally, Grover had enough and decided we could go have it recasted and poured and we would market them because you cannot find them anywhere. When the product was completed we learned that the skillet was 60 lbs and cost us too much to ship it. So I had the big boys make me a fire, and we were gonna make what I call the “Kitchen Sink”, because we throw everything into this except the kitchen sink.
Basically we have hash browns, onions, mushrooms, sausage, bacon, and pulled pork. We get this sizzling on some olive oil until a nice crust begins to form.
You have to add the cheese just for the cholesterol factor. This is where you let it get nice and crusty off the grill. Once you got a nice crust formed you add the eggs.
Then you finish them off by mixing them on the griddle until the eggs are no longer runny.
Then you just get some paper plates throw down the spatula and let them serve it hot off the grill.
That night, it is Wayne’s turn at dinner. He tells me in a slow redneck draw “I am gonna cook brisket”. My gut instantly sinks as I reply “Why?” He retorts “Because I am gonna make you a believer son”. This next meal gets its entirely own blog dedicated to itself. Stay tuned folks.
Beef Brisket…???? I do not get it
What is the story with Beef Brisket? Every BBQ place has it on their menu. All the Pit Masters have to make it in competitions and still HAS ANYONE EVER HAD GOOD BEEF BRISKET? Every time I try it I think to my self “I dont get it”. I think it is some what of a good idea to have it in BBQ competitions because if you can make a dog turd taste good you deserve the blue ribbon right? I made it over the fourth of July and I spent every 30 minutes basting it on a low and slow method on a Traeger smoker….for 12 hours. That is correct, you heard me…..12 hours. That is after I had to trim it, dry rub it, put it in the fridge for 12 hours before that. It was like I was married to it for an entire day.
Look at that piece of meat, doesn’t it look just perty? That is what they would say in Texas because it was the TEXANS that invented this piece of crap…I mean meat. The beef brisket was considered the worse piece of meat on the entire cow, because it is essentially a muscle. This cut of meat went to the people in jail, and the cowboys punching cows out in the desert for weeks on in. They were not served it until they ran out of rations because they used the brisket for tack and jerky because it was so bad.
I followed the National BBQ champions recipe. Notice the Traeger at 220 degrees? Notice the hot dog? I’m not sure how that got in the picture, but this takes so long I apparently need to eat something during the 12 hours of smoking and basting. At this point, I am thinking this is gonna be awesome. In my mind, I am making the best brisket in the world and it is worth the pain and suffering and patience.
Looks good right? It smells good too. At this point, I start to realize that I am supposed to bring this meat up to 200 degrees internal temperature. Just so you know, that is super well done. I am thinking to myself “Could that be right? Is that right?” Double checked and I was correct. This makes the brisket break apart nicely with lots of flavor and moisture. Okay, I buy it I am in. This is gonna be great.
Look how happy I am right there! Notice my temp probe is at 157 degrees. I already brought it out of smoker at 200 degrees, but my pitmaster instructions say to let it sit for an hour in alum foil. This keeps all the juices in the meat.
I get to the party and I have the package with me. Neatly wrapped in my aluminum foil, and everyone knows that I have been working on this for basically 24 hours. I bring it out, and I begin to cut it against the grain as instructed. At this point, I am not really liking what I am seeing. It looks like all the rest of the brisket I have seen before, well done. I plate it, and at this point I am starting to go down hill with excitement very fast. Notice I didn’t take any photos? That is because I am not happy. The only thing that taste good about this brisket is the outside if you licked it. A chef once told me that the brisket was the shittiest tasting meat on a cow, and he was right. Call me a Northwest Outdoorsman, but I like taste of meat, and I like it at medium rare. There is a reason that bbq places lather it in BBQ sauce after they cut it. My experience taught me one important lesson. The people of Texas, you can have all the brisket because folks, that is one shitty cut of meat.
The Hunting Chef
Chili Rellenos with Pheasant
I often get asked what to do with Pheasant. Most people bbq them, I find that to be a little boring and dry to say the least. Pheasant, unlike chicken, does not have any fat on it so it dries out very easily. Once dried, its like eating pheasant jerky. So from time to time I mess around with different methods of cooking pheasant. My wife is a major fan of Hispanic food, she LOVES it. I, not so much, but she would eat it every day if she could. So to celebrate my love for her and her food fetish I decided to make Chili Relenos. First, thing you do is go out and buy some Poblanos. Make sure you buy the ones that are flat and not twisted because you are going to stuff them. I bought four, because that is about the perfect amount for two pheasant breast. I used a bbq in this method, but you can use the flame from your oven grill or broil method.
You want to turn them black on both sides, don’t be afraid to get them on some fire. After blackening both sides remove them from the heat source and put them in a plastic bag for about 7-10 minutes.
You really want to put the chilis in a zip lock bag. This creates moisture and will allow you to peel the outer skin of the Poblano with ease.
Make a slit down the length of the chili, but NOT past the end. Remove the pepper seeds and anything else that may be in there.
While doing this, get a skillet going on medium hot, add some olive oil and some butter and take your pheasant breast that you season with sea salt and pepper and brown both sides, should not take more than 3-4 minutes a side. Then cut them into 1/2 squares and set aside. I use a little cuisnart because it has more power than a Bullet. You will need a food processor to make this perfect, but if you have to use a kitchen aid then you will just have to do it longer until the chicken is broken down and mixed well.
- Add your cooked pheasant to the food processor.
- Add 1 cup of shredded pepper jack cheese.
- Add 2 whole garlic cloves.
- 1/2 tsp. of cayenne pepper (you can add more if you want a little more zip).
- 1/2 tsp of cumin.
- 1/2 tsp of chili powder.
- Season with Salt and pepper to your taste.
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add more to the blender if you think it needs it to blend up well.
Blend up until consistency is good and stuff your Poblano chilis.
- Take the chilis and roll them in an egg wash first. Basically mix beat two eggs and put them in a bowl. Take another bowl and put flour in it and roll chilis in flour.
Take the floured stuffed chilis re-apply the egg wash and roll in bread crumbs. This can be progresso or homemade. Then set in fridge to “set up” for at least 30 minutes.
Get your Cast Iron Skillet y’all and get to workI personally use a cast iron skillet for these types of things. I love the color that it distributes over what I am working with and it also gives me an excuse to use it more than my wife when she wields it as a weapon when I come stumbling home late. Take some butter and olive oil and brown them on both sides. Just like the photo folks. Get your oven rolling at about 350 degrees and get a cooking dish and set the peppers in maybe do a once over with pam to make sure it does not stick. I took a some cheese and cut it in small lengths just for appearance. Put in the oven for 15 minutes, I added some hot Mexican oil for the photo but this is where you can use your own imagination and take this dish to another level. There are over 3000 types of salsa that you can make for the side that could send this dish over the top. Take a shot and make something to make it special to you. I hope you enjoyed the recipe. The Huntingchef Pheasant Chile Relenos are plated and ready for the little lady.
Columbia Crest Shoot- Bone in Pork Chops Blue Cheese wine reduction with Morel’s
We did this shoot for a Bon Apetite Contest about a year ago. I thought it my go well on my blog and I was looking for a chance to practice with video uploads. I think the bone in Pork Chop in a cast iron skillet can be one of the tastiest meats out there, notice in this video I did not use cast iron but that is Hollywood for you. Searing technique is must use with this dish. Enjoy
Hunting Chef
What to do with a Bison Ribeye
As you already know I had to basically bait Marni the Monster to my house to have her help me with my blog format. So she agreed to help me, as long as I agreed to cook for her. I replied “choose your weapon”, she replied “Buffalo”. I then replied “Thursday at 6pm, and make sure your husband wears a shirt”. George works out 5 hours a day and likes to show his muscles. So the journey begins.
First, you select the perfect cut. There is not a lot of fat to bison, but what fat there is, you need to make sure you trim it off. It is usually on the outside and very easy to trim.
I am going to make this into a French cut roast, so what I need to do is trim the bones and it begins like this.
At this point you need to cut the meat out from in between the bones, but I am a firm believer of not wasting good meat product. Set the meat aside in a bowl because we will use it later.
Discard of any fat, and then season your roast with what you prefer. I use sea salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder,and a hint of Cajun powder.
I apologize for the photo, my oldest daughter borrowed ours for Costa Rica. Now if you’re in a hurry let it sit for 30 minutes, or put it in the fridge for a few hours. If you do the later make sure to let the meat sit before bbq’ing for about 30 minutes. I took the left over Bison meat, and I am going to combine it with a pound of veal, and one pound of burger with no fat.
I then season it with a little sea salt and pepper. That is it, and roll it into nice 3/4 wt. balls.
They are now ready for the burger press. Notice the little wax papers I have them sitting on. This will save you a major clean up mess. It will also be handy when freezing them later.
I then put a sheet on top and on bottom to put in my press. This keeps it nice and clean and allows me to work with the meat with ease.
Then you take them out and lay them on one sheet of paper. I set them on a cookie tray, and I set them in the freezer for 45 minutes to set up for the final process.
Once “Set Up” then I take them to my professional vac pac machine and let the machine do its handy work.
These burgers will be the best tasting meat patties you ever had, and the best part is you used the bison meat to boot. Lets get back to the rib eye. So now, I have started my trusty Green egg and I brought the temperature up to 500 degrees. I am going to cook it at 500 degrees for 20 minutes to sear the meat. Then I am going to drop it to 325 degrees and cook until 135 degrees.
Okay your going to ask me how do I know when the meat is at 135 degrees? A meat thermometer dude!
I cannot stress to you enough how important a meat thermo probe is. The best 40 bucks you will spend. The novice keeps opening the thing up and cutting into the meat to see. Total rookie!
Once the temp is 135 degrees I take it off and let it stand for 10 minutes. Bison meat is going to go from medium rare to medium well very fast. I would recommend serving it med. rare because it will be medium half way thru the dinner.
Then you slice it, plate it, and watch Marni and George roll their eyes back into their heads.
That is how you finish off a good night with good friends. Thank you Marni for helping me with my blog and thank you George for keeping your shirt on and most importantly thank you sous chef Stephanie for helping me in the kitchen.
CatasTrophy Wife
I have to thank CatasTrophy Wife for her inspiration and help in organizing my blog. She is pretty much the coolest person I’ve ever met…besides my beautiful wife, Steph. Her blog is hilarious. You should all check it out and subscribe!!
The CatasTrophy Wife:
She made me pay for her services by feeding her and her husband a ton of buffalo. We will no longer be able to afford food for the rest of the year, but at least my blog looks better.
Thanks for all your help CatasTrophy Wife!!
huntingchef.com 
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