Venison Reuben on Poppy Seed Rye

On the surface, this is just a sandwich. But a lot of labor and love went into the making of it. Months spent scouting the woods trying to find the perfect position. Cumulatively, there were probably dozens of miles walked. Early mornings watching the sun rise and light up the ice encrusted tree canopy as my feet felt like they were going to freeze. Then there was the harvest and the subsequent months of planning how to do justice to every pound of meat. Six more weeks for the sauerkraut and the fine tuning of the sourdough poppy seed rye. Six days for the cure on the pastrami. Three hours in the smoker. And just a few minutes to devour it. Was it worth it? I don’t regret any minute of it. 

Video of the process below.

The Pastrami

First off I want to credit Hank Shaw for the basis of this recipe. For the most part I followed the fundamentals of his recipe but just tweaked a few ingredients and temperature/timing in the smoker. The cut I used for this recipe was the bottom round, cleaned and trimmed. 

Ingredients

The Cure

A 2 - 4 pound piece of venison (single muscle works best)

Kosher salt (2% of the weight of the meat)

Instacure No. 1 (0.25% of the weight of the meat)

1/4 teaspoon celery seed

1/4 teaspoon caraway seed

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon crushed juniper berries

The Dry Rub

3 tablespoons ground black pepper (1 tbsp per pound)

3 tablespoons coarsely ground coriander (1 tbsp per pound)

1/4 cup dry sherry

Instructions

1. Weigh your piece of meat. In a spice grinder, mix together all of the ingredients for the cure. Measure your salt and curing salt carefully based on the percentages listed above. 

2. Using your hands, pack all of the spices and salt onto the meat, massaging it into ass nooks and crevices of the meat. Make sure all sides are equally coated. Transfer into a large ziplock bag, airtight container, or vacuum seal. The meat will now cure in the refrigerator for 4 - 6 days. Hank’s general rule is 2 days per pound of meat. 

3. Remove the meat and rinse it off in a bowl of cold water to remove the bulk of the cure. Pat the meat dry and place back into the refrigerator uncovered for another 30 mins up to a day. 

4. Using the spice grinder again, blend together the peppercorns and coriander spinkly it across the bottom of a baking tray, reserving some more to sprinkle on top.  

5. Place the meat in a bowl and pour the dry sherry all over it and massage it into the meat. 

6. Transfer the meat, coated in sherry, to the tray of spices and carefully work it around the dry rub so it is coated on all sides. Pack more of the dry rub on top with your hands until every part of the surface is covered. 

7. Set your smoker temperature to 250F and smoke the meat for 2 - 3 hrs until the internal temperature reaches 145F. Allow the meat to cool and slice very thinly.

The Poppy Seed Rye

For the full rye bread recipe click here to view previous post.

The Sauerkraut

This is a pretty ubiquitous recipe that makes for a simple but delicious kraut. 

Ingredients

1 head of green (or red) cabbage

2% of the weight of cabbage in kosher salt

Caraway Seeds

Instructions

1. Peel the outer leaves from the cabbage. Wash thoroughly. 

2. Thinly slice cabbage and weigh it on a scale.

3. Measure exactly 2% the weight of the cabbage in salt.

4. In a large bowl using your hands mix together the salt of the cabbage. Massage it. Crush it with your hands until all the liquid from the cabbage starts to be extracted. Continue massaging for 5 - 10 minutes.

5. Add in a sprinkling of caraway seeds. Mix together again.

6. Pack all the cabbage and it’s juices into your fermentation vessel of choice. Use the outer leaves as a protective layer on top of the kraut and weigh it down with a glass weight or similar. 

7. Allow to ferment for 4 - 6 weeks in a cool and dark area of your house. After 4 weeks you can transfer it to the refrigerator. 

8. That’s it.

Sourdough Ciabatta

My first attempt at ciabatta was a total disaster. I decided to start from scratch and completely rethink the recipe. Second time around I think I nailed it. Beautiful open crumb and wonderful flavor.

450 g water

53 g whole wheat flour

477 g bread flour

90 g active starter

15 g salt

18 g olive oil

*yields two medium size loaves at 85% hydration

Step 1 Autolyse - 2pm Day 1

Mix together 400 g of water and 530 g of the combined flour. Make sure there are no clumps, cover and set to autolyse for up to six hours. Note that you are reserving 50 g of the total water for the next step.

Step 2 Bassinage Technique - 7pm Day 1 

Because of the high hydration, a stand mixer makes this process quite a bit easier. You can mix by hand but it doubles the amount of time it takes to develop the gluten. 

Combine the autolyse mixture, 15 g of salt, 90 g of active sourdough starter, and 18 g of olive oil into your mixing bowl. Lower the hook attachment into the bowl and start it at the lowest setting for a few minutes. Very slowly add in the remaining 50 g of water. At this point you may begin to question whether or not it’s going to work but stay the course and the dough will start forming structure. Increase the mixer speed and continue to add water slowly. Increase the speed again. Total mixing time will take about 10-15 minutes. You’ll notice that with patience, the dough begins to form a ball and will start slapping against the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough into a large mixing bowl or container.

Step 3 Additional Folding - 7:15pm - 9:00pm Day 1

You’ll want to fold the dough three times (with your hands) over the course of the next 1.5 hours to develop the gluten. By the end the dough should be very smooth and should not stick to your hands while folding. It will remain very wet but it should pass the windowpane test. Cover and rest overnight at room temperature. 

Step 4 Proofing - 7am Day 2

Uncover the dough and generously flour the surface. Gently pull the edges of the dough back from the sides of the container allowing flour to rolls down along the edges. Turn the container over onto a floured surface and divide the dough into two halves. The key now is to touch the dough as little as possible. Gently shape each half into rectangles and transfer them onto a well floured couche. Any clean kitchen linens will work if you don’t own a baker’s couche. You’ll want to make sure there is a barrier between the two doughs as they proof. Give another dusting of flour to the top of the dough and cover with another couche or kitchen linens. Allow to proof for another 2 - 3 hours.

Step 5 Baking - 10am Day 2 

Your oven should be set to 450F with a heatproof bowl of water on the rack to create steam. The next part can be a little tricky and you may need to improvise depending on the type of tools you’re working with. Now it’s time to get your proofed dough off of the couche, onto a peel or board, and into the oven. As long as you have floured the couche and dough liberally you shouldn’t have any issues with the dough sticking. Because of the high hydration you’ll need to work somewhat quickly and confidently. Now you’ll flip each dough off of the couche and onto your launching tool in one clean motion so that the bottom now becomes the top. I like to use parchment paper for this stage as well. For this recipe, both doughs should fit on a medium sized pizza peel and will bake directly on a stone in a medium sized conventional oven. Bake for 20 minutes with the steam and lower the temperature to 425F. Remove the bowl of water and baker for another 20-25 mins until golden brown and well risen. Remove from oven and allow to cool before slicing. 

Whole Wheat Oat Bran Seeded Sourdough

Mix together 430 g of water, 424 g of bread flour, 106 g of whole wheat flour and 15 g of oat bran and set to autolyse for up to six hours.  Add 15 g of salt and 90 g of active sourdough starter and start working into the dough with your hands or with a rubber spatula until more or less homogenous. Let rest for 45 minutes. You’ll want to fold the dough two more times (with your hands) over the course of the next 1 - 2 hours to develop the gluten. By the end the dough should be very smooth and should not stick to your hands while folding. Cover and rest for about 10 hours at room temperature. For timing, I normally will aim to start mixing in the salt and active starter around 7pm. By 9pm I leave it alone for the bulk ferment at room temperature.

In the morning (around 7am) transfer the dough to a clean working surface lightly dusted with flour. Divide the dough into 4 - 6 equal parts depending on the size and shape of the rolls you’re making. Shape each piece being careful not to degas the dough. Gently roll each dough into a mix of seeds. I like to use golden flax, sesame, and poppy seeds. Cover and let rise for 2 - 3 hours. 

Set oven to 450F. Using a bread laim, score each dough. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes with a heat proof bowl of water in the oven to create ambient moisture. Remove rolls from oven and allow to cool before slicing.

This recipe also works really well for a larger loaf which I bake in a Dutch oven t 475F for 20 minutes with the lid on and 20 minutes with the lid off. See below.

Pani ca' Cori : Deer Heart Sandwich

This was the year that we lost my dad. It was also the year that I harvested my first deer after five years of trying. I grew up watching my dad hunt and was witness to the entire process from the forest, to the barn, and eventually to the dinner plate. He never forced it on me and as I became a teenager I grew disinterested. As an adult my appreciation of it returned along with my unease with concentrated animal feeding lots and the factory farm food system. But ultimately it was also a good excuse to get out in the woods with my dad as two adults even as I began to see his health begin to decline. He couldn’t come out the last two years but I persisted and kept him with me in my thoughts this season. I know he’d be smiling right now. This animal will be appreciated in the fullest sense of the word and I hope to transmit a sense of respect and responsibility that comes with it to my own two boys.

The first meal I wanted to make was a tribute to my dad and his Sicilian origins. Pani ca' Meusa is a Sicilian sandwich traditionally made with stewed organ meats that get cooked over a long period of time in giant pots. It has become one of the most iconic foods in Palermo served at a handful of old school street vendors throughout the city. You’ll find them smothered in freshly grated caciocavallo cheese and served with a squeeze of lemon. The offal is typically spleen and lungs of a cow. Originally this was a sandwich designed for the poor but eventually, like other culinary feats of frugality and ingenuity, it has become widely popularized thanks in part to food fanatics like Palermo Street Food.

For months leading up to this year’s deer hunting season I had been dreaming up different recipes in anticipation. I didn’t want anything to go to waste. What came to me was a spin on the classic Pani ca' Meusa but instead of using the traditional offal I would instead focus the sandwich on the deer heart. The heart was broken down into several beautiful steaks which were marinated with olive oil, garlic, homemade plum vinegar, salt and pepper. I then grilled them quickly on a hot grill and sliced them super thin, smothered them in grated caciocavallo from Jersey Girl Cheese and delivered them on my homemade sesame sourdough rolls. The concept, which I’m calling Pani ca' Cori, is distinctly Sicilian but it takes on new meaning with the notable addition of the deer heart. Video of the whole process below.

My dad in the 80’s.

Porchetta sandwich with salsa verde

This was my first trial of an oven roasted porchetta sandwich with salsa verde, grated caciocavallo, on a sourdough sesame roll. Local cheese from Jersey Cheese and pork sourced from NK Prime Meats. There are definitely a few tweaks to be made on future iterations but overall pretty satisfied with version 1.0.

You’ll find countless porchetta recipes that all use different cuts of pork (from pork shoulder to pork belly) but the traditional method uses a large section of pork belly with the ribs removed and the loin still attached. If you can’t find a butcher who can prepare this more specialized cut for you, a compromise would be taking a skin-on cut of pork belly and a piece of pork loin, and working backwards to recreate the original cut. In the video below, you can watch the exact process of how the meat was broken down and rolled together with a blend of aromatics.

The filling:

Finely dice fennel fronds, rosemary, sage, and garlic and mix together in a medium size mixing bowl. Add dried & crushed hot chili flakes to taste. Add zest of one lemon. Add 2 teaspoons of dried fennel seed powder, salt and pepper. Add oil oil so the entire mixture comes together like a thick paste. 

Remove the skin from the belly and set aside for later. Next cut the loin to the exact size of the belly and butterfly it open to maximize the surface area of the meat. Set the loin piece aside and spread the aromatic filling all over the surface of the pork belly, fat side down. Lay in the butterflied loin piece and generously spread more of the filling all over the meat. Carefully roll up the belly and loin and position with fat side facing up. Rub more paste all over the top before laying on the piece of skin that was previously removed. 

Using butcher's twine, you want to carefully truss the porchetta every few inches so that the whole piece is secure during cooking. Using a sharp boning knife, make small punctures all over the surface of the skin so that the fat renders out during cooking. Wrap porchetta and refrigerate for 6 hours to overnight. Allow to sit out at room temperature before putting it into the oven to allow the meat to relax, yielding a more tender piece of meat.

Roasting:

Set porchetta into a roasting pan with rack to keep the meat elevated during cooking. Cook for 40 minutes at 475F before lowering the temperature down to 300F for another 2 - 4 hours until the internal temperature reads 155F. The skin should puff up as it cooks and result in an airy, crispy texture. If skin still feels rubbery, use the broiler (with a very careful eye not to burn it) to finish off the skin before removing from the oven. Allow the meat to rest 30 minutes before slicing. 

Salsa Verde:

Using a food processor, blend together two bunches of parsley, garlic, a few spoonfuls of capers, 3 fillets of anchovies, juice of one lemon, a few splashes of white vinegar, and a few glugs of olive oil.

Porchetta Sandwich:

Slice porchetta in thin slices and set aside some of the crispy skin. Layer meat on a freshly baked sourdough sesame roll (recipe here) and top with salsa verde and freshly grated caciocavallo cheese (or provolone).  

Sourdough Focaccia

This is my baseline focaccia recipe. From here, I will often tweak the flour blend to incorporate more whole wheat into the dough, but this works well using plain old all purpose flour. This is a 79% hydration dough which can be baked directly in an oiled pan, or directly on a pizza stone.

Feed your starter appoximately 5-6 hours before you’re ready to build your dough. This recipe is designed to do a bulk fermentation at room temperature overnight so I aim to start building the dough around 7pm. Mix together 420 g of water and 530 g of all purpose flour, cover and set to autolyse for up to six hours. Make sure to incorporate all the flour so there are no dry spots. I generally do this anywhere from 3-6pm in the afternoon. Add 15 g of salt and 90 g of active sourdough starter and start working into the dough with your hands or with a rubber spatula until more or less homogenous. Let rest/relax for 30 minutes. You’ll want to fold the dough at least two more times (with your hands) over the course of the next 1 - 2 hours to develop the gluten. If you have time to continue to repeat folds until you’re ready to go to bed, it will result in a superior structured crumb. By the end the dough should be very smooth and should not stick to your hands while folding. Cover and rest overnight at room temperature (approximately 10 hours). 

In the morning transfer the dough to well oiled pan. Spread the dough out so it has a uniform thickness. Drizzle more olive oil on top of the dough. Use the tips of your fingers to press down into dough to create little pockets. Sprinkle with flake salt and herbs (if you like). Let proof in the pan (covered) for about another 2 hours. You should observe big gas bubbles forming, and the dough should be very soft and pliable.

Set oven to 450F. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown and well risen. Remove from oven and allow to cool briefly.

Sourdough Sesame Rolls

I’ve been fine tuning this recipe for a few months and finally getting to a good place. It was a lot of trial and error, and ultimately deciding that I should remove all added fats (olive oil or butter) to let the fermentation happen unaltered. I also ratcheted up the autolyse time up to 6 hours which seemed to have a big effect on the airiness of the crumb and softness of the bread.

Mix together 400 g of water and 530 g of bread flour and set to autolyse for up to six hours. Add 20 g of salt and 90 g of active sourdough starter and start working into the dough with your hands or with a rubber spatula until more or less homogenous. Let rest for 45 minutes. You’ll want to fold the dough two more times (with your hands) over the course of the next 1 - 2 hours to develop the gluten. By the end the dough should be very smooth and should not stick to your hands while folding. Cover and rest overnight at room temperature. 

In the morning transfer the dough to a clean working surface dusted with flour. Divide the dough into 4 - 6 equal parts depending on the size and shape of the rolls you’re making. Shape each piece being careful not to degas the dough. Set the balls onto parchment paper and sprinkle each piece with plain sesame seeds or poppy seeds depending on your preference. Cover and let rise for 2 - 3 hours.

Set oven to 450F. Using a bread laim, score each dough ball. Bake for 30 minutes with a heat proof bowl of water in the oven to create ambient moisture. Remove rolls from oven and allow to cool before slicing. 

Wood Fired: Because of the difficulty of keeping consistency in a wood fired oven, I parbaked the rolls in a conventional oven for 20 minutes, and then moved them into the wood fire to finish them off. This reduces the risk of burning but gives the bread a nice rustic flavor and crust.