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Plate ‘em up

Venison Stew - COOKED IN MY OFFICE KITCHEN
- 3 lb. Venison burger
- 2 ham hocks
- 4 venison maple sausages (1/3 lb.)
- 4 medium white potatoes
- 2 carrots
- 2 celery
- large red bell pepper
- huge white onion
- large fire-hot raw jalapeño
- Package mixed mushrooms
- Package sliced cremini mushrooms
- 8 little cloves of fresh garlic
- 6 Bay leaves
- Couple Tablespoons balsamic vinegar to add acid
- salt, pepper, plus small shakes of mustard powder and ginger

Instant pot pressure cooked meat for an hour. Deboned the ham hocks. Cut all the meat into chunks.
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Sautéed in olive oil the onions, garlic, and hot pepper. Sautéed mushrooms in half stick of butter.
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Put all the ingredients together and boil for 25 minutes. Season to taste. Incredible flavor.


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Wow! Recipe please!
Turned out absolutely delicious. Barely enough for leftovers. I didnt use a recipe so this is off the top of my head... only part that should be any kind of trouble is the roux cheese sauce. In order of how I prepared it:

-Bake bacon on a cookie sheet covered in tinfoil @400* til crispy
-Boil box of pasta in big pot, drain, put in 9x13" baking dish.
-Bring pot of water to a rolling boil, then put dungeness crab (2-3) in until pink and pick out the meat, set aside. (Can use pasta pot to save dishes)
-Remove bacon and set aside, save some grease for the roux.
-In a saucepan, make a roux with bacon grease and flour over medium heat. Heat grease and sprinkle in flour (stir) until its a paste. Then add cheese (4 handfuls) and milk (enough to cover the cheese and some) - stir constantly until it becomes all liquid. Once liquid remove from heat.

Mix the pasta and crab into the baking dish. Cover with cheese sauce while its still warm. Chop bacon, sprinkle on top. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 350* til it looks good, which was 20 min for me.

Options:
Baking is technically optional, it just crisps the cheese on top a bit.
Add as much bacon and cheese on top as you want. Can substitute heavy cream for milk if you want it super rich and creamy. Crab meat is one option, substitute any meat you want or none at all. For cheese I mainly used a 4 blend mexican cheese mix, along with some cotija cheese because its what I had on hand. Any soft medium cheese will do, experiment cause they all make it different and delicious. Classic is medium cheddar.
 
Last edited:
Turned out absolutely delicious. Barely enough for leftovers. I didnt use a recipe so this is off the top of my head... only part that should be any kind of trouble is the roux cheese sauce. In order of how I prepared it:

-Bake bacon on a cookie sheet covered in tinfoil @400* til crispy
-Boil box of pasta in big pot, drain, put in 9x13" baking dish.
-Boil dungeness crab (2-3) and pick out the meat, set aside. (Can use pasta pot to save dishes)
-Remove bacon and set aside, save some grease for the roux.
-In a saucepan, make a roux with bacon grease and flour over medium heat. Heat grease and sprinkle in flour (stir) until its a paste. Then add cheese (4 handfuls) and milk (enough to cover the cheese and some) - stir constantly until it becomes all liquid. Once liquid remove from heat.

Mix the pasta and crab into the baking dish. Cover with cheese sauce while its still warm. Chop bacon, sprinkle on top. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 350* til it looks good, which was 20 min for me.

Options:
Baking is technically optional, it just crisps the cheese on top a bit.
Add as much bacon and cheese on top as you want. Can substitute heavy cream for milk if you want it super rich and creamy. Crab meat is one option, substitute any meat you want or none at all. For cheese I mainly used a 4 blend mexican cheese mix, along with some cotija cheese because it’s what I had on hand. Any soft medium cheese will do, experiment cause they all make it different and delicious. Classic is medium cheddar.
When I lived in Raleigh, one of my favorite restaurants was Poole’s Diner. And my favorite dish is their macaroni au gratin (https://www.visitraleigh.com/plan-a...-chef-ashley-christensens-macaroni-au-gratin/). I’ve made it at home many times, and added shrimp, crab and lobster at different times. Never thought of bacon, but now that’s on the list. The fact that 60% of the cheese is reserved to top it to make a nice crust is what transforms it from just another mac-n-cheese to something amazing. Always a crowd pleaser.
 
Came up with this one tonight. Air fryer elk flautas.

2lbs ground elk browned
2 packs kinders taco seasoning
Honey corn and pepper veggies
Cheddar cheese
Flour tortillas
Sour cream
Tapitio

Mix equal corn, elk, cheese
Cover half the tortilla, fold the ends in and roll it up, toss in the air fryer 6-8 mins at 360. Simple, fast and it was amazing.2E197B74-509D-4429-B343-CA676F3145E0.jpeg
 

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When I lived in Raleigh, one of my favorite restaurants was Poole’s Diner. And my favorite dish is their macaroni au gratin (https://www.visitraleigh.com/plan-a...-chef-ashley-christensens-macaroni-au-gratin/). I’ve made it at home many times, and added shrimp, crab and lobster at different times. Never thought of bacon, but now that’s on the list. The fact that 60% of the cheese is reserved to top it to make a nice crust is what transforms it from just another mac-n-cheese to something amazing. Always a crowd pleaser.
I usually add a lot more cheese on top but I was running low. If theres pasta showing on top not covered in cheese it will make crispy pasta in the oven. Typically I cover it in a thick layer of cheese and brown it.
 
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