Pulled Venison BBQ

Pulled Venison Sandwich with Pickled Ramps

For anyone that knows me or knows anything about the blog,  you know that I love to cook and I love to eat that much more.

For me and my buddies, food plays an important role when talking about deer camp or those all day fishing trips.

When cooking for these activities, there should be a blend between quick and easy and filling and tasty.  This is recipe fits that bill nicely. It can range from as simple as two ingredients for easy cooking in the field to a tasty dinner for the family. This is something that is a staple for us when hunting and fishing because  it is simple as can be. When in the field you need to do is open a quart jar of canned venison and warm it in a skillet and then add a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce. At this point, apply it to a bun and you are ready to eat. This is warm, great tasting, and quick outdoor meal.

This is not where this recipe ends, I have a recipe for everyone to try if you have more than a single burner Coleman Stove or in your kitchen. First it is important to remember that there is more than one way to achieve the pulled venison, there are recipes where it can be cooked in a crock-pot or slow-cooker  but I prefer to use canned venison that is pre-cooked. This method allows for this meal to be cooked in under 10 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 4 Cups (1 Quart) of Pre-Cooked Shredded Venison
• 1.5 Cup - BBQ Sauce
• 2 Tbsp - Molasses 
• 1/4 Cup - Brown Sugar
• 2 tsp - Mince Garlic
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Step One: Add mince garlic to a lightly oiled pan and sauté until brown.

Step Two: Once the garlic is browned, add the BBQ Sauce and Molasses to the deep walled skillet and bring to a simmer.

Step Three: After the sauce is brought to a simmer, slowly add in the brown sugar until it is dissolved.

Step Four: Mix in the shredded venison and allow for the mix to warm and salt and pepper to taste.

After the venison and sauce and combined thoroughly and warm apply to a bun or roll. If you have any Pickled Ramps, they make a great topper for this sandwich.

New & Improved Pickled Ramps

The New & Improved Pickled Ramps

For those of you that have been following this blog for a while know that about this time last year I was looking for a way to persevere my ramps longer. While on a fishing trip last year I found a way but for more on that story you can read it here. After doing some brief research I found a recipe, from none other than Martha Stewart, for Pickled Ramps. This was the recipe I used last year, it was good but I thought with more research, asking some friends, and a little tweaking on my part I could make it better. That is exactly what I did and here it is:

Ingredients:

• +/- 2 lbs Ramps (Cleaned up and trimmed with only the stem and bulb intact)
• 1 cup White Wine Vinegar
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Water
• 1 teaspoon Mustard Seed
• 1 teaspoon Coriander Seed
• 1 teaspoon Fennel Seed
• 1 teaspoon Black Peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
• 1 tablespoon Kosher Salt

Directions:

Step One: Blanch the ramps for thirty seconds to a minute.

Step Two: After blanching the the ramps, drain them and place them into previously prepped mason jar(s). I prefer to use pint jars as this recipe will roughly four full pint jars, but any size jar or jars will do. Also to add a little more favor, at this point I add one whole dried chile pepper to the jar as well as the ramps.

Step Three: Combine the vinegar, salt, sugar, and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Step Four: Add the crushed red pepper, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, and fennel seeds to the boiling pickling brine.

Step Five: Pour the pickling brine over the ramps in the mason jar. At this point there are two choices to make, you can seal the jar(s) and place them in the fridge to cool and you can continue with the proper "hot bathing" technique. If placed directly into the fridge they will last for a few week up to a few months, if properly canned they can last substantially longer.

Pickled Hot Dogs and Banana Peppers

Since I can remember hot peppers have been a staple around my parents house and now mine. The reason why is a simple one, my dad loves them. He will eat anything that involves hot pepper, hot sauces, or any form of hot spices period and has the collect to prove it. With that being said, it isn't surprising that a third of my garden is devoted to peppers, everything from sweet Bell peppers to very hot Habanero peppers and everything in between. The only problem with that is that it leads to having an abundant amount of peppers which leaves me trying to figure out what I can do with them. After taking up canning last year, I figured what better way to start preserving some of the banana peppers than making some Pickled Hot Dogs and Banana Peppers.

This recipe will yield 4 Pints jars, but can be adapted 

to yield other quantities.

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups White Vinegar 
• 2 Cups Sugar
• 2 Cups Water 
• 1/2 Tbsp Alum 
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Pickling Spice
• 4 Cloves of Garlic / 1 per Jar (Optional)
• Hot/Sweet Banana Peppers
• 16 Regular Length Hot Dogs

There are a few steps when making these:

Cold Packing the Jars:

1. Have your clean jars in front of you as you begin to cut up the hot dogs and peppers. I prefer to half the hot dogs and place two halves on the bottom of the jar first. Then I proceed to thinly slice the peppers into rings and then layer them. Then continue alternating the hot dogs and peppers until there is a generous inch of head space left in the jar.

Making the pickling brine:

1. Combine the White Vinegar, Water, Alum, Pickling Spice and Sugar into a medium to large sauce pan and bring to a boil allowing the sugar to dissolve.

Combining and "Bathing" the jars:

1. Add pickling brine to the cold packed jars, still leaving 1/2 to 3/4 inch of head space.
2. Clean rim of jar with a rag to remove any liquid or debris.
3. Apply lid and rings and place in "hot bath" for 15 minutes. 
4. Remove and place in a cool dry area to cool down.

Enjoy!!

Pickled Ramps

Around this time last year Jay, Skippie, Scott, and I went on an day long fishing trip, one thing you'll learn and I think I even stated in "On the Water: March 19, 2011" is that whenever you go fishing with Skippie, you never go hungry. This lunch was nothing out of the ordinary (Deer steak, potato packets, and corn), but there was a treat this time, freshly pickled ramps. I swore after having those that day I would start making my own once I started canning. This past summer was the first attempt at canning, so you can only guess what that means. I recently went on a trip and picked a five gallon bucket of ramps for friends, family, and myself. I froze some, made some potatoes and ramps, and even attempted to pickled them. I haven't had any experience with them, so I did want anyone would do, I googled how to pickle ramps and none other than Martha Stewart had a recipe for it, so I tried it.

Pickled Ramps

Ingredients

• 1 cup white-wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• Pinch of crushed red-pepper flakes
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 10 ounces ramps, trimmed and rinsed well

Directions

Stir together vinegar, sugar, salt, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, peppercorns, red-pepper flakes, thyme, and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add ramps; return to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours. Pickled ramps can be refrigerated in their liquid in an airtight container up to 1 month.