Venison Steaks with Juniper Berry Sauce
Norwegian Hunter Stew with Elk or Venison
Venison Heart with Fruited Barley Stuffing
Drunken Moose with Cinnamon Apples
Roasted Wild Boar with Gjetost-Lager Sauce
Lingonberry-Glazed Smoked Boar Tenderloin
Swedish-Style Duck Meatballs in Cloudberry Sauce
Roast Mallard with Orange-Elderflower Glaze
Norwegian Rabbit in Cabbage (Kanin i Kål)
You’ll feel like a 20-minute gourmet master as you prepare perfectly roasted venison steaks, enhancing them with a piney juniper berry sauce. You can substitute gin for the juniper berries if preparing this for people who shouldn’t ingest the berries (children under 12 or people who are pregnant or have cancer or kidney disease).
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 6
4 tablespoons canola or olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
6 boneless venison haunch steaks or fillets
Sea salt and pepper to taste
11⁄2 cups good red wine
8 juniper berries, crushed (or substitute 4 teaspoons gin)
2 shallots, peeled and finely minced
11⁄2 cups beef or game stock
Cooks have used buttered paper to wrap venison during the roasting process since the 1700s; the buttered parchment truly helps to keep this very lean meat juicy. Simply wrap your steaks or roasts in a piece of buttered parchment paper before placing them in the oven (or take a page out of Chef Gordon Ramsay’s book and use the foil wraps from stick butter for smaller cuts).
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Melt the oil and butter together in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Season the venison steaks on both sides with salt and pepper, then sear in the pan on both sides just until browned. Wrap each steak in a piece of buttered parchment paper, place in a baking dish large enough to hold the steaks in a single layer, and roast in the oven for 8 minutes. Remove and allow the steaks to rest for 10 minutes before unwrapping.
2. As the venison roasts, prepare your sauce: deglaze the pan with the red wine, then add the crushed juniper berries and shallots, scraping up the browned bits. When the liquid has reduced by half, add the stock. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until the sauce is again reduced by half; strain out the solids and transfer the juniper sauce to a serving boat.
3. Plate the venison and serve the sauce on the side.
Cheeseburgers just don’t get any better than this recipe, featuring ground meat and mushroom patties topped with melted Norwegian gjetost.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 8
6 slices bacon
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1⁄4 cup green onions, finely chopped
4 pounds ground venison
2⁄3 cup mushrooms, finely chopped
3 tablespoons sour cream or skyr (or substitute low-fat Greek yogurt)
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
8 slices Ski Queen brand gjetost cheese
1. Fry the bacon until crispy; transfer to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the grease from the pan.
2. Add the garlic and green onions to the pan and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.
3. Use your hands to mix together the venison, bacon, sautéed onions and garlic, mushrooms, sour cream, and parsley. Form 8 patties; refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Fry the patties on a grill or griddle, flipping a few times, until they’ve reached the desired doneness. In the last minute of cooking, place the gjetost slices on top to melt.
5. Serve as is, on buns or crispbread, or folded into flatbread.
Finland’s classic Karelian Hot Pot takes a walk on the wild side in this flavorful dish.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 6–8
4 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
3 pounds mixed wild game stew scraps (venison, boar, hare, moose, elk)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons peppercorns
8 whole allspice berries
4 juniper berries, crushed (optional)
2–3 cups water
1. Place half of the sliced onions in the bottom of a slow cooker and cover with half of the meat.
2. Sprinkle the layer with half of the salt, peppercorns, allspice, and juniper berries.
3. Repeat the layers, then pour in just enough water to barely cover the meat.
4. Cover the slow cooker, set on low, and cook for 8–10 hours.
5. Serve accompanied with mashed potatoes and lingonberries.
This is a hearty game stew, perfect to make in celebration of the first snowflakes of late autumn or early winter.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 6
1⁄2 cup flour
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
4 pounds moose, elk, or venison meat, cut in 1" cubes
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons canola or olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
3 cups beef or game broth
4 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1⁄2 rutabaga, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2⁄3 cup fresh wild mushrooms (or substitute button mushrooms), coarsely sliced
1⁄3 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
Is a moose (Alces alces). At least in Scandinavia and in Great Britain, where they refer to moose as “elk.” Confusing, right? This means that whenever you translate an original recipe, you should keep in mind that it’s Bullwinkle they’re talking about when they use the word älg (in Swedish) or elg (Norwegian and Danish). The animal that Americans refer to as an elk, or wapiti (Cervus canadensis), is actually a large variety of deer, native only to the Americas and East Asia. Feel free to substitute venison or American elk meat for any of the moose recipes here—the taste won’t be quite the same, but they’ll work for those without a supply of moose meat.
1. Season the flour with the salt and pepper, then toss with the meat to coat. In the bottom of a large pot, melt the butter and oil over medium-high heat; add the meat and brown evenly on all sides. Add the onion and cook until it softens, about 8 minutes.
2. Pour the stock over the meat, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the meat is tender, skimming off foam as it arises (check the meat for doneness at 1 hour).
3. Add the vegetables and mushrooms, and continue to simmer for 20–30 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
4. Fold the sour cream into the stew to thicken, and stir in the fresh thyme; cook for 5 more minutes, until the stew is heated through.
In Norway, a land of avid hunters, it isn’t uncommon to find recipes for stuffed reindeer (caribou) heart. Venison works equally well.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 2
1 venison, caribou, or moose heart
5 shallots, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup barley, cooked
3⁄4 cup mixed dried fruit (prunes, apricots, apples, cranberries)
1⁄4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1 teaspoon dried sage, crumbled
1 bay leaf
Water to cover in pot
1 egg, beaten
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
If hunters had perfect eyesight and wild game were always heart-shot, there wouldn’t be much cause for cooking the heart. Yet hunters sometimes make efficient and lethal head, neck, or lung shots—and it’s criminal to waste one of the most flavorful parts of the animal. Be sure to remove the tough outer membrane and the arteries of the heart, rinsing it well to remove any blood, before using. For a simple treatment, simply slice the heart thin and pan-sear it very lightly and quickly (it will dry out if you overcook it) in butter over high heat. Gently boiling a heart also results in delicious fare; if boiled, leave the outer membrane intact until after cooking to ensure moist, tender meat.
1. Rinse the heart well under cold running water. Use a sharp knife to remove the veins, valves, fat, and membranes. Venison fat is not tasty.
2. Sauté the shallots in the butter in a frying pan over medium heat, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and combine with the barley, dried fruit, almonds, and sage.
3. Slice open the side of the heart and stuff with the fruited barley mixture. Use kitchen string or skewers to tightly close the opening over the stuffing (it’s best if you sew the sides together with string).
4. Place the heart in a large pot with the bay leaf and add enough water to cover by 2. Bring the pot to a boil, maintaining the boil for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 11⁄2 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the heart from the pot, pat dry with paper towels, then brush all over with the beaten egg. Roll in bread crumbs to cover, then place in a pan and roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Tjälknöl was “accidentally” developed by Swede Ragnhild Nilsson after she asked her husband to defrost a wild game roast in the oven. He forgot the roast, and it slowly cooked overnight. Hoping to save the roast, Nilsson soaked it in a marinade for a few hours, producing a dish so good that it captured the 1982 price for “Best Regional Dish.”
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 8–10
1 (6-pound) boneless elk or moose roast, frozen
6 cups water
6 tablespoons salt
4 tablespoons sugar
3 cloves garlic, pressed
2 tablespoons juniper berries, crushed (or substitute fresh rosemary)
2 bay leaves
1. Preheat oven to 170°F.
2. Place the frozen roast on a rack in a roasting pan, then put it on the lowest rack of the oven.
3. Cook the roast until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the roast registers 150°F (check it at 8 hours, then every half hour thereafter until it reaches 150°F). Remove from the oven.
4. To make the brine, in a large pot combine the water, salt, sugar, garlic, juniper berries (or rosemary), and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Stir until all of the salt has dissolved, then remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
5. Place the roast into the brine (the brine needs to cover it completely), then refrigerate for 5 hours.
6. To serve, remove the roast from the brine, pat dry, and slice thinly.
In Sweden in the autumn, it’s apparently not unheard of to run across “tipsy” moose, drunk on fermenting apples.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 6–8
1 cup pearl onions, peeled
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1 (4-pound) moose roast (or substitute elk or venison)
1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 cup hard cider
1 cup apple cider or apple juice
2 tablespoons Swedish light syrup or golden syrup
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger
1⁄4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons potato starch flour or cornstarch plus 2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons butter
Four apples, peeled and chopped into a 1⁄2" dice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
In September 2011, folks in Särö, Sweden (south of Gothenberg), had to rescue a moose, “drunk” after eating fermented apples, that got herself tangled in the middle of an apple tree as she reached for her fruit fix.
1. Place the onions, garlic, and carrots in the bottom of a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker.
2. Season the roast on all sides with the pepper and salt, then place it on top of the vegetables.
3. Whisk together the hard cider, apple cider, light syrup, allspice, ginger, and cloves, then pour over the roast. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours.
4. Transfer the roast to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.
5. Strain the cooking liquid, discard the solids, and skim off any fat. Return it to the slow cooker, whisk in the combined potato starch flour and water slurry, and increase heat to high. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened.
6. As the sauce cooks, melt the butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon, and sauté for 15 minutes or until crisp-tender.
7. Stir the apples into the sauce. Slice and plate the roast, then drizzle with the sauce.
Tough wild boar shoulders melt to toothsome tenderness when slow-cooked in a low-heat oven. Be sure to brine the pork overnight before preparing; this will really help to eliminate any gaminess. Accompany with potatoes and buttered kohlrabi or Brussels sprouts.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 8–10
8 cups water
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
1⁄4 cup crushed juniper berries (or substitute fresh rosemary)
3 bay leaves, crumbled
1 (4-pound) boneless wild boar shoulder
12 ounces chopped bacon or pancetta
4 large onions, peeled and chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
41⁄2 cups Danish lager
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon Swedish or Dijon mustard
11⁄2 cups shredded gjetost (Ski Queen brand)
3⁄4 cup sour cream
1. In a pot, combine the 8 cups water, kosher salt, brown sugar, juniper berries, and crumbled bay leaves, and heat to boiling over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once the sugar has fully dissolved, remove mixture from heat and cool completely. Immerse the boar shoulder completely in the marinade, cover, and refrigerate for 12 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 325°F. Remove the boar from the brine and pat dry.
3. In the bottom of an oven-proof pot or Dutch oven, fry the chopped bacon together with the onion and celery until the bacon is brown and crispy. Remove from the burner. Place the boar in the pot with the bacon and vegetables, then pour 4 cups of the lager over the shoulder. Cover and place in the oven; cook for 11⁄2 hours or until tender, turning once halfway through the cooking cycle. Remove the boar, transfer it to a cutting board, and allow it to rest while you prepare the sauce.
4. For the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat, adding the flour once the butter begins to froth. Whisk to form a roux. Once this roux begins to bubble but before it browns, whisk in the mustard and the remaining 1⁄2 cup lager. Gradually add the shredded gjetost, stirring until the cheese melts. Fold in the sour cream and cook for 3–5 more minutes until the sauce is warmed through.
5. To serve, slice the meat and drizzle with the sauce.
Accompany this smoked wild boar tenderloin with Swedish Brown Beans (Bruna Bönor; see Chapter 10) and baked apples.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 4–6
1 teaspoon ground thyme
3 star anise
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
4 cups water
4 (1-pound) wild boar tenderloins
1 cup hickory chips
2⁄3 cup Lingonberry Jam (see Chapter 7)
1⁄4 cup orange juice
1. Combine the thyme, star anise, ginger, sugar, salt, pepper, and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Cool to room temperature, then pour the marinade over the tenderloins. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours.
2. Soak the hickory chips in enough water to cover for at least 1 hour.
3. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together the Lingonberry Jam and orange juice to make a glaze.
4. Drain the chips and place them in your smoker over the heating element; pour the marinade into the smoke pan. Grease the top rack of the smoker, then place the tenderloins on them; baste with the lingonberry glaze. Cook for 5 minutes, then turn over, baste again, and cook until a digital thermometer inserted in the meat registers 150°F, about 5 minutes.
5. Slice, drizzle with the remaining glaze, and serve.
These are savory wild duck meatballs in a traditional Swedish sauce slightly sweetened with cloudberries. Thanks to Hank Shaw, author of Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast (Rodale Books: 2011), for sharing his expertise during the development of these duck recipes.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 6–8
41⁄2 pounds duck meat, chilled
1 pound pork fat (fatback or fatty bacon slices), chilled
4 slices stale bread, crusts removed
2⁄3 cup milk
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon pepper
2 eggs
Canola oil for frying
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons flour
3 shallots, peeled and finely minced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
11⁄2 cups duck or chicken broth
1⁄2 cup sour cream
1⁄4 cup cloudberry jam (or substitute Lingonberry Jam; see Chapter 7)
There are two indispensible cookbooks that articulate the magic of cooking local game: Andreas Viestad’s Kitchen of Light: The New Scandinavian Cooking (Artisan: 2003), and Hank Shaw’s, Hunt, Gather, Cook. Viestad, the Norwegian host of the public television series The New Scandinavian Cooking, has been a driving force in promoting the benefits of a diet based on cold-climate foods. American Hank Shaw is one of the most exciting writers defining the “back to local” wild food movement in America. Check out his award-winning website, “Hunter Angler Gardener Cook” (http://honest-food.net). twice nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award.
1. Chop the duck meat and the pork fat into 1⁄2 pieces and either run them through a meat grinder or pulse them in a food processor until minced. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
2. Tear the stale bread into small pieces and cover with the milk; allow to sit until the bread absorbs all of the milk, about 15 minutes. Use a fork to mash the bread and milk into a paste.
3. Place the ground duck and pork in a large bowl; sprinkle with the salt, nutmeg, cardamom, and pepper. Add the eggs and bread mixture, then use your hands to lightly combine the ingredients into a mass.
4. Form meatballs between your palms, using a tablespoon of the mixture to form each 11⁄2 meatball. Place on a plate, then chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
5. Fill a heavy frying pan with 1⁄4 of oil (enough to half submerge the meatballs). Heat over medium-high until a drop of water sizzles on the surface; reduce the heat to medium, add the meatballs, and cook for 6 minutes, turning once, until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.
6. For the sauce, remove all but 1 tablespoon of the grease from the frying pan. Stir in the butter over medium-high heat until it froths; add the shallots and garlic and sauté until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir the flour into the pan. Pour in the broth; simmer until the liquid thickens to sauce consistency. Reduce heat to medium-low; fold in the sour cream, meatballs, and cloudberry jam. Cook until the meatballs are warmed through, about 10 minutes.
7. Serve with new potatoes and additional cloudberry jam.
Rich and succulent, roast mallard is a delight for anyone who prefers dark meat. Look for orange-elderflower marmalade (Sylt Fläder & Apelsin) at IKEA. If you need to substitute domesticated or very fatty wild ducks for this recipe, follow the cooking instructions in the sidebar, as these require different cooking times and temperatures.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 4
4 lean mallards
1⁄4 cup orange-elderflower marmalade
1⁄4 cup elderflower-orange cordial
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 large orange, quartered
Softened butter, as needed
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Slow, lazy domesticated ducks required slow, lazy roasting. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare and glaze your duck, place it in the oven, and roast for 1 hour, basting every 20 minutes. At the 1-hour point, glaze the duck well again, increase heat to 450°F, and roast for 10 more minutes. Remove from oven, glaze one final time, tent with foil, and allow to sit for 15–30 minutes (the ideal internal temperature for duck is between 135°F and 140°F).
1. Preheat oven to 450°F for 30 minutes, allowing ducks to rest at room temperature while the oven heats.
2. As the oven heats, make your glaze: In a saucepan combine 1⁄4 cup of the marmalade, the cordial, and white wine vinegar. Bring to a low boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat to low, and cook until thick and syrupy, about 7 minutes.
3. Use a sharp knife to prick the skin (not the meat) of the fatty portions of the duck. Rub each duck all over with the orange quarters, then stick 2 orange quarters inside each duck. Generously spread the softened butter over the duck, then season generously with salt and pepper. Coat the duck all over with the glaze.
4. Place the ducks on the rack of a roasting pan, place in the oven, and roast until the internal temperature reaches 135°F, about 20–25 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer to a cutting board, coat once again with any remaining glaze, tent with foil, and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Virtually cholesterol-free, rabbit is one of the healthiest of white meats. Here it is slow-roasted in a light glaze of cardamom and honey. Serve with roasted carrots and a radish salad for a whimsical conversation starter.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 4
4 tablespoons honey
5 tablespoons white wine or sherry
1 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
1⁄2 teaspoon pepper
1 rabbit, cut into pieces
1 package baby carrots (about 2 cups)
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small saucepan warm the honey over medium-low heat for 3 minutes, then stir in the wine, cardamom, and pepper. Remove from heat and place in a bowl with the rabbit, tossing to coat all sides. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Place the carrots and lemon slices in the bottom of a lightly greased roasting pan. Place the rabbit pieces on top, then brush well with the marinade once more.
3. Roast the rabbit in the oven for 11⁄2 hours or until a digital thermometer registers 160°F.
4. Remove from the oven, transfer the rabbit to plates, and serve with the roasted carrots and a radish salad.
This recipe is adapted from the Norwegian classic, fårikål (“sheep in cabbage”). Serve with homemade flatbread and boiled potatoes.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 4
1 rabbit, cut into pieces
12 peppercorns
5 teaspoons caraway
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 Savoy cabbage, sliced into thick wedges
1 leek, cleaned and cut into matchsticks
2 cups boiling water
1. Place half of the rabbit pieces in the bottom of a 5-quart slow cooker or large pot. Sprinkle with 3 of the peppercorns, 1⁄2 teaspoon of the caraway, 1⁄2 tablespoon of the flour, and 1⁄2 teaspoon of the salt.
2. Place half of the cabbage and leeks on top of the rabbit pieces, and repeat the seasoning.
3. Repeat the two layers, seasoning each and ending with the cabbage/leek layer.
4. Pour the boiling water over the layers. If using a slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 10 hours. If using a pot, bring the contents to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours or until the meat falls off the bone.