Recipes Cooking: neck

Showing posts with label neck. Show all posts

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Venison Neck Irish Stew

In past years, neck meat was always thrown into the hamburger pile. With the deer Rick shot last November, we wondered how it would taste when left whole and braised. Filleting both sides, we got a total of two pieces from the neck. If we had had the right equipment, we mightve just cut out the entire neck, bone and all. But we didnt.

When I thawed out one of the pieces last week, I was a tiny bit apprehensive. Looking at it, there seemed to be so much silver skin and fat running through the muscles. There was no way that I could trim and clean it all without disfiguring the entire cut. I wasnt worried about the silver skin so much as the fat. Silver skin tends to melt away during long, slow periods of cooking, but any deer fat left over can give your venison a bit of an "off" taste. Some call it "gamey." So, I cleaned and trimmed as best as I could and prayed that the braising process would do the rest.

After a few hours of being in the oven, I found the neck to be unbelievably tender and moist. Because of the little bit of unavoidable fat left on the neck, I will say that this dish does have a stronger taste compared to more ideal cuts like tenderloin. However, it was a taste that I appreciated. For those used to eating game, you will love this dish for its distinct and robust flavors. It was probably the most tender braise I have ever done with venison. I was quite proud of myself. All-in-all, this is an easy dish with an Irish flair; traditionally, Irish Stew is made with lamb or mutton. It requires few ingredients and will feed a house full of hungry hunters, huntresses and hunt-munchkins. Please enjoy! -Jen

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking Time: 2 1/2 hours
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour (I like to use white whole wheat flour)
- 3 lbs. of venison neck, silver skin and fat removed
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 3 carrots, sliced
- 4 red potatoes and 4 baby yukon potatoes, halved
- 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
- 3 1/2 cups of hot beef stock
- 2 tbs. of chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
- salt and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Clean venison neck. Rinse under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Dredge well in flour.

2. Lay the venison flat in a baking/casserole dish.

Next, layer onion on top...

Then carrots and potatoes.

3. Sprinkle in the thyme and pour in hot beef stock.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 325 F oven for 2 1/2 hours.

Shred venison neck into serving size pieces. I like to keep them sort of big so guests can continue shredding themselves. Garnish with parsley. Add more salt and pepper, to taste. Feed to hungry carnivores.

This is a stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal.

If youre interested in following my Nebraska adventures, please check out these past blog posts at http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/blogs/

"Midland Musings with Jenny Nguyen - Treasures From the Past:" http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/blogs/2013/02/midland-musings-jenny-nguyen-treasures-genoa/

"Midland Musings with Jenny Nguyen - A Change of Environment:" http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/blogs/2013/02/45860/

Monday, December 23, 2013

HIWWI DKNY Striped Crew Neck

{DKNY Striped Crew Neck, $175}

The other day as I was pulling up to a red light, I saw a woman walking on the sidewalk wearing a black and white striped crew neck with coral-ish shorts.

"Super cute," I thought. When I ~~finally slammed on my brakes~~ came to a complete stop, I was able to get a better look. Girlfriend was a HOT MESS: sloppy top, ill-fitting shorts, and frizzy hair. Obviously, the concept was a 10, but the execution was a 3.7, at best (and thats excluding the Russian judges scores). Well, she can be a hot mess all she wants, but I know a good idea when I see one, so today Im HIWWIing this classic B&W DKNY striped crew neck.

Stripes are highly underrated in my opinion, which, by the way, is the only one that counts. They take an otherwise basic staple and fancy it up. And contrary to popular belief, they dont make you look wide. You know what makes you look wide? Being wide! Fortunately, stripes are getting their come-uppance this season, which makes them the perfect focal point to a casual summer get-up.

Member that hot mess of a girl I saw the other day? Well, like I said, she was wearing these coral shorts. I liked that idea, but I thought Id do one better and pair this top with these hot pink chino shorts:

{J.Crew chino shorts, $42.50}

The idea here is to be casual, so no belt. Just buy a pair that fit you right!

I envision myself wearing this outfit for the picnic Im forcing Kyle to go on with me. That is, of course, unless Im invited to a last-minute polo match or yacht brunch party. What Im getting at is that flats are really the best option here. I love these strappy, nude patent leather sandals:

{Sam Edelman Gigi sandals, $60}

This look is venturing into preppy douchebaggery territory, so to keep things from getting to waspy, I would have to add some funky accessories to the mix. This clever and colorful babushka ring is effing hilarious and makes sure to tell the world "Hey world, I am NOT a douche!":

{nOir Natasha Babushka ring, $190}

Also, you should throw this on. Because its pretty, thats why!!!!

{Ettika Braided Bracelet, $55}

Ive made a lot of progress, but for some reason I still cant push out the image of that hot mess girl that served as the inspiration for this look!

{Essie Barbados Blue polish, $7.50}

Methinks a swipe of shimmery blue polish adds the much needed razzle-dazzle element to this look. The memory of frizzy haired, droopy shorts, hot mess girl is fading fast, leaving only the remnants of this now fabulous look to prove she ever existed at all.