Tender Wild Game
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Have you ever eaten moose or deer ribs, fresh out of the oven, that hadn’t first been boiled for a few hours? Some serious chewing and a pack of dental floss later, and you’ve had supper. Ribs from older animals can be so tough, in fact, that I’ve heard some hunters don’t even bother with them. A terrible waste, especially since there is a quick easy way to make those ribs melt in the mouth tender in a short time. Pressure cooking.

Pressure cooking isn’t dangerous anymore. The cookers have been redesigned so you can’t take the lid off without first venting off the pressure. The only thing you really have to watch is that the food doesn’t clog up the steam outlet. You can reduce this problem by never overfilling the pressure cooker, never cooking unrecommended foods that do clog the outlet valves, and never cooking at too high a heat.

Other than that, you can take a pack of frozen deer ribs out of the freezer, throw them in the cooker with about two or so inches of water, bring them up to pressure then let them cook on moderate heat for 20 to 35 minutes depending on the age and initial tenderness of the deer. Vent off the steam. Open the pot. Place the ribs on an oven pan, slather with your favourite BBQ sauce then cook in a 350 F preheated oven for about ten minutes or until ribs and sauce are nicely browned. The result is tasty and tender.

What kind to get? A 6-litre stainless steel pressure cooker is an excellent cooker with enough size to let you cook big ribs. Stainless is a bit more expensive than aluminum, but well worth it. If you cook with aluminum you’ll be limited in what you can prepare in it. No salts or acids, such as vinegar or tomato, or you’ll be leaching aluminum into your food, turning it black.

For more information about pressure cooking and for some great recipes try these websites:
• Fabulous Foods then type ‘pressure cooking’ in the search bar
• Miss Vickie’s Guide to Modern Pressure Cooking. For a PDF booklet of Miss Vickie’s Game Recipes click on Recipes for Pressure Cookers, then the Meat & Seafood category.

You can also find great how-to information in the book Pressure Cookers for Dummies by Tom Lacalamita. Amazon book reviewer Rhonda Powell says:

I had never used a pressure cooker before. In fact, mine was a gift and it sat on my counter for about 3 months before I ever tried it (I was scared to use it thinking of my grandmother’s pressure cooker from years ago) and then it was forced on me because I accidentally broke my crockpot. I’ve been at it for a week now with the pressure cooker and I can’t imagine ever going back to a crockpot. This book covers all the ins and outs, especially all the ones I didn’t even know I should wonder about.

Here’s a wild game recipe from Miss Vickie’s website:

Venison and Gravy

2 lb venison, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 large onion, sliced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
salt and pepper to taste
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp cornstarch

Heat the 2 tbsp oil in the pressure cooker. Brown the meat on all sides to a nice color. Remove meat and add onion, sauté until transparent. Return meat to cooker. In a small bowl dissolve brown sugar, wine, water, and seasoning; add bay leaves. Pour mixtures into cooker. Lock the lid in place and bring to pressure over high heat. When high pressure is reached lower the heat to maintain it and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the cooker from heat and use the quick or cold-water release method to drop the pressure before opening the lid. Remove meat with a slotted spoon. Thicken sauce with 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed in 1/3 cup cold water, stir often as it thickens but do not boil. Serve over buttered noodles or rice.

Enjoy!

Bulk organic herbs, spices and essential oils. Sin
Photo Credit: Asif Akbar

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