Small Plate Recipes For Game

Small plate recipes can be perfect this time of year.
hunting seasons were fully opened your freezers were,
more than likely, chock-a-block with game of various kinds.
As the year progressed you worked through most of it. With
the new hunting year upon us, you’re probably down to
bits and pieces. What to do with it? Why not a clean-out-
the-freezer game dinner? Sure, there’s not enough of any
one thing to make a dinner. But a collection of small
plates and finger foods can be even more fun.

About this time of year I like to clean out the freezer, using up all the bits and pieces that still remain, and making room for this year’s new outdoor harvest.

There’s usually not a whole lot of any one thing. Maybe a small hunk of venison; a dozen or 15 doves; a rabbit or two. Over in the corner is half a wild turkey breast; and one lonely grouse, and a small bag of snapping turtle that somehow got lost amidst the other packages. Luckily, I’ve got small plate game recipes for each of these elements.

You might think there’s not enough of any one thing to even make dinner. And you could be right. But there are certainly the makings of a party using small plate recipes.

The trick is to think small. Small plates are all the rage, right now – so small plate recipes do the trick. So not only will you make room in the freezer for this season’s game harvest, you’ll be quite stylish as well. The idea is to stretch what game you have so as to feed as many as possible. And the best way of doing that is with a buffet, with many small tastes laid out, instead of one or two big ones.
Take that package of deer meat, for instance. With just a pound of it you can make a batch of venison and olive finger pies, one of my favorite small plate recipes. With each sliced on the bias, and laid out on a serving platter with a bowl of mustard sauce, there’s the start of a great buffet.

I like using a cornmeal pastry for these finger pies. But any pastry will do. Eventually you’ll be rolling it out to a rectangle measuring 5 x 15 inches, and cutting that into three 5 x 5 squares. You’ll need enough pastry to make four of those rectangles.

For the filling take a pound of ground venison and cook it in a skillet until browned and cooked through. Add two tablespoons butter and a chopped onion and cook until the onions turns translucent. Stir in two garlic cloves, minced, cook them for about two minutes, and add ¼ cup dry white wine and a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. Cook until most of the liquid evaporates and sprinkle 1 ½ tablespoons of flour over the meat mixture. Cook, stirring, until the mixture is thick and pasty.

Gradually stir in 2/3 cup beef or chicken stock and ¾ cup water. Season with pepper. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in eight large green olives, pitted and chopped, and a quarter cup minced parsley.

Let the mixture cool while you prepare the pastry squares.

Moisten the edges of one square. Scoop 2 rounded tablespoons of the meat mixture onto the bottom half of the square and spread it evenly, leaving a half inch border. Fold the top over and seal the edges well.

When you’ve made all the pies, brush them with an egg wash made by mixing one egg with a tablespoon of water. Cut three diagonal vent holes in each pie, lay them out on baking sheets, and bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Using the middle vent as a guide, cut each pie in half diagonally. Serve with a simple mustard sauce. I merely mix some sharp mustard to taste with a half cup of sour cream.

Why do we make three slits in any sort of pie? Strictly tradition. As Roscoe Lee Brown described making an apple pie, in the film The Cowboys, you “put three slits in the crust, one to let out the steam, and two because that’s the way your mama did it.” The fact is, just one will do.

That single turkey breast begs to be turned into hot browns – another gem among small plate recipes. Here, again, there might not be enough for an actual meal serving. But turn it into mini-hot browns and you have a terrific addition to the game buffet.

Start by either roasting or poaching the turkey, as you desire. Let it cool. Meanwhile, gather your other ingredients. We’re going to make the original recipe, not the turkey and ham in cheddar sauce that nowadays masquerades as hot browns. For this you’ll need: a tablespoon each of flour and butter, a cup of milk, a minced shallot, salt, pepper, and a about a half cup of grated parmesan, along with some extra for the topping. You’ll also need some thick sliced bacon, and some small button mushrooms, sautéed. And a loaf of bread. I like oatmeal bread for this, but any dense bread will do.

You’ll also need a set of graduated cooking cutters, either round or fluted.

Start by making the Mornay sauce. Melt the butter and sauté the shallot in it until soft. Stir in the flour and cook for one minute. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil and stir until fairly thick. Season with salt and pepper and add the parmesan and cook until it’s melted into the sauce. Set aside.

Cut the bacon into lardons. This merely means cutting it crossways, in quarter inch pieces. Cook the bacon until crisp.

Slice the turkey, across the grain, about a quarter inch thick.

Now you’re ready to assemble. Using the larger of the cookie cutters, divide the bread into circles or other shapes. Lay it out on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until slightly colored and crisp.

Using the same cutter, divide the turkey into the same number of circles as the bread. Then step down a size, and do it again. Finally, use the smallest cutter, or a piece of tubing, to make even smaller discs.

On each piece of bread lay out descending discs of turkey. Pour on a dollop of the sauce, and sprinkle with additional parmesan. Top each with a mushroom, and arrange a few lardoons on each hot brown. Pop under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned.

One of your best friends, when making small plate recipes, is won ton wrappers. You can do all sorts of wonderful things with them, one of which is to create tiny pastry cups. If you can find the round ones, great. If not, use a cookie cutter to cut the square ones.

Carefully push one won ton round into each cavity of a mini-muffin pan. A shot glass can help you start them. Try and get the pleats and folds even. Then bake at 350F until brown and crisp, about five minutes. Cool on a rack. These cups will keep, in a zipper bag, for several weeks.

Any small plate recipes that are cooked in a sauce can be served in these cups.

One of the small plate recipes that works well is this variation of Hunter’s Run Dove, which will really stretch that handful of dove breasts.

Mix together 2 tablespoons olive oil, ½ cup Madeira wine, two or three tablespoons of finely chopped red onion, a pinch each of savory and pepper. Marinate the dove breasts in this mixture for at least 3 hours.

Drain the breasts, reserving marinade, and broil them for about eight minutes, brushing with butter halfway through.

While the breasts are broiling, fry a cup of diced mushrooms (I prefer wild mushrooms for this, such as portabellas) in butter until softened. Add the marinade and simmer until pan juices are reduced by half.

Strip the dove meat from the bones and dice it small. Add to the mushroom mixture.

Fill won ton cups with the mixture. Sprinkle with some grated Gruyere cheese, and pop under the broiler until the cheese melts.

With a little thought you can see that many dishes lend themselves to small plate recipes of this type. For instance, turn that pheasant or grouse breast into “chicken” a la king and spread it among the cups.

A variation on this small plate recipes idea is to cut a loaf of bread into one-inch cubes. Hollow them out with a melon baller, and bake until toasted. Then fill with any mixture that strikes your fancy.

You can also use won ton wraps to create ravioli-like dumplings, and fry, bake, or poach them as you wish. For a buffet I prefer baking or frying, because something with a little crunch makes better finger food.

For example, small plate recipes are ideal for a single rabbit or squirrel. Strip the meat from the bones and dice it small. Sauté it in some butter and set aside. Peel and dice a large potato and sauté it. Set aside. Do the same with a ½ pound of mushrooms. Return the potatoes and meat to the pan and add a cup of red wine, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle with coriander seeds, cover, and simmer gently until meat and potatoes are tender. Let cool.

Lay out a few won ton wraps. Put a tablespoon of the mixture in the center of each. Wet the edge with water or an egg wash and lay a second wrap over it. Cut each with a round cookie cutter, making sure the edges are sealed.

Dip each ravioli into an egg wash made by beating an egg with a tablespoon of water and a few drops of hot sauce. Then dip them in bread crumbs. Lay out on a cookie sheet and bake at 400F until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

When making any kind of ravioli-like dumpling it’s important to squeeze out any air. If you don’t, they’re likely to separate when cooking---or even explode.

Enjoy the last of your game using these small plate recipes. And good luck replenishing your freezer this year.