This was originally a vegetarian recipe, but the seasonings looked so delicious I swapped out the tofu for cubed elk.

Words, words. Scroll me down!

Contrary to popular belief, chiles can be the star flavor in a dish without melting the skin off your face. If you don’t do spice AT ALL that’s one thing, but as long as you can tolerate at least a little bit of heat you can very easily adjust the heat level with both the type of pepper, how many you use and whether or not you decide to include the seeds and the white pith they are attached to. A rule of thumb to keep in mind is that red chiles tend to be hotter than green ones and dry ones are hotter than fresh. Also, seeds are hotter than flesh, pith is hotter than seeds.

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Venison Recipe: Spicy Elk and broccoli

Having said that, I used 3 dried chiles de arbol for my recipe because that’s what I had on hand when I made this dish. They worked quite well, and it had a good level of spice for my “persnickety with spice” house guest that came over that day. I love a lot of spice, so if I was making it just for myself I probably wold have doubled the chiles.

When you make this dish, make sure you have everything ready to go (“mise en place,” if you will), because you do not want to overcook the meat. This is not a “low and slow” kind of dish, which means if you let it go too long the meat will dry out and get tough. You really only want to simmer it until the broccoli is al dente and the sauce is no longer runny, should be about 5-7 minutes, and then serve immediately.

Spicy Elk and Broccoli

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2lb wild game (stew meat, or cubed)
  • 1/2 Large onion (finely chopped)
  • 2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
  • 2 " fresh ginger (finely chopped)
  • 3 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 3 dried chilies (or 2 fresh, remove seeds to taste)
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 60ml water
  • 1 bunch broccoli or broccolini
  • 2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar

Optional

  • sesame seeds (for garnish)

Directions

Step 1
Sear the meat pieces in a large sauté pan so they are brown on most sides. Remove to a plate. In the same pan, fry the onion, garlic, ginger and chili until the onions are translucent. Add the soy, cayenne, sugar, water, broccoli and seared meat (plus any juices on the plate), bring to a boil and simmer until the sauce thickens and is about reduced by half, about 5-7 minutes.
Step 2
Drizzle with honey and toss well before serving. Serve with steamed rice and garnish with sesame seeds, if desired.
Non-game substitution: Any cubed stew meat will work with this dish.
Vegetarian substitution: Hello, tofu! The original recipe called for tofu. Clearly I made a few minor adjustments (like using honey instead of corn syrup). If you follow my recipe just make sure you dust your tofu with flour before frying, as this wasn’t necessary with the meat.

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Thalia @ butter and brioche

Wish it was possible to get my hands on some game meat here in Australia. This elk stir fry looks delicious!