Recipes

Ingredients

Serves 4–6

Braising Ingredients

• 2 deer shanks
• Oil for cooking (I prefer avocado oil because of its high smoke point)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup tequila (save the high dollar stuff for the margs)
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 1 large white onion – quartered
• 2 jalapeños – thickly sliced
• 5 cloves garlic – minced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 lime – halved
• 4 cilantro sprigs
• 3 tbsp agave nectar

Taco Ingredients

• Corn tortillas (or flour)
• Grape tomatoes – halved
• Jalapeños – sliced
• Crumbled queso fresco
• Avocado – sliced
• Cilantro leaves and lime wedges (for garnish)

These taco toppings are subjective to what you like. and these ingredients are just what I’ve landed on. Remember, the tortilla is your canvas!

Note
This recipe will be referenced in other recipes as a way to cook shanks and use the meat for other purposes besides tacos. For those, just drop the “taco” part of this recipe, and use the braising ingredients and instructions to cook your shanks.

Directions

1. Rub shanks with oil and coat generously with salt and pepper.
2. Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat on the stove top, and preheat oven to 300°F.
3. Brown all sides of the shanks in the dutch oven.
4. Once shanks are browned, add the stock, tequila, onion, jalapeños, garlic, cumin, cilantro, and limes to the dutch oven over the shanks, squeezing the lime juice into the braising liquid before adding the lime itself. You want the braising liquid to just barely cover the shanks, so feel free to adjust the amount of stock accordingly. Bring liquid to a boil, then place lid on the dutch oven before placing it in the oven at 300°F for 4–5 hours, checking periodically to make sure the liquid is still covering the shanks. When the meat is almost falling off of the bone, remove the dutch oven from the oven.
5. Remove shanks from the braising liquid, and shred meat with two forks (see picture).
6. Pre-heat a cast iron skillet over high heat. Add half of the shredded meat to the heated skillet, and leave for several minutes. You want to just slightly crisp the shredded meat, so be careful not to overdo it. Once the ends of the meat start to crisp, drizzle half of the agave nectar over the meat and cook for 1 more minute to allow it to caramelize. Removed meat from skillet, then repeat this crisping process with the other half of the shredded meat.
7. Warm tortillas in the oven or in a lightly oiled frying pan, then assemble your tacos, and enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 4 small corn tortillas
• 4 eggs
• 3 tbsp crumbled feta
• ¼ lb venison Mexican chorizo (if you don’t have Mexican chorizo, you can cheat by using ground venison and 1 tbsp taco seasoning)
• ½ tbsp butter
• 8 grape tomatoes
• 12–15 thinly slices jalapeño rings
• ½ avocado sliced
• Salt and pepper
• Cilantro leaves – for garnish
• Cholula hot sauce

Instructions

1. Heat butter in a frying pan over medium heat and brown chorizo, adding tomatoes and jalapeños halfway through. Remove the chorizo mixture from the pan and set aside.
2. Crack eggs into a frying pan, immediately sprinkling the feta into the eggs before they set up. Season with salt and pepper. Cook them to over-medium.
3. While eggs are cooking, either lightly fry tortillas or warm them in oven.
4. Once eggs are cooked, place them on the lightly fried or warmed tortillas, and top them with the chorizo mixture. Garnish with the avocado, cilantro leaves, and a few dashes of Cholula sauce.

Ingredients

Serves 2–3

• 1 lb skinless pheasant meat – cut into 1″ pieces
• 2 eggs – beaten
• ⅓ cup flour
• ⅓ cup corn starch
• Oil for frying (I use avocado oil or refined coconut oil to stay on the healthier side)
• Salt and pepper
• Toasted sesame seeds – for garnish
• Green onions thinly sliced – for garnish

Sauce Ingredients

• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ¼ cup ketchup
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1½ tbsp rice vinegar
• ¾ tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• ½ tbsp minced garlic
• ½ tbsp cooking oil

Directions

1. Dust pheasant pieces with salt and pepper
2. Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat
3. Combine flour and cornstarch in a separate bowl
4. Dip each piece of pheasant into the eggs first, then into the flour mixture
5. Heat 1″ of oil in a pot or deep fryer to 350°F
6. Fry the coated pheasant in the oil for 3–4 minutes, or until golden brown. Work in batches to avoid overcrowding the pot or fryer. Place pheasant on paper towels after removing from oil.
7. Combine all sauce ingredients, except for the oil and garlic, in a bowl
8. Heat ½ tbsp of cooking oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
9. Add the combined sauce ingredients to the garlic in the saucepan and bring to a simmer for 2–3 minutes (or until sauce reaches desired consistency)
10. Add the pheasant to the saucepan and toss to coat all of the pieces with the sauce
11. Serve over white rice and garnish with toasted sesame seeds and green onions

Ingredients

Serves 4–6

• ¼ lb of venison Mexican chorizo (if you don’t have chorizo, you can cheat by using regular ground venison mixed with 1 tbsp of taco seasoning)
• 10–12 thinly sliced rings of jalapeno
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup crumbled tortilla chips
• ⅓ cup shredded Mexican cheese
• 1 tbsp butter
• ¼ avocado – sliced
• Sour cream
• Salsa
• Cholula hot sauce
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions

1. Scramble the 3 eggs in a bowl. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper along with a few dashes of the Cholula sauce.
2. Heat the butter in a smaller skillet over medium heat, and brown the ground meat. Add the jalapeno rings 1–2 minutes before the meat is finished browning. Make sure the meat is broken into small pieces and evenly spread out across the skillet.
3. Reduce heat to medium low and add the eggs.
4. Spread the tortilla chips out on top of the eggs. As the eggs start to set up, turn the eggs over with a spatula to cook evenly, and mix in the tortilla chips.
5. Once the eggs are almost cooked, sprinkle the cheese over the top. Remove from the heat once cheese has melted.
6. Plate the dish and garnish with sour cream, salsa, and avocado.