Baked Elk Heart With Sage Dressing Food

STUFFED ROAST HEART

Steps:

• Start with the heart. Open it up and trim away any blood vessels or connective tissue and any large lumps of fat. Rinse the whole thing out, washing away any clotted blood. Fill a large bowl with salted water and leave the heart in that for about half an hour.
• Stuffing: Make bread crumbs from a decent sized chunk of quality bread that is a bit stale. Crumble it by hand or in a blender or with a knife. Cut up the portobello mushrooms and the 2 shallots fairly small. Fry them in butter over a medium-low heat for a few minutes, then throw in the parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (Simon & Garfunkel herbs). Once the shallots are softened, dump in the breadcrumbs. Stir everything well to get all the flavours mixed up in the bread and fry for another 3-4 minutes.
• Transfer the stuffing mixture into a bowl and allow it to cool for a few minutes. Take the sausages and slice down their length with a knife and remove the insides and discard the casings. Add the sausage meat to the warm stuffing and mix it together with a fork.
• Heart: Take the heart out of the salt water and rinse it once more. Pat the whole thing dry and grind salt and pepper over it. Rub it in with olive oil, getting both the inside and outside of the heart. Pack in the stuffing filling all cavities of the heart. When it is full, force it closed and tie it up with butcher's string. Use plenty and make sure it's good and tight to prevent stuffing erupting out of any available opening.
• Preheat the oven to 300º F. Get a frying pan nice and hot and then put the heart into it. Turn the heart every minute or so, browning each side as well as the top and bottom.
• While the heart is cooking, chunk up some vegetables (whatever you like, but onion, carrot, and celery are good) and scatter them in a baking tray. Lift the heart out of the pan and onto the vegetables. While the pan is still hot, add a little red wine to deglaze. Pour that over the heart, and add some more wine to the base of the tray to keep the vegetables from getting too dry.
• Put the tray into the oven and cook for 30 minutes per half kilo of heart (most hearts are about a kilo, so about an hour cook time). Every 20-30 minutes, scoop the juices from the bottom of the tray and pour them back over the meat to keep it from drying. When it is done cooking, take it all out and pour the juices into a saucepan. Cover the meat in foil and leave it somewhere warm for at least 10 minutes. Simmer the juices and add whatever is left of your glass of wine. Reduce until it thickens, giving you a fittingly rich sauce to serve with the heart.
• To serve, you can cut the heart into slices and top with the sauce.

STUFFED HEART

Steps:

• Wash heart and trim fat, sprinkle inside with salt and pepper.
• Fry bacon until almost crispy, add bread crumbs, celery, onion, egg, 1/2 tsp salt, thyms, sage and 1/2 tsp pepper.
• Stuff heart and tie with cooking string or secure with skewers.
• Place in small roasting pan, cover with broth and add bay leaf.
• Cover and bake at 325 for 2 1/2 hours.
• Can be done in a crock pot for 9 hours on low.

BAKED ELK HEART WITH SAGE DRESSING

Steps:

• Soak elk heart overnight in cold water. Simmer in large kettle for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Season broth to taste with garlic powder, pepper and bay leaves, plus 1 small diced onion may be used. Pour off and retain all but about 1/2 cups of broth.In large bowl, combine dressing ingredients or 2 boxes prepared dressing mix, plus 1 tsp sage. Heat to boiling the stock poured off heart and add margarine. Use just enough broth to thoroughly moisten dressing. Spoon dressing around heart in a baking dish or DO and bake for 1 1/2 - 2 hours at 350°F. When done, slice heart 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch thick and serve hot. (Leftovers make good sandwiches.)A Back Country Guide to Outdoor Cooking Spiced with Tall Tales - Meat in Camp