Venison Negimaki Food

NEGIMAKI

Steps:

• Stir together the soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar in a pie dish or similar shallow container until the sugar is almost dissolved. Set the marinade aside.
• Cut the beef with the grain into 24 slices, each about 1/2 inch thick. Working in batches, arrange a few slices cut-side up on a piece of plastic wrap, leaving a few inches between each slice. Cover with another piece of plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet until the slices are 1/8 inch thick or a little less.
• Lay 3 slices on a work surface parallel to you with the long sides slightly overlapping (by about 1/4 inch). Cut 3 pieces of scallion the same width as the beef and place them across the meat at the end closest to you. Tightly roll the meat around the scallions, starting at the end closest to you. Secure the roll with 2 toothpicks--1 placed horizontally along each of the 2 "seams." Repeat with the remaining beef and scallions. You will end up with 8 rolls.
• Place the rolls in the marinade, turn to coat and marinate, turning once halfway through, for about 15 minutes. Transfer to a plate, letting any excess marinade drain off, and pat dry (reserve the marinade).
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the rolls and brown on 4 sides, 3 or 4 minutes total (the middle should still be rare). When you flip the rolls the last time, reduce the heat to medium, add the reserved marinade and simmer, turning the rolls a few times, until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. (The meat should still be pink in the middle at this point. If you prefer your meat more well done, simmer it a little longer; just be careful not to reduce the sauce too much. If that happens, thin it with a little water.)
• Transfer the rolls to a cutting board and, when cool enough to handle, remove the toothpicks. Using a very sharp knife, cut the rolls crosswise into pieces about 1 inch wide and serve upright on plates. Drizzle with the sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using.

VENISON NEGIMAKI

Steps:

• Combine teriyaki sauce and sugar in a small saucepan and gently boil until it reduces by half into a syrup consistency, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Cut scallions in half, separating the green tops and white/light green bottoms.
• Venison should be partially frozen to make slicing easier. Cut roast into approximately 3/8" thick, 4" by 2" long strips. Try to get the slices as uniform in shape and size as possible, but it's not the end of the world if that doesn't happen. (I ended up with about 30 slices.)
• Pound each piece of venison between two pieces of plastic wrap until they are about 3/16" thick.
• Lay 3 to 4 slices of venison side by side, slightly overlapping, to form a square-ish shape. If needed, I used odd-shaped pieces of meat to "patch" up areas. Lay two pieces of white/light green scallion bottoms, with the white ends sticking out, across the venison. Then add 2 to 3 pieces of green tops. Tightly roll the venison around the scallion and secure with 3 toothpicks. Repeat with remaining meat and scallion. I ended up with 9 rolls, but that could vary. Chill raw negimaki while you prepare the grill. Rolls may be assembled a day ahead.
• Prepare grill for direct, high-heat cooking. Lightly brush oil all over the negimaki before cooking. When grill grates become scorching hot, brush them with oil as well. Lay rolls on the hot grill and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the first side starts to char. Then turn the rolls over and brush the charred side with teriyaki glaze. Grill until the second side starts to char, then turn over and glaze again before you take the negimaki off the grill.
• Allow rolls to rest for a couple minutes before removing toothpicks and slicing into smaller, bite-size pieces. Drizzle leftover teriyaki glaze on top and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with hot white rice.

BEEF NEGIMAKI

Steps:

• In a large saucepan of salted boiling water, blanch lighter scallion ends for 1 minute, then add darker green scallion ends and blanch for 1 minute longer. Drain and transfer to a bowl of ice water to cool, then drain and transfer scallions to a paper towel-lined plate to remove excess water.
• In a medium bowl, combine soy sauce, mirin, sake and sugar, stirring to dissolve most of the sugar.
• Working on a cutting board, cut flank steak against the grain into 4 equal strips, then cut each strip in half for 8 equal square pieces of meat. Keeping your knife parallel to the cutting board, butterfly each square by horizontally slicing against the grain through the middle. (Leave it attached on one side; do not cut all the way through.) Carefully open it like a book. Each of the 8 pieces should be about 3 inches wide.
• Using a meat mallet and working with one piece of meat at a time, cover each with plastic wrap and pound until 1/16-inch thick, creating rectangles that are about 5-by-6 inches. Transfer meat to the soy sauce marinade, turn to coat and let stand for 5 minutes.
• Heat grill to medium-high and grease the grates (Alternatively, grease a grill pan or griddle to use on the stovetop). Remove steak from marinade and transfer to a work surface. Transfer marinade to a small saucepan over medium-low and simmer until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, divide scallions among the 8 pieces of steak, arranging on one side along the shorter edge (scallions should be parallel to the grain). Tightly roll meat around the scallions and secure in two places with toothpicks where meat overlaps, threading the toothpicks parallel to the roll but not through the scallions in the center.
• Grill the negimaki, turning occasionally, until nicely charred and cooked through, reducing heat to medium halfway through, about 12 minutes. (If using a grill pan, heat on stovetop over medium-high and reduce heat to medium halfway through.)
• Once negimaki are cooked, lightly brush them with some of the reduced glaze, then transfer to a cutting board. Remove toothpicks, cut negimaki into bite-size pieces and arrange on a serving platter. Drizzle with the remaining glaze, and serve warm.