This Mothers Day Spoil your Mom the African Way….

To all the cooks and chefs out there, AND all those men needing an idea to spoil your mom or wife on Mothers Day – this one’s just for you!
With Mothers Day a mere week away we thought we’d go for a change of flavor. We’d like to honor those fine ladies who spend their lives feeding us hunters, always ensuring a hearty dinner is prepared and on the table after a long days hunt.
May it be from the Cape to Cairo or Alaska to Nebraska,  we all enjoy getting back to camp with a warm fire and your favorite venison dish to round of yet another memorable day. We all have our secret recipes or “family secrets”, something that may never be traded – dare mentioned away from deer camp!
Well, we have a couple of our own, and we’ll be sharing them over the course of the season. This weeks recipe is one that many of you may have enjoyed in camp with us before, for others still planning their dream hunt with John X Safaris, you can try this at home or come to enjoy it in Africa. There’s  something special about a cosy camp fire, a fine glass of Red Wine, and a steaming Springbuck pot under African stars.
Our recipe for a Springbuck neck and shoulder pot is as follows. Please note this recipe will work well with your preferred game/venison in both Europe or the United States.

STEP 1:
Always remember a good end-product can only be guaranteed with well-ripened meat.  The ripening process is nature’s way of tenderizing the meat. This process will enhance the tenderness and flavour within the meat, where as the commercial tenderizer tends to  break down the fibres within the meat, resulting in a dry and crumbling end product.  Meat must hang for at least 7-10days in a cooler or similar, do not cover the meat as air circulation is important in the process.
STEP 2:
Now for the marinade, yes folks the secret to moist appetizing venison most definitely lies with the marinade.
A Beer Marinade by Anita van der Merwe
450 – 750 ml beer (15 – 25 oz)
125 ml olive oil (4 oz)
1-2 onions
1 garlic clove, crushed
25 ml orange juice (0,85 oz)
15 ml lemon juice (0,5 oz)
15 ml prepared mustard (0,5 oz)
Worcestershire sauce ( A splash)
Beat all the ingredients together and pour over the meat.  Marinade for 4-6 hours. Do not marinade for longer than the prescribed period, the marinade contains acidic ingredients, namely Orange and Lemon juice, they will draw moisture from the meat if left to marinade too long.
STEP 3:
10 ml soft brown sugar (0,33 oz)
5 ml ground cloves (0,17oz)
5 ml mixed dried herbs (0,17oz)
5 ml ground coriander (0,17 oz)
5 ml salt (0,17 oz)
2ml freshly ground black pepper (0,08 oz)
1 ml ground nutmeg (0,033 oz)
1 clove garlic, crushed
10 ml vinegar (0,33 oz)
10 ml soya sauce (0,33 oz)
30 ml soft butter ( 1 oz)
40 ml cake flour (1,35 oz)
Pre-heat your oven to 320 F. Mix all your dry seasoning ingredients.  Add the garlic, vinegar and soya sauce.  Mix well with the butter and place in the fridge to chill.
Now pierce holes  in the meat and lard with the chilled butter mixture.  Put the lard venison in a cooking bag or similar with the cake flour and shake thoroughly to cover the meat.
Once the meat has been covered sufficiently place it in a casserole without the lid, add about 500 ml (16,9 oz) water with 1/2 a bottle of red wine and cook for 1-2 hours, until tender. A natural gravy will be formed from the ingredients and the slow simmering process.
Compliment your venison pot with your favorite vegetables, good wine and great friends!
There you have it fellow cooks, it’s simple, hassle free and very enjoyable preparing your very own harvested game.
Now all you men out there, be prepared this Mothers Day, get into the kitchen, use the above recipe and prepare dinner for your mom or wife!

Enjoy – With compliments from the bush kitchen.

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