GOOSE PEPPER BACON WRAP

There is nothing like the treat of sitting down to a meal featuring a personally harvesred entrée and the Austins eat what Joe harvests ; The freezer is filled with carefully wrapped and labeled packages of game, game sausage and scrapple.

Joe’s recipe for stuffed, rolled goose is reminiscent of Saltimbocca alla Romana, stuffed, rolled veal bundles, but it could be prepared with any meat.

West Virgina Guided Canada Goose Hunting

Joe recommends using a heavy, well-seasoned, 15” cast-iron skillet. If you don’t own one he suggests looking around Goodwill, antique and consignment stores.

Good and flavorful goose preparation starts with proper field dressing and cleaning of the meat. Entirely removing external fat and avoiding overcooking ensures the best flavor. Joe prefers to cook over an open campfire, but a stove will do.

A grill would also work, Serve the goose rolls with baked eastern-shore grown Hayman sweet potatoes, a green vegetable like winter cress or collards cooked with fatback and spoon- bread.

Joe Austin’s Goose Pepper Bacon Wrap Preparing the venison: Using a sharp knife, filet a hind-end venison roast into long pieces as thin as possible, no more than ¼” thick.

Ingredients for each roll: Olive oil 1 tsp. minced garlic (fresh or from a jar) 2 T. chopped onion Roasted red peppers from a jar Black pepper Parmesan cheese Worcestershire Sauce or a good red wine tart and dry.Nothing sweet.

Good-quality bacon Cooking Method: Heat a little olive oil in a cast-iron skillet. Quickly saute garlic and onion until just tender.

Sprinkle both sides of a filet with black pepper, spread with sautéed garlic and onion, top with two pieces of roasted red pepper, a splash of Worcestershire Sauce or wine and sprinkle heavily with Parmesan cheese.

Roll as tightly as possible and wrap with bacon; one piece will usually do. The bacon will “hold” on itself or may be secured with toothpick if necessary.

Brown the rolled venison on all sides in the skillet for about twenty minutes so that it will hold together when sliced. Avoid overcooking; the venison should be pink (medium to medium well). Slice into 1/2″ medallions and serve on a plate.