John Cesters Poultry & Game Meat

Venison & Game Meat Melbourne

Awesome foursome: duck, fig, walnut and pinot

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We have a recipe from our two favourite customers, Rick and Maggie – who doesn’t love wine and Pinot?

Ingredients (for two to share by candlelight)

2 duck breasts
10 walnut kernels, lightly toasted and rubbed with a dry cloth
3 ripe figs, quartered
mixed salad leavesduck-salad-3

For the marinade
3cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed or grated
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil

For the dressing (these days, for convenience, we use our vinaigrette dressing instead and it works equally well)
1 small brown shallot, finely chopped duck-salad-2
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
60ml olive oil
¼ tsp caster sugar
1 tbsp finely chopped walnut kernel
2 tsp finely chopped parsley
2 tsp snipped chives
salt and pepper

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 125C (fan-forced). Using a metal skewer, prick and pierce the skin of the duck, with no more than ½ cm between each prick mark. Place breasts skin-side DOWN on a grill-rack sitting in a pan with 1cm of water in the bottom. Bake for 1 hour and remove from oven.duck-salad-41
  2. Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth. Brush all surfaces of the duck with the marinade, put breasts and any leftover marinade in a suitable container, cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least four hours. Remove from fridge at least 30 minutes before step 3 and brush off any excess marinade (see the first photo below).
  3. Preheat oven to 175C. Place breasts skin-side UP on a grill placed on the top shelf and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until skin has turned a deep golden brown. Rest breasts while you prepare the other salad ingredients. (This time, we roasted the breasts in our Weber Q – purchased since we last made the dish – and cooked the duck skin-side down for 6 minutes once the skin was golden brown, which added some appealing char to the flavour mix.)
  4. To make the dressing, put shallot, vinegar, mustard, oil and sugar in a jar, put lid on jar and shake vigorously for about 10 seconds. Add chopped walnut, parsley and chives and briefly shake to combine. Adjust seasoning. duck-salad-4
  5. Combine leaves, fig and walnut kernels in a large salad bowl. Slice duck breast, place over salad and spoon over about half the dressing. Toss gently to combine and serve immediately.

(Maggie & Rick Grounds – RMG Travels and Food, 2015)

Kangaroo and Quinoa Risotto BBQ Recipe

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Ingredients

2 x 200g kangaroo loin fillets
2 tbsp. oil
4 tsp. fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper, groundKangaroo-Quinoa-Risotto

Risotto Ingredients:
1 ½ cups quinoa
3-4 cups chicken stock 
1 brown onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
150-200g brown mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 tbsp. oil
150g baby spinach leaves
4 tbsp. of thyme

Method

Pre-heat the BBQ to low/medium temperature.
In a large mixing bowl add all of the kangaroo ingredients, leave to marinate.
In a medium sized saucepan, add the olive oil and cook the onions and garlic, till translucent. Add the mushrooms and thyme, cook for a further 5 minutes.
Add the quinoa and coat with the onion mixture.
Add the stock and stir for 15-20 minutes, until all of the stock is absorbed.
In the meantime cook the kangaroo for 4 minutes each side, leave it to rest for 5 minutes, then cut into thick slices.
Once the risotto is cooked, stir through the baby spinach leaves and serve on a large platter with kangaroo either on the side or on top.

(Good Chef, Bad Chef, 2013)

Chicken, leek and mushroom pie by Karen Martini

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Karen Martini takes us on a tastebud journey with family favourite, but still delicious and mouthwatering.

 

INGREDIENTSScreen shot 2015-10-12 at 5.27.33 PM

6 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in

Salt flakes

Freshly ground pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

1 litre chicken stock, hot

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 leeks, finely sliced

65g butter

450g large pine or field mushrooms, carefully cleaned, finely diced

3 sprigs thyme, leaves only

40g plain flour

2 tbsp double cream

2 tsp heaped dijon mustard

1 handful flatleaf parsley, chopped

2 handfuls frozen peas

1 thick piece (about 375g) puff pastry

1 egg, whisked

1 small onion

METHOD:

1. Season the chicken thighs and brown, skin-side down, in a little oil in a large pan over medium heat – about 8 minutes. Flip over and add the hot stock. Simmer gently for 25 minutes or until the thighs are cooked.

2. Remove the cooked chicken and strain the stock. Skim off most of the fat from the stock (you can cool it first, if you like, making it easier to lift the fat from the top). Return the stock to the stove and reduce to about 400 millilitres.

3. For the filling, add about 50 millilitres of oil to a frying pan and cook the onion, garlic and leeks for about 10 minutes over a slow heat to caramelise and soften.

4. Add 25 grams of the butter, the mushrooms and the thyme and cook for a further 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees fan-forced or 210 degrees conventional.

6. In a medium pot, melt 40 grams of butter over a medium heat until starting to sizzle, add the flour and stir to make a roux. Cook for 1 minute, stirring all the time, then add the strained stock. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes at a simmer, whisking constantly – it should be smooth and thick.

7. Take the sauce off the heat and leave to cool a little. Whisk in the cream and mustard, and add the mushroom mix, parsley and peas. Tear or chop the chicken and add to the mix. Combine thoroughly, and check and adjust the seasoning – the mix will be quite thick but luscious.

8. Cut the pastry sheet three centimetres larger than your pie dish to make a pastry pie lid. Brush the edge of the dish with the egg, tip the filling in and drop the lid on, crimping to seal. Decorate with the pastry scraps. Make an incision in the top to release steam and brush with egg. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden and puffed.

Serves 4

(Karen Martini, 2013)

Chicken Tikka Masala

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INGREDIENTS:

 

METHOD:

Step 1: Soak 8 wooden skewers in cold water for 20 minutes.

Step 2: Meanwhile, combine tikka masala paste with 1 cup (280g) yoghurt and season well. Coat the chicken from John Cester’s Poultry & Game Meat in the marinade, then cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Step 3: Place coriander stalks and leaves, sugar, ginger, garlic, olive oil and half the lime juice in a food processor and whiz until a coarse puree. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup (140g) yoghurt. Season. Set aside.

Step 4: Meanwhile, toss the cucumber with remaining lime juice. Season. Set aside.

Step 5: Heat sunflower oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Thread chicken onto skewers, then cook, turning, for 8-10 minutes until cooked through.

Step 6: Serve the skewers with coriander dressing and cucumber salad.

 

(Taste.com, 2011)

Green-filled Buffalo

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A recipe from our customers Maggie and Rick – we always love to see what they cook up!

Ingredients

1/2 kg fillet of buffalo  buffalo-3
2-3 spring (green) onions, sliced
2 tbsp dry white wine
60g butter, softened
3 tsp parsley, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper, to taste
40ml breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated gruyere cheese

Method

  1. Heat a buffalo-1non-stick pan until very hot. Add the piece of meat and turn on all sides until the outside of the flesh is brown. Remove and allow the meat to cool (this prevents loss of juices during step 5).
  2. Place the spring onion and white wine in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the wine has almost evaporated and the onion is soft.
  3. In a bowl, use a fork to cream the butter with the parsley, garlic, mustard, salt and pepper. Add the breadcrumbs and cheese and stir to combine. Mix in the spring onion. (This butter mix can also be used when cooking escargots or lobster tails.)
  4. Preheat oven to 170-175C (no hotter or the butter will burn).
  5. Leaving the base of the fillet intact, cut into the flesh at >1cm intervals. Spread some of the butter mix between each slice, as well as along the top and sides of the fillet. Tie some string around the sides of the fillet lengthways to hold it together.
  6. Place fillet on baking paper in an oven-proof tray into which the fillet fits comfortably. Cook in the oven for 20 to 35 minutes, according to the thickness and your own taste. Remove, cover with foil and rest for 5 to 10 minutes.buffalo-2
  7. To serve, remove the string and cut the slices through.
  8. The pan juices and resting juices, which include much of the butter, can be saved and used when mashing some potatoes.

To complete the dish, we added some whole mushrooms, seasoned, tossed in olive oil and roasted alongside the buffalo; Dutch carrots, peeled and cooked by reduction method in water, a little sugar and a little butter; fresh green beans; and some of our homegrown kipflers, boiled until just cooked. There was enough meat for three adults, four at a pinch.

 

(RMG Travels and Food, 2015)