Module 6: Week of October 5-11, 2025

Introductions

This week we begin our studies into wild game. I am very excited about this next subject of our class because it will deal with the proper handling and cooking of different game meats, all of which I have very little knowledge of.

We will be making arancini with a red pepper velouté, an ostrich steak salad, and a Denver steak served with pomme aligot and braised shallots with maitre d’hotel butter.

Background Information

When talking about venison, one is typically talking about different game such as deer, elk, ox, etc.. A peculiar note I found while researching venison is that it can be eaten raw, as diseases from eating venison raw are highly unlikely. This also means that it is ever so important to cook game meat such as venison to a rare to medium-rare temperature as it will toughen up and become more gamey the longer it cooks (Shaw 2022).

Similar to venison and most game meats, ostrich also requires little cooking as to not overcook its pieces of meat. It too, like the venison, will become much more tougher the longer it cooks. Ostrich has a very low fat content, meaning that most of the flavor comes from the meat itself, unlike beef in which most flavor comes from the fat. Another helpful component of ostrich cooking is to marinate the meat so as to develop rich flavors into the mean being that the meat is the central source of flavor (American Ostrich Farms n.d.).

Recipe Research & Development

This week, it is our understanding that all recipes have been given to us, so as for us to learn more how to deal with recipes rather than coming up with our own. I am excited to play around with the arancini, as I have made those a few times and enjoyed each time. I am also eager to see what my group would like to do with the different meats.