Cooking Corner by Various Authors

Many Americans believe beef is what's for dinner. So it is, over at the Mama's Boy Bistro.

But what's for dinner at the Testosterone Trattoria? What inspired the most hairy-chested cookbook ever published, rock star/bowhunter Ted Nugent's “Kill It and Grill It?” What, other than flaming napalm, smells like victory in the morning?

This, buck-o: venison, antelope, boar, rabbit, pheasant, quail, ptarmigan. Yeah, that's right. Ptarmigan.

Ain't your cup of moose chili? Well, don't let the saloon door slam your fanny on your way out. This culinary bandwagon is already full up with highfalutin' poseurs.

“I'm ambivalent about the whole thing,” said Scott Leysath, co-host of the syndicated TV show “HuntFishCook,” about non-two-fisted restaurants serving game. “I still think that people would like to believe that their food is raised in shrink-wrapped packages. I don't think the average person wants to go hunting for their food.”

Perhaps not. But these days, game is a star attraction in upscale restaurants whose patrons are more apt to buy a rack of lamb than a gun rack.

Dean Thomas, executive chef at Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino, agreed — about the health benefits.

“I think that people are looking for leaner cuts of meat,” said Thomas, a finalist in a national wild-boar recipe contest this year. “Anything that is game is going to be leaner. They are out there foraging for their meal every day.”

But venison, boar or fricasseed chuckwallah medallions will never overtake farm-raised beef, chicken or pork for a simple reason.

You're terrified of the stuff.

You say you want game? You can't handle game.

FEAR FACTOR

The terrors of the hunt range from trigger-happy vice presidents to angry, well-pronged behemoths eager to debate who is hunting whom. (In November, a Missouri sportsman shot a 240-pound nine-point buck. The beast fell, lay motionless, then leaped up and used his horns to re-part the guy's hair and scalp. By day's end, the hunter had a truckload of venison and a head full of surgical staples.)

But kitchens across this country are haunted by an even greater horror, a monster known as Gray Meat.

Growing up in Alabama, Leysath watched his father hunt, kill, dress and then cook the bejabbers out numerous poor animals. The inedible results left a mark on the future chef: “When I was a kid, I would much rather shoot these things than eat them.”

The quality that makes game healthy — its lack of fat — makes it a chef's challenge.

“It's not very forgiving,” Leysath said. “There's only about three grams of fat in an elk rack. You order that medium or medium-well, you might as well just order leather.”

DEATH-DEFYING ORDER

Do you remember Baffled Buffalo, who roamed through NBC's “Further Adventures of Doctor Dolittle” in 1970-71? Neither do the Barona Oaks Steakhouse diners, none of whom has been seen heaving wistful, nostalgic sighs for the animated bison before ordering chef Thomas' buffalo rib-eye.

“We dry-age it ourselves on our property,” Thomas said.

Boar also occupies the celebrity D-list, although it is a roughneck cousin to cartoon mega-star Porky Pig.

Porky has his fans, but tha-tha-that doesn't stop people from eating b-b-bacon.

Thomas' boar recipe, one of four finalists in a contest sponsored by New Jersey's North American Import & Export, is a cooking tour de force, using three separate cuts in three preparations. The sirloin is seared in a black-and-tan sauce; the shank simmered in duck fat; and the tenderloin southern-fried.

This isn't your father's boar briquet, said Leysath. By hauling wild animals into high-end kitchens, chefs are raising game's game.

“I think chefs always look for new and exciting ingredients to cook with and satisfy the guests,” Thomas said. “The public is becoming more educated on cuisine. There's the Food Network; even fast-food places use terms like ciabatta. Food is a major concern in our society today.”

Leysath, though, suspects that few foodies hanker for a steaming bowl o' quail hash: “I don't see more people eating game, other than hunters.”

If you order an elk chop or 'roo stew, though, remember to make it rare or medium-rare. “Try it one time,” Leysath said. “You won't die.”

TAPENADE'S WILD BOAR STEWED IN BURGUNDY SAUCE

4 pounds boar shoulder, cut in bite-sized cubes

3 bottles full-bodied red wine

2 large carrots, peeled, diced

1 large onion, peeled, diced

2 celery ribs, diced

1 head garlic, cut in half horizontally

1 bouquet garni (fresh thyme and parsley sprigs and a bay leaf wrapped in a leek leaf and tied with string)

1 orange, quartered

2 teaspoons black peppercorns

2 teaspoons juniper berries

2 whole cloves

4 teaspoons olive oil

2 thick slices bacon, diced

3 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons black currant jam

1 small bunch parsley, chopped

2 teaspoons brandy

Coarse sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Yiields 8 servings.

To make marinade: A day ahead, place wine in a large pot and boil until reduced by 1/2. Remove from heat. Add carrots, onion, celery, garlic, bouquet garni and orange. Tie black peppercorns, juniper berries and cloves in a piece of cheesecloth and add it to marinade. When marinade has cooled, add boar meat and marinate in refrigerator for 24 hours.

Remove meat from marinade and strain marinade, reserving wine, vegetables, bouquet garni and cheesecloth bundle.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in cast-iron Dutch oven. Sear meat on all sides until golden brown. Add diced bacon, reserved vegetables and orange, and stir, cooking over medium heat until vegetables are slightly browned. Drain ingredients in colander to remove excess fat, put all ingredients into Dutch oven, sprinkle with flour and cook over medium heat, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add reserved wine marinade, reserved bouquet garni and cheesecloth bundle. Cover pot, cook in oven at 350 F for 1 1/2 hour to 2 hours.

After meat is tender, remove meat, bacon and vegetables from pot. Discard the bouquet garni, cheesecloth bundle and orange. Simmer sauce over medium heat and remove any excess fat using ladle. Put boar, vegetables and bacon back into pot. Add brandy and black currant jam, season to taste with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Serve boar with tagliatelle pasta or mashed potatoes.

— Chef Jean-Michel Diot, Tapenade Restaurant, San Diego.

COPYRIGHT 2008 THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE.

DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.