Venison SOB

This month’s recipe should be somewhat familiar to anyone who served in any branch of our military or ate in industrial cafeterias.

It had a slightly different name back then. Chipped beef on toast was affectionately (or not) called SOS. Some folks found it disgusting, and some liked it. I am a proud member of the second group.

This culinary treat doesn’t receive its due praise, sort of like Spam. It can be tweaked in a variety of ways to taste a little different, but it’s good, solid comfort food, and should rank right on up there with beef stew, vegetable beef soup, and others.

The biggest difference in this recipe is that it’s made with venison instead of hamburger. I mix my venison burger with a little spice, so it isn’t bland. You can also vary the amount and type of salt and pepper in the roux to add spice and a little heat if desired.

The other thing I do is serve it over biscuits (the B in SOB). If you’re like me and have varied success at making biscuits, don’t despair. A variety of canned biscuits and frozen biscuits ready to warm make it easy for anyone to make that portion of this dish with minimal effort.

For the rest, just brown the ground venison and pour off the excess drippings. Then begin making the roux. Once the roux is made, add the meat back in and let simmer a little bit, then serve with a ladle over biscuits. Enjoy!

Venison sob

Ok, go ahead and get all the snide nicknames out of the way before you begin – it’s time to start cooking.

My venison burger is mixed very lean, so I use non-stick cooking spray. If you add the optional diced onions and/or diced jalapenos, consider adding them on the side, either raw or sauteed, to be sprinkled over the top.

Making the roux is critical. You must stir constantly to prevent it from scorching. Commercial roux mixes are available, but I have never tried one.

I crush the bouillon cube before adding it so it mixes quicker and better. I often substitute Better than Bouillon, as it is granulated and dissolves quickly. If I remember correctly, the conversion is that 1 teaspoon equals one cube. If you have Better than Bouillon, use it. I used bouillon cubes in the recipe because most folks have bouillon in their kitchen, but may not have Better than Bouillon, and this doesn’t call for enough to run out and buy a jar.

Adding ingredients slowly, and stirring frequently, are big parts of this recipe. This goes not just for salt and pepper and other ingredients, but also for the cooked venison burger. Add it slowly and make sure it is well mixed into the roux.

Never quit stirring is my advice for this, and certainly don’t stop once everything is mixed together. Heat the mixture until you see occasional bubbles, and serve it immediately over split biscuits. Now it’s time to enjoy.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound venison burger

8 biscuits (1 can)

2 1/4 Cups milk

2 TBL butter

1/4 Cup flour

1 cube beef bouillon

1/2 TSP
salt

1/2 TSP
Worcestershire sauce

Pepper – to taste

Optional:

1/2 sweet onion

1 or 2 jalapeno peppers-minced

Hot sauce

Substitute buttered toast for biscuits

PREPARATION:

1. Bake a pan of biscuits. Canned or frozen biscuits are fine.
2. Brown the venison burger in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat.
3. Break up the meat as it cooks.
4. Drain the drippings and remove the burger from the pan.
5. If sautéing peppers and onions, this is the time to do it.
6. Add up to one TBL of burger drippings to the pan and melt the butter over medium heat.
7. Slowly stir in the flour, while stirring constantly, to form a roux.
8. Stir in the bouillon.
9. Slowly stir in the milk and Worcestershire sauce, stirring to mix well.
10. Add the cooked venison, stirring frequently.
11. Add the salt and pepper and stir to mix well.
12. Bring the mixture to a slow simmer. Stir constantly to avoid scorching.
13. Once warm all the way through, serve over split biscuits.

I like to serve this with roasted potato wedges or home fries as one side, and slices of fresh tomato and cucumber as the other. It goes well with a variety of desserts, but fresh peach or apple cobbler, with a scoop of ice cream, is a favorite, and tops off the meal well.

A tip on baking the biscuits is to bake them on parchment paper so they can’t stick to the pan. Sometimes, it’s tough to get parchment paper to lay flat, but I recently received a tip on making it easier to use. Simply wad the parchment paper up in a tight ball, like you’re going to throw it away. When straightened back out, it will lay flat and fit in corners.

Tihis recipe calls for adding up to one tablespoon of the burger drippings to the butter and melting it to make the base for the roux. This will vary, as some lean venison burger won’t have a full tablespoon left. This is for flavor, so add what is there, up to a max of one tablespoon.