We had a major upset this Super Bowl Sunday – the Groundhog saw his shadow! Let’s take a moment to come to grips with another 6 weeks of winter.

Okay, moment over.

I’ve been asked to make moose in the oven. Well, here we go. I love braising in the winter so this was a great time to try moose again. As the title suggests, I just went with my gut feeling and tossed thing in willy-nilly. Okay, not that haphazard, I did jot down what I was doing so I could post it for you all to see.

Ingredients

• 2 – 4 lbs of boneless Moose
• 1/4 cup Canola Oil
• Coarse Sea Salt
• ground Black Pepper
• granulated Garlic
• 4 dried New Mexico Chilies
• 3 medium Onions (rough chop)
• 1 whole bulb of Garlic (rough chop)
• 4 Carrots (rough chop)
• 4 cups Beef Stock
• 3 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 dried Bay Leaves
• 2 tbsp Coriander Seeds
• 2 tbsp Fennel Seeds

Method

Preheat oven at 300 degrees. Stem and seed (if you want, I didn’t) the New Mexico Chilies. Soak them in a bowl of boiling water for 15 – 20 min. Then blend the chilies with their liquid.

 

Wash and dry the Moose meat. Remove the silvery skin and as much fat as you can. Make a rub using a 1:1:1 ratio of Salt:Black Pepper:granulated Garlic. Sprinkle generously on the meat and rub it in.

Meanwhile, prep your veggies. Nothing fancy, we’re just braising today. Set aside.

In an oven safe pot heat the Canola Oil to medium high. When the oil is hot and shimmery sear the meat, 3 – 5 min per side. We want a nice dark crust.

 

Toss in the Onions, Garlic, and Carrots. Lower the heat to medium and cook for 10 min. Add the Worcestershire Sauce to deglaze the pot.

 

Add the pureed Chilies, Beef Stock, Bay Leaves, Coriander, and Fennel. Bring to a boil. Add the meat. Cover and bake for 2 hrs. Turn off the oven, but leave the pot in the oven for another 30 min.

 

Remove from pot and let rest for 20 min before slicing and serving. Strain the braising liquid into a saucepan. Save the carrots – their delicious. Skim off the fat and bring to a boil. Reduce the liquid.

 

Spoon the sauce over the meat right before serving. Enjoy!