WRITTEN BY: NEWS DESK  –   The Caterer

Photography 
by Andrew Montgomery

Pica pau means ‘woodpecker’, and you eat this dish with a cocktail stick, picking pieces up and gobbling them a bit like its namesake would. My version uses beef fillet; if you ask your butcher to give you the tail ends of the fillet it will be a lot cheaper, without compromising on flavour. I use Ibérico ham for its rich, sweet flavour. You could use other cured hams, but remember to check the salt 
content, since some types are saltier and less nutty than Ibérico. When I dream of this dish, which I often do, it always comes with an ice-cold draught beer.

Serves 4

For the pickled vegetables
600ml Japanese rice vinegar
600g caster sugar
50g fine sea salt
2 bay leaves
½tsp black peppercorns
1 small head cauliflower, 
cut into bite-sized florets
2 carrots, cut into 5mm slices
1 onion, cut into eighths

For the piri piri oil
5-7 fresh piri piri, malagueta 
or bird’s eye chillies
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1tsp fine sea salt
300ml olive oil
10 dried piri piri or 
malagueta chillies
2tbs brandy or aguardente velha
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1tbs lemon juice
1tbs white wine vinegar
3 bay leaves
A few black peppercorns

For the pica pau
1tbs good-quality pork fat
1tbs olive oil
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 small long red chilli, deseeded (optional) and halved lengthways
300g beef fillet, rump or sirloin, 
cut into bite-sized pieces
150g thick-cut cured ham, ideally Ibérico, Serrano or Parma ham, finely chopped
10 small gherkins, finely chopped
About 1tbs dry white wine, to taste
A small handful of parsley leaves, finely chopped
Lemon wedges, to serve
Piri piri oil, to serve (see above)
Sea salt flakes and ground 
white pepper

To make the pickled vegetables, put the rice vinegar, sugar, salt, bay leaves and peppercorns in
a pan with 600ml water. Place 
over a medium heat and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and bring it to the boil, then add the cauliflower, carrots and onion.

Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl to cool, along with the liquor. I like to make this the day before I use it. Stored in an airtight container, it should keep for two weeks in the fridge.

To make the piri piri oil, make a paste with the fresh chillies and sea salt using a pestle and mortar or a food processor. Heat the paste with 60ml of the oil in a small 
pan over a low heat. Add the remaining ingredients, except the remaining oil. Increase the heat to medium and cook for 3-4 minutes, to burn off the alcohol and lightly caramelise the garlic and chillies. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the rest of the oil.

To make the pica pau, take a handful of the pickles, cut them into small pieces and then set aside.

Melt the pork fat and olive oil over a high heat in a large frying pan. When the fat starts to sizzle, add the garlic, chilli and beef and season with salt and pepper. Fry quickly for 2-3 minutes.

Stir in the ham, chopped pickles and gherkins, then add the white wine, starting with half a tablespoon and adding more to taste as required, along with a splash of pickle liquor if you like. Fry for another minute. Take the pan off the heat and stir through the parsley. Serve immediately, 
in the pan, with cocktail sticks. Lemon wedges and a drizzle of piri piri oil are nice additions.

Recipe taken from Lisboeta: Recipes from Portugal’s 
City of Light

Photography 
by Andrew Montgomery

By Sam Bithoney   –   Skillet

Photos by Sam Bithoney

Peppers, of any variety, are a pain in the ass. Irregularly shaped, filled with bitter ribs and somewhere between 12 and 850,000 tiny seeds that make their way into the darker recesses of your kitchen, hoping to be found one day by anthropologists who proclaim “They were just like us!”

Mankind has come up with some interesting solutions for this problem, but it doesn’t apply universally—most of these tools are focused on Bell and Jalapeño varieties. There’s an easier way, and all you need is a thin, sharp knife.

Start by cutting off the top and bottom of the pepper, which will provide you a level surface on your cutting board. After that, peer into the pepper. You’ll be able to see the entire structure with ease, and from there just follow the inner walls with your knife, cutting opposing sides each time to maintain stability.

You’ll have uniform slices, perfect for cutting into matchsticks and dicing without those weird curly ends, as well as a rectangular prism filled with seeds that fits perfectly in the trash.

These appetizers will be a hit at holiday parties

By JERRY DILSAVER   –   Carolina Sportsman

After their surfaces are brushed with egg wash, Empanadas should bake until golden brown.

As we approach the holidays, family gatherings, holiday dinners and all sorts of things involving food will arise, to which many sportsmen will generously share their fish and game. I enjoy this, but I suggest that you label any game or fish dish taken as such.

A surprising number of people still don’t care for game and fish. They generally don’t like the surprise of being told a dish they are complimenting is game or fish. Surprisingly, these realizations often bring on even more-stringent denials of the fine flavor and healthy aspects of wild fish and game. By labeling dishes, folks who appreciate your sharing can enjoy them, while others will be forewarned — and there might be leftovers to take home for snacks.

The first real brush with winter weather typically arrives in the Carolinas this month. Those cold days feel good in a duck blind or deer stand, listening to a pack of trailing dogs hot on the scent or following a pair of pointing dogs through the broom straw and brambles.

This recipe features venison sausage, but it could be made with regular ground venison or feral pig sausage. It can be made with domestic burger or sausage, too, if you get in a pinch or are told no game is allowed at a gathering you’ll be attending. It’s not as good, but it’s still better than most.

This is a good recipe to take to parties. I promise it won’t be like the five varieties of homemade pimiento cheese or multi-bean salads. This dish should be fairly unique. Once the word gets out it’s venison, your fellow sportsmen usually ensure that all you have to take home is an empty platter. You’ll probably get asked to make more for football bowl game parties later in the month, and that’s not a bad thing. You’ll get to enjoy them again.

Try Venison empanada appetizers

I like food with a little spice, and around Christmas, I try to present something that is tasty, yet unique, for parties around the holiday and college football bowl games to which many sportsmen receive invitations.

Empanadas are basically meat pies, and these are downsized to appetizer or finger food-size. They are tasty, and the biggest problem with them is overeating. I try to eat the leanest meats possible, and when it comes to sausage, that is game sausage.  These may be made with venison burger or sausage, feral pork or domestic burger or sausage. If you use feral or domestic pork, be sure to cook the meat fully.

My venison burger and sausage is mixed at 20-percent fat, so it cooks lean, with very little grease. In fact, I have to lightly spray non-stick cooking spray in the pan to keep it from sticking. If you use a higher percentage of fat in your venison or prepare this with domestic meat, take care to drain the fat as fully as possible so the bottom of the empanadas aren’t weak.

If you use domestic or venison burger, I would suggest considering using taco seasoning instead of fajita seasoning for more flavor. I try to reduce salt intake; numerous low-salt recipes for taco and fajita seasonings are available online. I haven’t found a commercial, low-salt fajita seasoning, but low-salt taco seasoning is available at many grocery stores.

Folks with milder palates might also consider substituting bell pepper for the jalapeno. I feel a single jalapeno is very mild, but some folks have suggested it adds too much heat. Others add a second or third jalapeno for a little kick. If you substitute bell peppers, the baby bells in assorted colors are usually milder and more tender than full-size bell peppers.

I cheat a little with these and use prepared biscuits rather than making dough. The concept of this column is easy cooking, and this makes it real easy. I would still suggest getting out the rolling pin and rolling the dough flat and thin. Otherwise, it rises too much and tries to open the empanadas. If you use Texas-sized biscuits, half of one will make a 3- to 4-bite empanada. However, it’s much easier to get the crust edge sealed with larger pieces of dough. The biscuits come in 10 packs, and this filling mixture will make three to four packages, depending on how full you stuff the empanadas.

Most folks like a dipping sauce with empanadas. I like them straight from the pan, too, but there are many simple options for adding dipping sauces. The simplest dipping sauces are sriracha and chipotle ranch salad dressings. Just pour some in a bowl and go. Mixing some Texas Pete Cha Sauce with a little mayonnaise makes a good sauce. Honey mustard, hot mustard and others are available to suit all tastes. If you have a favorite, give it a try.