Grandmother's recipes remain most favorite

One Tuesday morning while driving to Washington, I hit my fourth deer of the season. It seems that I'm having more luck killing deer with my car than most of my hunter friends with their guns!

Fortunately no one was hurt and the car didn't have much damage.

After arriving at work, I sat down to talk about this incident among other topics with Father Kevin Johnson of St. Peters Episcopal Church for an hour or so. When I returned to my office, memories of my grandparents flooded my mind. My grandmother was a terrific cook. She had been taught by her mother, my great-grandmother, who was also an outstanding cook.

They both could really prepare venison steak.

For years, I assumed that since my grandfather was a country boy at heart having grown up on the James River, he had hunted his entire life. But he only started hunting deer as an adult. Actually, he killed his first deer while fishing.

A deer started swimming toward the boat. Granddaddy had a fishing pole, but no gun. The story goes that he reached out with his mammoth hands, grabbed the deer's rack of antlers, and held the large buck's head under water until he quit fighting. Granddaddy then towed the deer back to Mackey's, old man and the sea, Southern style.

The quality of venison depends on the age of the animal, its diet, and the time of year the deer was hunted. The meat is very lean, yet the flavor is stronger than beef. If you are unable to find venison, substitute boneless rib-eye steaks rather than top round, the more common cut for country-fried steak, and too tough.

Mother and I have jazzed Grandmama's recipe up a little. Mother added mustard and I add Panko. If you haven't tried Panko, you must! It is fabulous on everything fried! Panko is Japanese breadcrumbs and can be bought at most grocery stores. It is a pleasure to share with you my grandmother's recipe for Country-Fried Venison Steak.

Grandmother's Country-Fried Venison Steak

From Celia Powell Shelton

Serves 4 to 6

1 1/2 pounds venison, cut into 1/4-inch-thick, serving-size portions, or 4 (6-ounce) rib-eye steaks, pounded 1/4 inch thick;

coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper;

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard;

1 cup fresh or Panko Japanese) breadcrumbs;

1/2 cup all-purpose flour;

2 large egg whites,

3 tablespoons canola oil, plus more if needed.

To prepare the venison, season both sides of the meat with salt and pepper, and then brush both sides with mustard to coat. Combine the breadcrumbs and flour in a shallow pan. Season with salt and pepper. Place the egg whites in a separate shallow bowl or pie plate and whisk lightly. Dip the meat first into the egg whites, allowing the excess to drip off then dip into the breadcrumb mixture, patting on both sides to coat.

Line a plate with paper towels. To cook the venison, in a large, heavy-duty skillet, preferable cast iron, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the meat to the skillet without crowding, in batches, if necessary, and cook on both sides until dark brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side; transfer to the prepared plate once cooked. Serve immediately.

This recipe for Country-Fried Venison Steak is a classic Inner Banks recipe and your family will love it.

Julia Child was quoted as saying, "Once you have mastered a technique, you hardly need look at a recipe again."

The technique for cooking tough cuts of meat is braising: the meat is seared until dark brown for flavor, and then removed from the pot. Aromatics such as herbs and vegetables are cooked in the same pot in a small amount of the remaining fat. The pan is subsequently deglazed with liquid to help remove any brown bits of flavor from the bottom of the pan, then the meat is returned and liquid is added to come up to the meat's "shoulders."

Pot roast is a classic braised dish. I can't imagine going to grandmother's for Sunday dinner without her pot roast. Her recipe that I'm going to share with you is one of my most favorite things! It's also classic Inner Banks cooking at its best.

Grandmother's Old-Fashioned Pot Roast

From Celia Powell Shelton

Serves 4 to 6

3 tablespoon canola oil;

1 (4-pound) boneless chuck roast or rump roast;

3 medium onions, preferably Mattamuskett Sweets or Vidalia, thickly sliced;

1 cup dry red wine;

2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika;

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme;

1 bay leaf, preferably fresh;

4 cloves garlic, crushed;

3 cups beef stock or broth, plus more if needed;

2 pounds new potatoes, scrubbed;

6 carrots, cut into 1 1/2-inch-thick pieces;

coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. To cook the roast, in a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven, heat the oil over high heat. Sear the meat until it's a rich, dark brown on both sides, 8 to 10 minutes total. Remove to a plate.

Decrease the heat to medium; add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until a deep, golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring to loosen any brown bits. Add the paprika, thyme, bay leaf, and garlic. Stir to combine and cook until fragrant, 45 to 60 seconds. Return the seared roast to the pan. Add the stock and bring to a boil, over medium-high heat. Cover and bake for 1 hour.

Remove from the oven and turn the roast in the liquid to moisten. Add the potatoes and carrots, cover, and bake an additional 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until both the meat and vegetables are tender.

Transfer the roast to a warm platter. Using a slotted spoon, place the vegetables around the roast. Cover the platter loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm. Remove the bay leaf from the sauce and discard. If the sauce is too thin, bring it to a boil over high heat to reduce and thicken. If the sauce is too thick, add a little wine or stock to achieve the correct consistency. Taste the sauce and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.

To serve, slice the roast against the grain, and spoon the sauce over the roast and vegetables.

Grandmother thought that one of the key elements in producing a good roast or steak was the quality of the butcher.

In her humble opinion, Fletcher Harris, Edison Towe and Bill Hardison of Plymouth were simply the very best! I was fortunate enough to know all three men personally before they died. They were gentlemen and a credit to their profession.

The "art" of butchering is almost a lost art in these times. These men were artisans of the highest caliber.

This next recipe is a favorite too. I've updated it a little over my grandmother's original. It is delicious and one bowl is not enough!

Add some lace cornbread and you have a complete meal. Only use fresh corn in season for this recipe. As soon as corn is harvested, the sugar in the kernel begins to convert to starch and the corn begins to lose its sweetness. To store corn, leave on the husks and store it loosely wrapped in damp paper towels inside a paper bag. Refrigerate and use it within 24 hours.

My great-grandmother introduced mother to the technique of grating the onion on a box grater instead of finely chopping it. When the onion is grated, it almost melts into the grits, adding a layer of onion flavor without any noticeable onion texture (always present with chopped onion, regardless of how fine the pieces). It also adds a bit more moisture to the grits than chopped onion does.

It is a great pleasure to be able to share with you a great favorite of mine. It will become a great favorite of yours too.

Grits with Corn and Mattamuskett Sweet Onions

From Celia Powell Shelton and Glenna Shelton Browning

Serves 4 to 6

1 tablespoon canola oil;

1 onion, preferably Mattamuskett Sweet, grated;

scraped kernels from 2 ears fresh sweet corn (about 1 cup);

2 cups whole milk;

2 cups water;

coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper;

1 cup stone-ground or coarse-ground grits;

2 tablespoons unsalted butter;

3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 3 ounces);

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat leaf parsley;

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until transparent, about 2 minutes. Add the corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until the kernels become soft, about 5 minutes.

Add the milk, water, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Whisk in the grits, decrease the heat to low, and simmer, whisking occasionally, until the grits are creamy and thick, 45 to 60 minutes. Stir in the butter, cheese, parsley, and chives. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.

I will close this column today by sharing one of my favorite meals, which is a classic Inner Banks heritage meal. If you have never tried it, I encourage you. It's delicious and eating it once in a great while will not hurt you. It is a pleasure being able to share grandmother's recipe for Fried Fatback, braised cabbage and cornmeal griddle cakes!

A simple meal of fried fatback, braised cabbage and a few cornmeal griddle cakes was one of grandmother's stand-by suppers and is seriously old-fashioned Inner Banks cuisine.

Fatback is the layer of fat that extends the length of a hog's back. It is available fresh, meaning unsalted, uncured, and unsmoked. Fatback with the rind is used for making cracklings, which are fried pork skins with a bit of tooth to them, commonly eaten as a snack or baked into cornbread.

Grandmother's Fried Fatback

Serves 4 to 6

1/2 pound fatback, sliced 1/4-inch thick.

Line a plate with paper towels. Place the fatback in a cold heavy duty skillet, preferably cast iron. Heat over medium low heat. Cook, turning occasionally until crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Using tongs, remove the fatback to the prepared plate to drain. Serve immediately.

Grandmother's Braised Cabbage

Serves 4 to 6

This is another example of simple country cooking that would be equally at home cooked in a cast-iron skillet anywhere in the Inner Banks or simmered in a cocotte on Grandmere's stovetop in France.

Cabbage is an inexpensive vegetable, and if stored properly, will keep for weeks in the refrigerator. Once again, bacon drippings were grandmother's fat of choice, but you can substitute butter. Other oils do not give the dish the richness it needs. Before you make any comments about grandmother's arteries, she lived to be ninety-six!

2 tablespoons bacon fat or unsalted butter;

1 medium head green cabbage, cored and thickly sliced (about 8 cups);

1/2 cup chicken stock or low-fat, reduced-sodium chicken broth;

1 sprig of thyme; coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper.

In a large skillet, heat the bacon fat over medium high heat until sizzling. Add the cabbage and sauté until the cabbage starts to wilt, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and thyme. Season with salt and pepper.

Decrease the heat to medium, and simmer until the cabbage is meltingly tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the sprig of thyme and taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Grandmother's Cornmeal Griddle Cakes

Makes 12

Cornbread was for many years the basic bread of the Inner Banks and throughout the rural South, the very poor South.

Cornbread and barbecue are close to being religion in the Inner Banks and the South as a whole. But, for years, cornbread was the primitive Baptist to the Episcopalian biscuit, the all-night tent revival to the ladies' prayer luncheon.

Cornmeal griddle cakes are the most basic of Inner Banks breads. Biscuits require expensive dairy products while cornmeal griddle cakes, also known as hoe cakes, can be made with little more than meal, a bit of oil, and water.

The batter should be quite soupy, but not watery. When the batter hits the hot oil the edges sizzle and become very crisp. For best results, be sure to cook the cakes until the edges are a deep, rich, golden brown. Grandmother always served them as a very quick bread on the side. They are especially delicious when used to sop up juices and gravy.

2 cups white or yellow cornmeal;

2 teaspoons baking powder;

1 teaspoon fine sea salt;

1 large egg, lightly beaten;

1 cup water, plus more if needed;

1/4 cup corn oil, for frying.

To prepare the batter, in a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. In a second bowl or large liquid measuring cup, combine the egg and the 1 cup water. Whisk until smooth. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, using as few strokes as possible.

To fry the griddle cakes, heat the oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Ladle 1/4 cup of batter onto the heated skillet. Repeat with additional batter, without crowding.

Cook the cakes until the bottoms are brown and bubbles form on the tops and edges, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn and brown the other side, an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

Eat well!

Eddy Browning writes from the Edenton area. His e-mail address is eddy@saintpetersnc.org.