🥩 Meats

The heart of the table

← Breakfast Next: Fish →

Chicken Casserole

Ingredients

  • 2 pkg frozen broccoli
  • 3 chicken breasts
  • 2 cans cream of chicken soup
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • ½ cup grated sharp cheese
  • Pepperidge Farm dressing

Instructions

Cook broccoli and chicken breast. Chop up chicken and layer in a 13×9 pan. Mix all the other ingredients except cheese and pour over. Sprinkle cheese on top and then cover with Pepperidge Farm dressing.

Bake at 350°F for 20 min., or longer if frozen.

Variation: Use asparagus instead of broccoli — that's my sister's favorite.
Note: My mom was a teacher, so I think it's especially impressive that she managed to make us home cooked meals each night. One of her tricks was to make these casseroles over Christmas and summer breaks and then freeze them. I will admit that I am completely guilty of eating an entire casserole in one sitting. They are that good.

Country Style Steak

Ingredients

  • 1 pkg deer cube steak (or chicken, pork, rabbit)
  • ~2 cups flour + extra for gravy
  • Salt, pepper, thyme
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • Oil for frying
  • Milk for gravy

Instructions

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet. Add flour to a Ziploc bag with seasoning to taste — you should be able to see the pepper once it's mixed. Add the cube steak to the bag and shake. Toss a pinch of flour into the oil; if it crackles it's ready. Add the meat and cook about 5 minutes until one side is browned. Turn the meat and add some onion. When the onion is soft the meat should be ready. Remove and place on a plate with paper towels. Repeat until all meat is cooked.

Gravy: Leave just enough oil and drippings to cover the bottom of the pan. Add flour to absorb most of the liquid. Brown the flour on medium-high heat. Add salt and lots of pepper — if you want good brown gravy the flour will almost smell burnt. Reduce heat to medium-low and add milk. Cook on low heat, stirring constantly, until the gravy bubbles. As Jeff Rousey would say, "You know it's as thick as it's going to get when it bubbles." At that point you can add more milk if it's too thick.

Variation: Down at the cabin we don't always have fancy spices like thyme, so we just use salt and pepper. It still tastes good.
Note: My mom always made cube steak with white gravy. I've never been able to get it as white as she did — basically she did not brown her flour at all. It made gravy with a slightly different taste, but it's still delicious.

Dad's Country Style Steak

Instructions

Bread cube steak with House of Audrey chicken breader. Brown on both sides in a cast iron skillet. Brown some onions. Make gravy (see Country Style Steak above for more detail). Put meat and onions in crock pot and cover with gravy. Cook on low heat 6 to 8 hours.

Note: Dad perfected this recipe fairly recently. It makes cube steak so tender it's hard to get it to your mouth on a fork. It's more tender but less crispy than the normal version. Excellent for deer cube steak.

Deer Tenderloin

Ingredients

  • Tenderloin
  • Bacon
  • Garlic salt & pepper
  • 1 stick butter
  • ½ cup Worcestershire sauce
  • Toothpicks

Instructions

Light the grill. Slice tenderloin into ¾–1 inch steaks. Microwave bacon for 1 minute (it should start to cook but still be fairly raw). Wrap each steak with bacon (secure with a toothpick) and season with garlic salt and pepper. Melt butter and mix with Worcestershire — should be roughly half and half. Cook over indirect heat and baste frequently.

Dove Birds

Ingredients

  • Cleaned dove breasts
  • Italian dressing
  • Bacon
  • Salt water (for brining)

Instructions

Brine the doves in salt water the night before. Rinse, then place in a Ziploc bag with Italian dressing. Let marinate overnight. Cook bacon. Wrap doves in bacon and grill.

Note: Not much to say about this other than they could be served as an appetizer — depends on how your day of hunting went. Dad and I went hunting one time and Sid Compton asked us how we did at church the next day. Dad told him he shot twice as many birds as I did. I told Sid I was only two behind dad's total. That was an appetizer night.

Grilled Chicken

Ingredients

  • Chicken pieces
  • Italian dressing
  • Splash of white wine

Instructions

Add enough Italian dressing in a zip-loc bag to cover chicken. Add a swish of white wine and soak for 24 hours. Grill over indirect heat ~10 minutes until juices run clear. Do not overcook.

Variation: Beck makes a marinade with equal parts soy sauce and Italian that is wonderful as well.
Note: For years my family made this with just chicken soaked in Italian. Then my elementary school principal Tommy Stokes told us about adding wine as a tenderizer, and it works great. Done right you can almost cut this chicken with a fork.

Hash

Ingredients

  • ~5 lbs beef
  • 3 lbs pork
  • 2.5 lbs onions
  • 1 lb butter
  • Salt
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Coarse black pepper
  • Worcestershire
  • Sage
  • Splash of soy sauce

Instructions

Slow cook meats 6 hours with salt. Add the remaining flavors and cook for 3 more hours. Mix with an electric blender if necessary to get a good hash consistency. Serve over rice — without BBQ sauce.

Note: At any point in time you can pretty much be guaranteed of two things in the farm's kitchen: Cheerwine and Hash. Dad makes large batches and freezes it so there is always something to eat. We serve it with Fancy rice. And please — hash has plenty of flavoring on its own. Save the BBQ sauce for your pulled pork.

Dad's Hot Dog Chili

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 cup lard
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • ⅓ cup chili powder
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp allspice
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp dried oregano

Instructions

To get the right consistency, cover the meat with water and soak in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Take a fork and break up any remaining chunks. Drain the water and proceed to browning. Brown beef, onion, and lard together. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 2 hours, adding water if needed. This freezes well.

Note: The first time Beck tasted this stuff — at my Nannie's 94th birthday — she started eating it with potato chips once we ran out of hot dogs. We've always joked it was because of the lard.

Lasagna

Ingredients

  • 1½ lbs ground beef or deer
  • 1 lb hot breakfast sausage
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cans (14.5 oz) whole tomatoes
  • 2 cans (6 oz) tomato paste
  • 2 T dried parsley (×2)
  • 2 T dried basil
  • 1 tsp salt (×2)
  • 3 cups lowfat cottage cheese
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan
  • 1 lb sliced mozzarella
  • 1 pkg (10 oz) lasagna noodles

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. In a large skillet, combine ground beef, sausage, and garlic. Cook until browned. Drain half the fat. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil, and 1 tsp salt. Simmer for 45 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix cottage cheese, beaten eggs, grated Parmesan, remaining parsley, and remaining salt. Stir well. Cook lasagna noodles al dente.

To assemble: Arrange 4 cooked noodles in the bottom of a baking pan, overlapping if necessary. Spoon half the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles and spread evenly. Cover with a layer of mozzarella. Spoon a little less than half the meat/sauce over the top. Repeat, ending with meat/sauce mixture. Sprinkle top generously with extra Parmesan.

Either freeze, refrigerate for up to two days, or bake immediately at 350°F for 20–30 minutes, until top is hot and bubbly.

Note: This recipe actually came from Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman. It is the absolute best lasagna recipe. I couldn't make a better one myself.

Parmesan Honey Pork Roast (Crockpot)

Ingredients

  • 1 (2–3 lb) boneless pork roast
  • ⅔ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • ½ cup honey
  • 3 T soy sauce
  • 2 T dried basil
  • 2 T minced garlic
  • 2 T olive oil
  • ½ tsp garlic salt
  • 2 T cornstarch
  • ¼ cup cold water

Instructions

Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place roast in slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the cheese, honey, soy sauce, basil, garlic, oil, and garlic salt; pour over pork. Cover and cook on low for 6–7 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160°F.

Remove meat to a serving platter; keep warm. Skim fat from cooking juices; transfer to a small saucepan. Bring liquid to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth. Gradually stir into pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Slice roast and serve with gravy.

Note: This was a one-hit wonder. Becky cooked it once and it was an instant classic. It's super easy and you don't need a knife to cut it.

Shrimp and Grits

Ingredients

  • 4 links sausage
  • 3 T butter
  • ½ cup country ham, julienned
  • ½ onion, diced
  • 4–5 T flour
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 2 lbs shrimp
  • Dad's Grits (see Breakfast chapter)
  • Fresh ground pepper & parsley

Instructions

Cook the sausage at 400°F for 8 minutes. Remove, cool, and slice into 1-inch pieces. Melt butter over medium heat. Add country ham sliced julienne. Cook a few minutes then add onion. Cook a little more. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly. After a few more minutes, add chicken stock. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly until gravy forms. Add shrimp and cook just a few minutes — they will easily overcook.

Serve over Dad's grits with fresh ground pepper and parsley.

Note: Apparently there is some debate as to whether shrimp and grits should have brown gravy or white gravy.

Steak

Ingredients

  • Your choice of steak
  • Dale's seasoning
  • Seasoning salt (such as Lawry's)
  • Garlic powder
  • Coarse ground black pepper

Instructions

Sprinkle one side of the steak with seasoning salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Pour a few tablespoons of Dale's and poke thoroughly with a fork. Flip and repeat for the remaining side. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Light grill and get a good fire going. Sear steak a few minutes on each side, then cook over indirect heat until desired doneness is achieved.

Variation: Sometimes we would grill a roast and call it a "Stevie Steak." Always impressive on camping trips with the scouts.
Note: We used to have steak, potatoes, and asparagus almost every Friday night. I always got a T-bone. They are a wonderful cut as they have the tenderness of a filet on one side but also have the other side to fill you up.

Swiss Chicken Casserole

Ingredients

  • 6 chicken breasts, boneless & skinless
  • 6 slices Swiss cheese
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  • ¼ cup milk
  • 2 cups herb stuffing mix
  • ½ cup butter, melted

Instructions

Spray a 13×9 baking pan. Arrange chicken breasts and top with cheese. Combine soup and milk; stir well. Spoon over cheese; sprinkle with stuffing mix. Drizzle melted butter over stuffing mix. Cook at 325°F for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The slower you cook the better.

Note: Mom did not discover this until after I got to college, but I have no doubt it would be a staple of her regular menu had she found it before then. I remember the first time I ate it was at my Mimi and Papa's 50th wedding anniversary. Becky immediately asked for the recipe, so you know it's good.

Tenderloin

Ingredients

  • Tenderloin
  • Brown sugar
  • Pepper
  • Italian dressing
  • Dale's seasoning

Instructions

Coat the tenderloin heavily with brown sugar and pepper. Place in a Ziploc bag and let sit for a day. Add Italian dressing and Dale's (roughly a 2-to-1 ratio). Let sit for another day. Grill until the thickest part reaches 140°F.