Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups pizza flour
- 1.5 cups room temp water
- 1 pack or 10 grams dry instant yeast
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Venison Loin, enough for 1/4 pound per pizza
- 3 branches fresh rosemary
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- 1 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup fresh blackberries
- Mixed mushrooms
- Goose or duck fat for pan frying
- Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Preparation
Start by building a good fire of hardwoods in a fire pit. Prepare the pizza dough. Add water to mixing bowl, along with yeast and mix. Add two eggs and stir, then mix in flour little by little. Mix it all witha wooden spoon, then gently kneed dough. Let rise for 20 minutes at room temperature.
Meanwhile, prepare the venison loin. Plan for approximately 125 grams or roughly 1/4 pound per pizza. Season loin with a good layer of salt and fresh ground pepper on both sides. Place your cast iron skillet directly on coals, let heat and add a tablespoon of goose fat to sizzling hot pan. When fat is hot, add rosemary branches to skillet and turn when brown. Smash garlic and add to the pan, cooking until golden. Move rosemary and garlic to the side. Sear the venison loin for two minutes per side. Remove meat from pan and place it on the cutting board, pouring the fat over the loin. Cover with tinfoil and let rest while preparing pizza dough.
Dust table or large cutting board with flour. Use half of dough for one pizza. Form a round ball and roll out into thin layer. Thinly slice the venison loin against the grain. Mix gorgonzola and ricotta cheese well and spread half on one pizza. Add sliced venison, mushrooms, and sprinkle with crumbled gorgonzola. Bake pizza for 15 min at 550 F / 285 C on a pizza stone. For more rare meat – add meat to pizza after 10-12 min of baking. Reduce balsamic vinegar slowly to half in a pot. Take off heat and pour in blackberries. When pizza is done, top it with fresh arugula and drizzle with balsamic reduction to taste. Season with salt and pepper and serve with a glass of full bodied red wine – Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah.
Cooking
This story was originally published in June of 2017.
