Venison Pepper and Mushroom Flatbreads
My dad and I recently found ourselves in the basement going through our three large deep freezers to assess what meats we had left to go through for the year. If you are new to our blog, we started our journey into eating local, whole foods by incorporating locally raised meats. Generally, if you are wanting to eat larger animals that are locally raised by a farmer, you are often stuck purchasing a whole cow or hog, though this often can be broken down into a half or quarter beef/pork and shared with another family. Now, we raise our own chickens and hogs, and it’s been one of the most amazing experiences that I do not think we will ever give up or take for granted!
But back to the story… I ended up finding a small bag of venison stewing meat in the back of the freezer that needed to be used up. I was so excited - I thought that all of the venison had been eaten, so this was a real treat. One of the things that we would like to incorporate into our diets and recipes more is locally hunted game such as whitetail deer, pheasant, turkey, rabbit, and fish. I wanted to find something that was a bit more summery to use this stewing meat rather than making, well, stew. The time for soup has passed, and now we enter into the lighter foods that are so often enjoyed during warmer weather.
Thus, Venison Flatbreads were born!
ingredients & recipe:
Makes 4 Individual Flatbread Pizzas
flatbread:
1/4 cup warm water
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp granulated sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk, warm
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3-4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, melted
2-4 tbsp olive oil
pizza toppings:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 head roasted garlic
2 tsp Italian seasoning or 2 tbsp fresh chopped herbs such as parsley, oregano, thyme, etc
2 cups cooked venison loin, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
3-4 frying peppers, sliced
1 cup baby bell mushrooms, sliced
3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
directions:
Make the flatbreads. In a standing electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix together all of the ingredients until a sticky dough forms. Shape into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled, about 1 hour.
Deflate the dough and separate into 4 equal pieces. Flatten each piece out to a 9-inch diameter circle; this is easiest to do by pressing it out with your fingers.
Heat a large skillet until it is smoking hot. Brush each side of the flatbreads with the melted butter. Drizzle the skillet with a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Place one flatbread in the hot skillet and cover with a lid. Cook for about 1-2 minutes on the first side until you see bubbles begin to grow. Flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes on the backside. Remove from the skillet and set aside. Continue with the remaining flatbreads.
Preheat the oven to 425° F. Preheat a pizza stone, if you have one, for 30 minutes. If not, line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Place the baked flatbreads on the baking sheets or pizza stone.
In a small bowl, whip together the softened butter, roasted garlic, and Italian seasoning or fresh herbs. Brush this butter mixture all over the tops of the flatbreads.
Top with the cooked venison, peppers, mushrooms, and mozzarella. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is golden and melted. Serve hot.
This recipe is fun because it can be served as four individual pizzas. The kids absolutely loved this! Tad said it was his favorite pizza crust that he’s ever tried because it was so soft and fluffy. I love a thin crust pizza myself, but this was a fun new way to eat one of our family’s favorite meals.
If you do not have access to venison, any other meat could be substituted in such as Italian sausage, Canadian bacon, pepperoni, etc. Just have fun with it!
xoxo Kayla
