Antelope Burgers with Shiitake Port Sauce
10-Mar-2006
When planning my menu for the recent Amarone Tasting I wanted to include game, in some form, since in the Veneto game and Amarone are often paired. I was lucky enough to have some ground wild antelope, courtesy of my brother-in-law and one of his fall hunting excursions. Because wild antelope is so lean he requests that his butcher add about 5% beef fat to the mix when it is found. This results in a meat that has the best of both worlds – enough fat that the meat won’t dry out too quickly but yet the definite characteristics of antelope.
Antelope is an amazingly dark meat. It just looks rich when you look at it. And the taste proves that true. For this tasting I just made mini-burgers, since it would be a new taste for most, and that turned out to be a good thing since with the richness of the meat just a little goes a long way. I paired this meat with sautéed Shiitake mushrooms that I normally use with venison. It was a good match. And the flavors went beautifully with the Amarone. It’s a little hard to see the burgers in the photo but if you look closely (especially if you look at it in full size) you can catch glimpses of them around the edges of the mushrooms.
Antelope Burgers with Shiitake Port Sauce
1 pound ground antelope
1/2 onion diced then sautéed in olive oil until golden
2 – 3 Tbsp fresh chopped sage
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Blend all ingredients until thoroughly mixed being careful not to mush up the meat. Form into about 15 walnut sized balls. Preheat pan over medium-high heat. Add a little olive oil into the pan. When the oil is hot, flatten each ball into a patty and place in the pan. Take care not to overcrowd the pan. Cook for just about 3 minutes per side. You want the meat to be cooked just until medium-rare.
Remove the burgers from the pan, place on warm plate and cover with foil to keep warm while you make the sauce.
Shiitake Port Sauce
16 fresh large Shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps sliced thin
2 small garlic cloves, minced
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup Tawny Port
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
In fat remaining in skillet sauté mushrooms with garlic, stirring, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated. Add broth, Port, and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer sauce until thickened and reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 15 minutes. Stir in vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce over the burgers and serve.
Culinary Fool 
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