Game for a March barbecue

And so we are in Spring already. Barbecue season begins and I love it. Last night we were invited to a friend's apartment to enjoy some truly wild meat; elk, moose and ostrich, all prepared in different ways and char grilled. Kevin, our host, even shot the moose himself but he didn't butcher it. It was given back to him in various forms including sliders, which we ate last night. There are lots of photos in this post, so I'll keep the wittering to a minimum.

Elk marinated with steak seasoning and balsamic vinegar.

Grilled until medium rare and then brushed with some herbal oil, before....

Being cut into chunks and drizzled with a Japanese style sauce of condensed milk, (unusual, but works really well), soy and sesame.

It was very tender and reminiscent of the best kind of beef, but with a stronger, game flavour.

Kevin also has a large squirrel store of his own beer and wine, brewed locally. The wine is pictured above. I don't know anything about wine, therefore, I will not condescend to pour forth witty comments or thoughtful insights. Tasted good to me. Is that OK?

Ostrich. It's interesting how many people assume the meat of this giant will be similar in texture and taste to chicken. As you can see, it's anything but, being red and even-grained. This colossal piece was marinated and grilled until still bloody, another vast difference to the meat of it's much smaller cousin.

The meat of an ostrich is a little tough but with an excellent flavour, similar to the other wild meats that all seem to announce their presence strongly. A glass of red wine with this was the perfect accompaniment.

Before we go any further into this meat love in, let me tell you that some vegetarians were present, to quell any ideas you may have that we all tore meat off the bone with our teeth and donned rustic fur jackets from animals we had hunted ourselves. As all good vegetarians do, they brought the colourful, healthy options. A rainbow of red onions, peppers, corn, zucchini, mushrooms and tofu were marinated in a simple oil and vinegar mix and given the same grill treatment as everything else.

  

The moose sliders, (mini burgers for the uninitiated). At first, simply grilled.

  
Pepper Havarti cheese ready to be slid on top.

Soft but chewy buns, micro greens, some red pepper and......

A sauce made from white truffle cream and butter.

I don't know whether it was the combination of ingredients or the flavour of the moose itself, but this was the best burger I've eaten in quite some time.

And it continues. Yesterday, our fridge and freezer broke. A calamity in itself, yet more so when I had plans to knock up some interesting kebabs and potatoes for this barbecue. Instead, my time was spent cleaning, throwing away jars and bottles of all sorts of interesting things, (quite liberating actually), then cleaning the floor after all the interesting jars and bottles decided to escape from the flimsy paper bag they lay in and smashed all over the laminate.One bag of prawns, a few stalks of asparagus, some baby bok choy and half a bag of IKEA meatballs somehow found themselves on the grill. Quite inferior after all the wild meat and truffled sauces.

Prawns, of course, are never inferior. I eat the shell as well. It's never done me any harm and I know Jamie Oliver does it too.

Neil tended the barbecue for the second half. Essential attire for a March barbecue is your snow boarding jacket.

The remains of the day. Thank you Kevin for not only inviting us to your place, but feeding and watering us so well and in such style. May this be the year of the barbecue.