Cooking your game: Autumn squash, big-game harvest make for great dinner

Fall is the season to fill your home with aromas – a pumpkin pie baking in the oven, a whiff of autumn leaves from an open window, a fire going in the hearth once the cold weather warrants it.

For some hunters, it is also the season for hanging trophies at home. While I’m not one to hang anything on my walls besides Chicago Stanley Cup championships flags, I do enjoy the smells and tastes that come with harvesting big game.

This year I took a venison shoulder and cut off 12 ounces thinly. I removed the stems from my two Portobello mushrooms and cut the tops into 1-inch-long slices. I set my protein and mushrooms to marinade in the fridge for 2 hours.

You are welcome to use whatever squash you wish – acorn, butternut, spaghetti. I had a buttercup squash on hand, so I cut that in half, from stem to root, and scooped out the seeds. While doing so, I preheated my oven to 375 degrees.

I placed the squash halves open-side-down in a baking dish and poured in enough hot water to fill the pan ¼ of an inch. I roasted the squash until it had the density texture of a baked potato – soft and tender when poked with a fork, but not gooey. Roasting time will vary depending on the size of your squash, from 30 to 50 minutes, maybe even an hour for a large squash.

While the squash was roasting, I began boiling my barley. I wanted to go with farro, but the grocery store was out. The important thing to remember, I believe, when making stuffed squash for dinner – the best mix will include a starch of some sort.

I took half a cup of barley and 1 1/4 cup of cold water, a pinch of salt, and combined all in a small sauce pan, covered, and heated until boiling. Once boiling, I lowered the temperature to a simmer. When most of the water had been absorbed, I turned off the burner and kept the barley covered to keep it from turning to mush (from overcooking).

I diced one yellow onion and one red bell pepper and sautéed them. I removed the cooked vegetables, placed them in a bowl, and cooked my venison and mushrooms in the same pan (after a 2-hour soaking). Cook all raw meats thoroughly. All stuffing ingredients should be cooked prior to stuffing.

Once my barley was ready and the squash was roasted to my liking, I took all cooked ingredients and combined them in a bowl. I took the squash halves and rubbed butter, salt and pepper inside. In the holes, I stuffed as much mix as possible. I placed a slice of provolone cheese overtop, turned the oven to high broil and placed the baking pan back inside, cheese-side-up.

I let the broiler brown the cheese, pulled the pan and served for my wife and I to enjoy.

You, as the cook, are always meant to experiment. The key to a successful stuffed squash is balance – vegetables, protein, starch. This particular recipe runs a bit on the sweet side. Remember, a colorful mix of ingredients also means a complexity of flavor.

Next time, I believe I will try sautéed poblano peppers, instead of red bells, for a spicier, less sweet flavor.