Venison Chorizo Picadillo #secretrecipeclub

Each month, Secret Recipe Club participants are assigned a participating food blog from which we’re to make a recipe. It's a secret, so you can’t tell them you are making something from their blog! I was assigned Recipe Taster and chose Alessio’s recipe for Cuban Picadillo. I was intrigued that a Sicilian man living in Bonn, Germany would cook up a Cuban dish. Then that’s Alessio for you! He’s a scientist, an artist, a food blogger, and calls himself a Renaissance man – a perfect description for someone with his range of talents and interests.

Picadillo

But back to the food. I love picadillo, a traditional dish in Cuba, Mexico, the Philippines, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. I usually make my picadillo in the slow cooker with onions, apples, raisins and spices. However, I wanted to make a different version and Alessio’s picadillo recipe looked perfect. I loved that he used raisins, olives and potatoes in his dish. However, I had a problem - I didn’t have any green peppers or olives in the house.

So I improvised and replaced the peppers with celery, but thought the whole thing would fall apart without the olives. Instead, I decided to give the picadillo a Mexican flare by using chorizo, which I just happened to have defrosting in the refrigerator for our weekend breakfasts.

I used ground venison and chorizo made from venison, both of which are very lean. (Our game processor doesn’t add fat to the chorizo.) You can make this with lean ground beef or even ground turkey. If you don’t have a Hispanic grocery store in your area, spicy breakfast sausage is an OK substitution for the chorizo. Just remember to cook and drain the fat from whatever meat you use to cut back on the fat and calories.

My picadillo also features Muir Glen’s Fire Roasted Adobo Seasoned Petite Diced Tomatoes, which gave the dish a terrific smoky flavor. Unfortunately, Muir Glen doesn’t make it anymore. (I either got it at my “dented can” store or possibly through their Reserved Kit program.) A good substitute would be Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies.

Venison Chorizo Picadillo

Based on Recipe Taster’s recipe for Cuban Picadillo and this Chorizo-beef Picadillo Recipe

Makes approximately 6 cups - 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2/3 cup onions, chopped into small pieces
• 2/3 cup potatoes, cut into small pieces
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon green chili sauce
• 8 ounces chorizo (venison)
• 1 1/4 pounds ground venison or very lean ground beef
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) Muir Glen’s Fire Roasted Adobo Seasoned Petite Diced Tomatoes
• 1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onions, potatoes and garlic and cook until onions start to brown and caramelize. Stir often and turn down heat if vegetables begin to burn. About 10 minutes.
2. Add salt, cumin, oregano and green chili sauce. Cook for 1 minute.
3. Add chorizo, breaking it up and stirring it into vegetables.
4. When chorizo has browned, add the ground meat. Break up meat and stir into other ingredients.
5. When meat has browned, add in the seasoned tomatoes. Stir to combine with other ingredients.
6. Add raisins and stir to combine.
7. Cover skillet and turn down heat to low.
8. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes.
9. Serve on top of rice.

Nutritional information

Each serving is 3/4 cup of picadillo only

• Calories 343
• Calories from Fat 183
• Total Fat 20.3g
• Saturated Fat 7.4g
• Cholesterol 94mg
• Sodium 532mg
• Total Carbohydrates 13.1g
• Dietary Fiber 1.5g
• Sugars 7.3g
• Protein 26.7g
• Vitamin C 19%
• Iron 19%

Nutrition Grade B from CalorieCount 

Weight Watchers POINTS = 7

Weight Watchers POINTS = 5 for 1/2 cup of picadillo

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Posted on April 18, 2011 in Featured,Recipes,Venison and tagged as Secret Recipe Club

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