Veal Parmigiana (Modified)

Thanks to Ol' Dutch's expert shooting, we have a freezer of antelope. Being from Texas, I have always thought the meat of an antelope is gamey, tough with a touch of sage in every bite.

While that may be true for other antelope, ours this years had apparently had a constant diet of alfalfa, barley and potato blossom which produced meat that could only be described as buttery, tender and delicious. With the exception of the color (which was a deep, dark red), the texture reminded me of veal.

And, you know what that means? Veal Parmigiana for everyone.

Travelling in a RV means I don't have a lot of room in the kitchen and pantry. Here's my recipe for making Modified Veal Parmigiana in a toaster oven.

What you'll need: Tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, or stewed tomatoes. Antelope, garlic, Italian seasonings (basil, rosemary, thyme are in my herb pot, so I started there), red pepper flakes if you like them, flour, breadcrumbs, egg, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese.

First, the sauce. I used aldi's canned diced tomatoes flavored with oregano, garlic and basil for my base. Sauteed up some garlic in olive oil, threw in a little extra fresh basil, rosemary, thyme and red pepper flakes. Dumped the canned of tomatoes in the skillet. Reduced heat and let it do its magic. I found the mixture  to be slightly acidic, so I sprinkled a little sugar on top to counter that. 

While my sauce was cooking, I took 5 small butterflies off the backstrap and pounded them thin.  In one shallow dish i had a whipped egg (a pinch of extra parsley), another dish with flour and a third with Italian breadcrumbs.

I salt and peppered the meat, rolled into flour then dipped into egg before coating with Italian breadcrumbs. Into a hot skillet with a coating of olive oil the meat was dropped. Cooked on one side then flipped them all over for a nice crispy crusty both sides.

In a deep pan for my toaster oven, I sprayed some olive oil in it and then spread some of the sauce into the bottom. Then, i took the cooked meat and overlapped it in the pan. Next, came the remaining sauce, the mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan cheese. In a 350degree oven covered in foil for 25-30 minutes. The last 3-5 minutes I turned the toaster oven to the broiler setting to get a beautiful crust on top.

I served this with butter fettucine noodles made in the microwave and homemade italian garlic loaf made in a skilled on top of the stove.

Dutch pronounced it delicious and Cooper, the yorkie, begged for it. (He loves antelope!)

What is your favorite antelope recipes? Please share as I'm always looking to try new things.