Juan Burciaga, Jr., AIA is a Project Architect who joined VRA earlier this year. His love for traveling and outdoor activities like hiking and hunting have led him to a deep foodie exploration of cooking. He enjoys testing out recipes for wild game, especially when he can get his kids to like it too!

“Trying new recipes is always fun and exciting for me. This is usually the same with trying new dishes. Trying new recipes probably comes from my father bringing home all kinds of random wild game for us to try.  Just to name a few: wild pig, rattlesnake, turtle eggs, and cow tongue (lengua). So as a kid I was exposed to a lot of different dishes. This is probably why I am always up for trying something new. But the ultimate reward is preparing a new recipe correctly and it is delicious. As for BBQ, this is always fun to learn and experiment with, and it also gives us an excuse to invite a few friends and family over to share what I have prepared. A few family favorites that I have in the rotation are Venison Fajitas, Venison Barbacoa, Pulled Pork, Ribs and Turkey (whole smoked).”

A few of Juan’s favorite cooking shows and recipe books that he draws inspiration from are: All Things Barbeque, The Meat Eater, and Steven Raichlen. 

One new recipe that Juan recently tried is Venison Osso Bucco (see photos).  He mentioned that the hardest part about this recipe was cutting the venison shank (bone). ”I had to utilize a few power tools to try to cut them. If you need to know which tool worked best, it was an Oscillating multi-tool with a combo blade. My wife was kind of skeptical about using power tools in the kitchen, but I did not leave much of a mess, so she ended up being ok with it.  The key to cutting them was to make sure they were still partially frozen.”  

Juan’s next big food project is trying to turn venison into sausage. While he has dabbled in this a little in the past, he is looking forward to the challenge of making sausage links. 

Link to Juan’s latest Osso Bucco Recipe: 

https://www.themeateater.com/cook/recipes/braised-shanks-osso-bucco-recipe