Venison Chops with Rice & Tomatoes

This is one of those built-in-the-pan meals where every component cooks together and comes out looking like you spent all day in the kitchen.

Thick venison chops soak in a wine, water, and lemon juice marinade for hours to tenderize and mellow out.

After a quick sear, each chop gets its own little tower: a green pepper ring filled with rice, topped with an onion slice, then crowned with a fresh tomato round.

Chunky canned tomatoes seasoned with garlic and a splash of Angostura bitters go around the edges, and the whole thing steams covered in the oven until the meat is fork-tender and the rice has soaked up all that tomatoey goodness.

Kitchen Tips

• Marinate for the full 8 hours if you can. The wine and lemon juice work together to break down the tough fibers in venison chops.
• Cut the green pepper rings thick enough to hold a scoop of rice without collapsing. About a quarter inch is right.
• The Angostura bitters might seem odd, but they add a warm, herbal complexity to the tomato sauce that ties everything together.
• Keep the baking dish tightly covered so the steam does the work. Only uncover if you want to reduce the sauce at the very end.