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mikey031 is lucky enough to be splitting a wild deer with a friend, and is looking for the right ways to prepare it. After all, while most of us are used to cooking with beef and other farm-raised meats, working with venison can be a different endeavor altogether.
The first thing to know is that venison fat is different from beef fat—and not in a good way, either. "I've found the fat of most game cuts to be the source of that somewhat off tasting 'gamey' flavor," says mikey031. kaleokahu agrees: "Venison fat is very strange stuff, can be gamey (depending on age, hangtime, shot placement, etc.). Even at its best, there is something about the consistency of venison fat that many people (including lifelong hunters like me) find repulsive: it will put sweaters on your teeth and it congeals at higher than room [temperature] into a greasy, nasty mess. So if you're having sausage ground, have the maker substitute pork and/or beef fat." (mrbigshotno.1, for example, processes his own antelope into sausage, and mixes in beef suet from the grocery store.)
Second, venison doesn't cook like other meat does, kaleokahu says. It's best cooked quickly at high heat, broiled, or flash-seared, and it doesn't benefit from slow cooking. "There's almost no intramuscular fat, so overcooking just toughens it up," kaleokahu says. "I once made the mistake one time of trying to kipper a beautiful backstrap, and the interior turned out just like gray toothpaste."
Try your fresh venison in CHOW's Italian Venison-Sausage Sandwiches.
Discuss: Hunted Deer
I usually cook 1-2 Sitka blacktail deer per year so I have a good sense of what it takes to make it tasty. I have four rules: (1) Minimal cooking on high heat (2) Grilling on an outdoor BBQ is by far the best (3) When in doubt, see rules (1) and (2) and (4) If stewing, plan on a full-day slow cook.
Generally I find stewing less satisfactory because of the lack of fat in the meat. It does come...+READ
I usually cook 1-2 Sitka blacktail deer per year so I have a good sense of what it takes to make it tasty. I have four rules: (1) Minimal cooking on high heat (2) Grilling on an outdoor BBQ is by far the best (3) When in doubt, see rules (1) and (2) and (4) If stewing, plan on a full-day slow cook.
Generally I find stewing less satisfactory because of the lack of fat in the meat. It does come out dry no matter how you slice it. When I butcher the deer I debone it completely and wrap the major muscle groups for steaks/roasts for BBQ. I take all the scrap to a local sausage maker where I get burger and mild or hot Italian sausage made. It is imperative to mix in a healthy amount of pork fat - I usually ask for 25% pork meat, which seems to translate to the right total amount of fat in the sausage. Venison Italian sausage is a treat not to miss.-COLLAPSE
I've cooked "deer meat" for 30 years, and other than an almost flash-fry of the tenderloin in some olive oil, the "only way" to prepare venison slices WELL is to fry them like you would chicken-fried steaks. First, I insist on impeccable cleaning of the deer, removing absolutely ALL traces of white sinew. I then slice the meat (1/3" or so) and soak it in milk, and put it in the frig. I use 2% or...+READ
I've cooked "deer meat" for 30 years, and other than an almost flash-fry of the tenderloin in some olive oil, the "only way" to prepare venison slices WELL is to fry them like you would chicken-fried steaks. First, I insist on impeccable cleaning of the deer, removing absolutely ALL traces of white sinew. I then slice the meat (1/3" or so) and soak it in milk, and put it in the frig. I use 2% or whole milk, in a snap-on lid plastic container with enough milk to cover the meat. The longer you soak it, the more tender and less gamey it becomes. I have soaked it for as long as 10 days, replaced the (now bloody) nasty milk with fresh milk, and let it soak a few days longer! I have NEVER had the meat spoil using this method and keeping it in a refrigerator until you are ready to fix it. Then, I drain the milk from the meat, sprinkle it with garlic salt and pepper, bread it with all-purpose flour, and fry it in a cast-iron skillet with about 3/4" of hot shortening (which just works better than oil.) I only turn it over one time, waiting until the uncooked side has soaked up the flour and begins to look a little bloody. Don't rush frying the meat...it can easily burn. Reserving 3-4 Tablespoons of the shortening and crumbs will make the best milk gravy you have ever eaten! And deer meat cooked this way will be crispy, tender, and tasty, fooling absolutely ANYONE who claims they don't like deer meat. Just try it.-COLLAPSE
We take the tenderloin and put it in a zip lock bag with red wine garlic brown mustard rosemarry, olive oil and tyme. put it in the frig for 24 hurs and grill it to med rare. Not bad.
The venison I just got from a hunter was not very gamey at all. I used it in chili like a chuck roast, but I had to cook it a very long time 3-4 hours simmering on the stove, until it was tender. The chili was amazing... instead of beer, the venison, chiles, and chili powder simmered in some red wine and tomatoes. Another favorite recipe, if you have nice venison steaks or a tenderloin that...+READ
The venison I just got from a hunter was not very gamey at all. I used it in chili like a chuck roast, but I had to cook it a very long time 3-4 hours simmering on the stove, until it was tender. The chili was amazing... instead of beer, the venison, chiles, and chili powder simmered in some red wine and tomatoes. Another favorite recipe, if you have nice venison steaks or a tenderloin that you're going to cook rare/medium rare is Bobby Flay's Venison with Blackberry-Ancho sauce. The berries and spice really complement the venison.-COLLAPSE
Both a friend and a brother-in-law are hunters, so I'm lucky enough to be the recipient of some nice cuts of venison several times a year. My husband is very averse to gamey tasting food, so I've been very careful about the way I prepare it. This was my most successful recipe so far, but it contradicts the advice given by the article's author. I cooked mine in a tagine (but you can substitute a...+READ
Both a friend and a brother-in-law are hunters, so I'm lucky enough to be the recipient of some nice cuts of venison several times a year. My husband is very averse to gamey tasting food, so I've been very careful about the way I prepare it. This was my most successful recipe so far, but it contradicts the advice given by the article's author. I cooked mine in a tagine (but you can substitute a slow cooker or Dutch oven). Here's the recipe:
http://mysticgypsypickles.blogspot.com/2009/05/venison-virgin.html
We made that one with bow-hunted venison, and he loved it. Then we used a sirloin steak that his brother gave us, it was gunshot-obtained. We marinated it in olive oil, herbs, and salt and pepper, then cut into medallions and flash-fried in a pan, drizzled with a mustard-apricot sauce, and served with rosemary potatoes and chard. That was pretty delicious, too.-COLLAPSE
I've never had farm raised venison; and don't think I'd want to - I like the 'gamey' or 'stonger' taste than pasture/grain raised meats - why else eat it? just stick with Beef. I will say that Elk is milder than Venison, and Antelope much more like goat than venison - either Mule deer or Whitetail.
Please, if you're going to hunt, or acquire wild meat, treat it as such and don't try to...+READ
I've never had farm raised venison; and don't think I'd want to - I like the 'gamey' or 'stonger' taste than pasture/grain raised meats - why else eat it? just stick with Beef. I will say that Elk is milder than Venison, and Antelope much more like goat than venison - either Mule deer or Whitetail.
Please, if you're going to hunt, or acquire wild meat, treat it as such and don't try to 'disquise' it's origin.-COLLAPSE
So basically cook it like kangaroo?