Reader’s Question: Cooking Venison
January 13, 2010 by Jenn @ Frugal Upstate
Filed under General Frugality
Photo by Maryspics
Dear Jenn,
I have a Venison question. Can you tell me how to cook it? My husband keeps getting it from his friend so we have an entire shelf of it in the freezer but I have no idea what to do with it.
Lara
Well Lara, one of the great things about venison is that you can use it in any recipe that calls for beef! There are a couple of differences that you do need to keep in mind when choosing how to prepare venison.
#1-Venison has more of a “wild” or “gamey” flavor than beef. I like the flavor myself, but some people are turned off by it. The amount of “gaminess” you taste varies from deer to deer and depends on the age and eating habits of the animal as well as how quickly it was field dressed. Until you try the meat you won’t have any way to tell how gamey it is. If the stronger flavor is unpleasant to you, counteract it by cooking it in something equally as strong, such as a tomato based sauce. I’ve also heard recommendations to soak the meat in milk overnight-but haven’t tried that method myself.
#2-Venison is extremely lean. For any type of “dry” cooking method (grilling, roasting, sauteeing) you will need to avoid overcooking and drying it out. Cook the venison until it is just done or add additional fat such as butter. For wet methods of cooking (stews, chili’s, braising, etc) this isn’t an issue.
Now on to the cooking itself. For a “newbie” with venison I’d suggest first getting your family used to the idea of eating it in a dish where the flavor won’t be as noticeable-such as chili.
Next try a very simple preparation that lets the natural flavor shine through-that way you’ll know if your family likes the taste. Simply sauteeing thin cut steaks in butter and serving with sauteed onions, mushrooms and perhaps brown gravy (I used packaged!) is easy and tasty.
If everyone likes the taste you are golden. If not, then reserve the venison for use in strong sauces & marinades.
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Lots of deer hunters in my family (not me though), so there is a variety of venison to be cooked. I would add that it depends on the cut of the venison you have too – just like as with beef or pork. The tenderloin of the venison is obviously very tender, while some of the other pieces can be much tougher. Use the same guidelines you would for beef to figure out which cuts are best cooked using which methods.
Jenn – we use milk to soak it in overnight and really like the change of the flavor.
I recently acquired some ground venison mixed with buffalo, with some Worcestershire, grated cheese, minced onions, and breadcrumbs, it made delicious burgers.
Sounds to me a lot like cooking with goat meat. If that is the case, perhaps a good starting point would be to use it in curries and other Indian/Pakistani/Ethiopian-inspired dishes.
Rachel-I personally don’t think the flavor is anywhere near as strong as goat meat. . . Your suggestion is great though-especially for folks who are used to the very mild flavor of beef and find the flavor of wild game to be unpleasant, ethnic dishes such as curries etc would do a great job of masking or balancing out the flavor.
We always soaked venison in either buttermilk or salt water for at least an hour, best overnight. Both lower the gameyness, the buttermilk more so- at least to us.