Print Story ask Husi - venison recipes?
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By clover kicker (Sun Oct 28, 2007 at 08:45:08 PM EST) (all tags)
A buddy got his deer this weekend and I've been promised some meat (his wife won't touch the stuff).

Google has a lot of stew and roast recipes, which my wife won't touch, because it tastes like game meat.

I'm wondering if anyone has cooked game in a non-hillbilly style of cuisine, like substituting venison for lamb in a rogan josh.



Thanx.
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ask Husi - venison recipes? | 11 comments (11 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback
I come from a hunting family by yankeehack (4.00 / 1) #1 Sun Oct 28, 2007 at 09:16:30 PM EST
so I've eaten a lot of venison in my time. Rather unfortunately though, I've only eaten it in a traditional meat and potatoes kinds of dishes.

It isn't half bad if you make it into ground meat, but you'll want to add some ground up pork into the mixture.
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You know what is funny? I voted for McCain in 2000 and Obama in 2008. (And let's not forget Edwards in 1998.)


My grandmother... by toxicfur (4.00 / 1) #2 Sun Oct 28, 2007 at 09:27:52 PM EST
used to marinate it in Italian dressing for a while before cooking. It was pretty good like that, but she always cooked roasts or stews or whatever. I imagine it would stand up well to something like a rogan josh, or even -- especially? -- spicier lamb dishes.
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If you don't get a Bonnie, my universe will not make sense. --blixco


Restaurant near me by dmg (4.00 / 1) #3 Sun Oct 28, 2007 at 09:28:57 PM EST
Used to do a venison curry. Can't say it was particularly tasty, but then, I'm not a big fan of venison.
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Hard work is morally wrong.


Skewers on the Barbie ? by Phage (4.00 / 1) #4 Mon Oct 29, 2007 at 04:35:05 AM EST
Is that redneck ? With suitable capsicum onions etc. Very short cooking time though.
Also - venison is teh yummers.

Founder member Golgafrinchan 'B' Ark


How gamey is it? by blixco (4.00 / 2) #5 Mon Oct 29, 2007 at 08:31:46 AM EST
How long dead before it was drained and refrigerated?  You might not be able to do a damn thing with it besides stew or smoke.

Also, which cuts?  How large?  How old was the animal?  Male or female?

You could start just about anything with an iced-down marinade of water and salt.  Draw out as much blood as possible.  Or you can use white vinegar...the vinegar will cut down on the gaminess instantly and start to preserve the meat.  This is how Carolinas BBQ got started, as a way to preserve meat: vinegar, then smoke.  A vindaloo, with tons of vinegar (done in the way the Portuguese intended when they handed it off to India) has the same roots: preserve, and mask.  The spices and the vinegar do a great job of covering the taste of the meat, and they preserve it as well.

Venison has no internal fat.  You can't cook it like a beef or pork roast where you'd rely on internal basting.  You need to either cook it fast and hot, or supply your own fat.  For the former, small cutlets do well seared in a red hot cast iron pan.  Spice them (salt and pepper rub maybe with some sage or rosemary), add fat to the pan, flash the cutlets no more than 2 minutes (they should be thin cut, no more than an inch) and set them in a low oven while you reduce the remaining fat with some red wine and rosemary.

Any moist cooking method will work well...roast in a cast iron dutch oven, over veggies, with half a pound of butter.  You can also do pan roasts with anything that will break down the meat...like vindaloo, or a "Swiss steak" with tomato and red wine.  

The older the deer, the gamier the meat.  You'll need a preservation method (vinegar, salt, smoke, or any combination) or a slow roast.

Or, heck, just grind it with some pork, sage, onion, garlic, and thyme.  Stuff into the nearest sausage casing, and smoke for a half day at 185.
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"You bring the weasel, I'll bring the whiskey." - kellnerin


long posts get long replies by clover kicker (4.00 / 1) #10 Mon Oct 29, 2007 at 10:01:18 AM EST
> How long dead before it was drained and refrigerated?

That's a bit of a funny story, he shot the buck at 9:30 and had to be in town at noon to stand up at a buddy's wedding, so it was a quick field-dressing, drop off to the butcher, then clean up and dash into town.

> which cuts?  How large?  How old was the animal?  Male or female?

It was a 2 point buck, I think around 130 pounds. Since I'm mooching, I have no idea what meat I'll receive. I expect some of it will be sausage, they've got a good family recipe.

Thanks for the tips.

[ Parent ]

Males by blixco (2.00 / 0) #11 Mon Oct 29, 2007 at 11:05:58 AM EST
in rut have a very strong flavor.  It was a young-ish animal?  You might be able to get away with a saline bath and then some sort of vinegar or wine based marinade.
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"You bring the weasel, I'll bring the whiskey." - kellnerin
[ Parent ]

Except for the tenderloin by wiredog (4.00 / 2) #6 Mon Oct 29, 2007 at 09:01:42 AM EST
Most venison is too tough to cook by dry heat methods. As many others have mentioned, you can grind it into venison sausage or venison burger.

I've had good luck with roasts. Wrap it in bacon to provide fat (and smoky flavor) and roast it to an internal temperature of, ohhh, 160°F (medium). Use a slow oven. A strongly flavored sauce and some wild rice on the side. Or pot roast it as you would a beef roast.

Venison fajitas work well. The meat is marinated and sliced thin, which counteracts the toughness.

Earth First!
(We can strip mine the rest later.)



My mom by jayhawk88 (4.00 / 1) #7 Mon Oct 29, 2007 at 09:30:09 AM EST
Used to make "deer cubes". I don't know what cut of meat it was, but basically it was just deer meat cut into little cube's, which she would then chicken fry. I also don't really know the significance of "cubing" the meat, but I can only assume it was to either a) Get us kids to eat it or b) Help hide the gamey/toughness of the meat.



I think blixy hit the main points by sasquatchan (4.00 / 1) #8 Mon Oct 29, 2007 at 09:32:37 AM EST
he didn't add buttermilk (quite acidic) or chutney as two possible cooking agents. I've had goose breast that's marinated in buttermilk, really helped the gamey taste but kept the good dark meat flavor.

We can our own chutneys, so dunno if it's easy to buy or not.



Venison by Gedvondur (4.00 / 1) #9 Mon Oct 29, 2007 at 09:59:49 AM EST
Hmmm....While I don't hunt, I have eaten plenty of it.

Slice into very small cutlets, thin.  Dredge each cutlet in flour that has been well seasoned with salt and pepper.  Pan fry in butter.

Add the cooked venison to buttered bread and eat with a nice amber ale or octoberfest/marzen.

Gedvondur
"It is virtually impossible to effectively aim a jellyfish, a creature created by God almost solely for the purpose of not flying."- CRwM


ask Husi - venison recipes? | 11 comments (11 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback