What Spices Go Well With Venison
Many times new venison eaters are afraid the meat will taste gamey. While venison does have a different flavoring than beef, using certain spices that compliment it can help tame the stronger flavor.
Rosemary, sage, shallots, garlic, salt, savory, and various peppers are my favorite go-to spices to pair with venison. If you like to mix it up and add interesting flavors to your meat, try adding spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves or fennel.
Parsley is also always a nice garnish.
It’s Not Just Salt + Pepper
Alright, listen up when it comes to my meat, I SWEAR by kosher salt, peppercorn medley, and salted butter. I do this with my favorite steak recipe, my cheeseburger recipe and now this deer steak recipe.
Do you HAVE to have kosher salt and peppercorn medley? Well no, but if you see it at the store next time, grab it. Or buy it on Amazon now, so you don’t forget -> Buy the kosher salt HERE and the peppercorn medley HERE.
Tips For Juicy Venison Steaks:
Tenderize the steaks using a fork or tip of a knife. This will also help get the garlic butter down into the steak as it cooks.
Use a digital thermometer. to test for doneness. The most important tip is do not overcook venison. It will be the most tender and flavorful served rare or medium rare.
Allow the steaks to rest 10 minutes before slicing. This allows the juices to absorb back into the meat instead of running out onto your cutting board. Juice equals flavor. It’s hard to wait but worthwhile!
Slice the venison steaks thin, across the grain for the most tender bites.
Venison is much more lean than beef and can be very dry and tough if it is not cooked properly. If you cook it properly, it can be very juicy and flavorful.
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How To Grill Venison Steaks:
- Set steaks out to come to room temperature about 30 minutes before grilling.
- Make the toasted garlic butter by adding butter to a skillet over low heat.
- Add minced garlic and cook until garlic just starts to brown. Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar, rosemary, salt, pepper and chili flakes.
- Stir until brown sugar is dissolved.
- Use a large fork to pierce the steaks all over to tenderize.
- Spoon butter mixture over venison steaks.
- Prepare a grill fire to about 300° with hickory or oak for the best smoke flavor.
- Place steaks over indirect fire and close the grill lid.
- Cook for about 7 – 10 minutes and check the steaks with a digital thermometer.
- Do not flip the steaks, continue to cook until internal temperature reaches about 125°.
- Remove from grill and allow steaks to rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Temperatures for Venison Steak:
- Medium Rare: 140°
- Medium: 155°
Another favorite is these Venison Chops that are marinated and quickly grilled to juicy perfection. A gourmet tasting recipe that is so simple to make at home.
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Tenderize Frozen Venison Steaks
There are a lot of ways to tenderize a tough deer steak. Some of them, such as mechanical tenderizing, work great. Other, namely marinades, dont penetrate far enough to make much of a difference in the toothiness of a tough cut. However, according this article in the High Plains Journal some time in the freezer might make certain cuts softer.
_Kansas State University meat scientists say theyve confirmed previous findings about the impact of freezing strip loin and inside round steaks. In a recent study, they tested six major muscles from the hind quarter and found that those two cuts were as much as 10 percent more tender after freezing.
Steaks were evaluated for tenderness using the Warner-Bratzler Shear Force test, which measures the force needed to shear muscles.
So the question we had was why did these two cuts react while the other four did not, said John Unruh, professor of animal sciences and industry.
Part of the answer, he noted, is moisture loss. These two muscles, for some reason, did not lose as much moisture during freezing as the other four, Unruh said_.
While the study tested beef, I dont think there would be much difference when it comes to deer, elk or other types of venison. It would be interesting to find out, though I dont have access to a Warner-Bratzler Shear Force tester. Guess Ill have to wait until next season for a side-by-side comparison.
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Southern Fried Deer Steak
by Ranch Style Kitchen · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. ·
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This is the most tender, flavorful fried venison steak you will every put in your mouth! Trust me, after you try this recipe you will want to eat deer steak every night of the week!
Growing up, deer meat was a staple at our dinner table since my dad was an avid hunter. After marrying a hunter myself, not much has changed.
Venison is by far my favorite fried meat probably because of this recipe. I have tried to perfect it over and over again for years, down to the quarter teaspoon, and have finally got it just right! I can’t wait to share it with you!
If you’re an avid hunter or have one in your family, I highly recommend you buying a copy of The MeatEater Fish and Game Cookbook by Steven Rinella. Trust me, you will not be sorry! You will learn so much about processing and cooking wild game from this book!
Also, don’t forget to check out my yummy Southern Country Gravy recipe to serve over your deer steaks!
You can also FOLLOW ME on , , , and for more delicious, down-home recipes!
How To Prep Ribs
venison ribs
The ribs are an interesting part of the animal. I dont do anything special with them, thoughI always cut as much meat off the ribs as possible and through it in my grind pile. But that doesnt mean you cant cook them and have great results with them. Case in point: Josh Dahlkes venison rib recipe was one of the best things I have ever eaten.
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How To Cook Venison: Basics
OK, lets look at cooking venison now.
Number one rule, the Prime Directive:You can always cook venison more. It is impossible to uncook something. This of course holds true for all things. To that end, know that because venison has so little fat and no internal marbling it gets hot and cools down much faster than fatty beef. Or even lean beef.
Fat is an insurance policy against inexpert cooking. Venison leaves you without that safety net, to mix metaphors. This is why its vital to err by cooking too little, if you are going to err. Its also why you almost always want to start with room temperature meat.
Second rule, or rather observation: Inexperienced cooks cook the tender parts of venison too much, and the tough parts too little.
Third rule, which has exceptions: The front of the animal is tougher than the back end of the animal. Let me unpack that a bit.
Venison Steak Grilled Over High Heat With Sea Salt And Black Pepper Served With Chimichurri Sauce
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How To Cook Deer Steak
As with all of the recipes here on the blog, Ill give tidbits of how to make the dish, throughout the photos in case youre a visual person, but feel free to scroll to the bottom of this post for a straight-and-to-the-point, recipe card where it lists the ingredients and instructions.
Earlier I mentioned that I had 4 deer steaks thawed out, but that I split them up so I could do two in the pan and two on the grill for a future recipe. But Im so glad that I did for this recipe too because these two deer steaks were big, and PLENTY for the three of us that were eating it.
Deer Steak Recipe In A Skillet
Deer Steak Recipe Skillet: There are many deer steak recipes, but this quick & flawless recipe using browned butter, salt & pepper in a skillet, is great!
Prep Time 20mins
- 21/2 inch-thickdeer steaks
- 1/2 teaspoonkosher saltor to taste
- 1/2teaspoonpeppercorn medleyor to taste
Prevent your screen from going dark
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Allow steaks to come to room temperature.
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Coat deer steaks with salt and pepper.
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Over medium-high heat, add butter to skillet, and let melt and brown.
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When butter is melted and brown, gently place steaks in the skillet, making sure they don’t overlap one another.
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If the skillet doesn’t sizzle at you, remove steak and wait until skillet is hotter.
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Cook steaks for 3-4 minutes on each side.
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Remove steaks from skillet and place on a plate to rest for 3-4 minutes. During this time, you can coat with more butter if you prefer, to help maintain a juicy deer steak.
Serving: 1steak | Calories: 156kcal | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 734mg | Vitamin A: 530IU | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.1mg
Keywords deer steak recipes, game meat recipe, how to cook deer meat
Let us know how it was!
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Cooking Deer Meat Odds And Ends
How to cook venison organs
I know it may seem weird, but this is actually my comfort zone. I love the odd cuts from the deer, and I have tried almost everything that can be tried: the heart, liver, tongue, kidneys, and testicles . Its all good, with a few exceptions. I have not eaten the brain, lungs, or stomach, and I dont know that I ever will. Unless, of course, I get the courage to make haggis.
I love deer heartso much so that I have asked all my hunting friends to save them for me. I like heart grilled, fried, pickled, and raw. The deers liver is another beautiful thing. It can be a little potent, but fantastic when prepared correctly. One of the best things to do with liver is make a sausage called Mazzafegati. It is a sweet and clean-tasting sausage that will change the mind of even the pickiest palates.
Cooking Temperature By The Cut Of Venison
Once the internal temperature of venison is confirmed with a food thermometer and has reached the minimum internal temperature, it is safe to eat, regardless of the color of the meat, which may still have a pinkish color. The pink color can be from the cooking method used like smoking or adding ingredients like celery or onions in meatloaf.
Whole cuts like steaks or roasts:
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Cook to a minimum internal temperature of 145 F .
Ground venison:
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How To Cook Venison Eye Of Round
Venison round steak recipe
The eye is situated right in between the top and bottom rounds. Its like a small, hidden tenderloin. Its very lean and only big enough for one person, but when paired with its mate from the other hind quarter, it can be made into a beautiful little roast like the one my friend Danielle Pruitt makes. Because it is so lean, its a great piece for curing. Ill make a very nice bresaola every now and then thats easy to make and packed with flavor. The eye is also a great candidate for nearly-raw tataki, a Japanese preparation.
Should I Marinate Deer
Well honestly, thats totally up to you. I actually had 4 deer steaks in the package that I was using, so I decided to cook the deer steak, TWO different ways, in case you prefer one or the other.
If you have some time to allot to cooking your deer steak, and you prefer to have a marinade flavor, instead of the deer flavor then Id say go with this recipe below
Note: I grilled the steaks in the deer steak marinade recipe below, but you can easily marinate them and fry them in a pan too!)
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Cut Ribs To A Size You Can Eat
Harvesting the ribs from deer isnt as easy or clean like fileting off a backstrap. You need to have a saw on hand, and with either a hand saw and a sawzall or reciprocating saw its still a challenge to cut nice looking, clean cuts, especially if youre processing your deer alone, as many people still do, including myself more often than not.
If you have to, use a cleaver to cut the strips of ribs into easy to eat sizes.
The exact size you cut your deer ribs can be a matter of personal preference, but I will say that just cooking the whole rack like a caveman is sloppy, and is pretty much guaranteed to turn off diners of a more delicate palate, say, a significant other who you may be trying to turn to the wild side, for example. With venison ribs, good things come in small, or at least modest packages.
How To Cook Venison Top Round
Venison top round recipe
The top round is a giant piece of meat and perfect for cutting into steaks. I like to cut mine nice and thick, and then grill very fast on high heat. I like to keep my steaks very close to rare. But if thick steaks arent your thing, you could also cut this roast into thin cuts and marinate them.
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What Is The Best Way To Cook Deer Meat
Cooking Venison Steaks. Grill the steak or cook it in a skillet. The best ways to cook venison steaks are on a hot grill, or in a very hot skillet on the stove. Both methods afford the ability to sear the meat and cook it to the proper internal temperature, essential for a venison steak cooked properly.
How Can I Make My Steak Juicy And Tender
8 Simple Ways to Make Tough Meat Tender Physically tenderize the meat. For tough cuts like chuck steak, a meat mallet can be a surprisingly effective way to break down those tough muscle fibers. Use a marinade. Dont forget the salt. Let it come up to room temperature. Cook it low-and-slow. Hit the right internal temperature. Rest your meat. Slice against the grain.
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How To Marinate Deer Steaks
When it comes to marinating the steaks, I prefer to put them inside a plastic zip-top bag and pour the marinade over them.
It makes cleanup a breeze is easy to flip and turn the steaks around while marinating. But we’ll get in to that in just a second
Pour your marinade over the steaks, inside the bag, and then seal it COMPLETELY.
Next you can either lay the steaks flat in the refrigerator, or you can place them inside a bowl.
I prefer to place them in a small bowl, so it really surrounds the steaks with the marinade, instead of the juices rolling around, not touching the meat.
However, when placing it in a bowl it’s a good idea to rotate the meat around after a few hours to make sure the bent areas get marinated too.
Allow the steaks to marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour, but preferably overnight.
I left my deer steaks in the refrigerator overnight and as you’ll see below, they came out with a perfect, marinated brown color from the juices! No, they’re ready for the grill!
How To Make Deer Steak In The Oven
Start with 2 lbs of deer steak. If you are using frozen meat, you will need to thaw it completely.
Pat meat dry with a paper towel, and pound with a meat tenderizer. Heres a that is similar to mine.
Deer steak after tenderizing.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees while you are prepping the meat. Pound the meat to about half its thickness. I wont specify a measurement, because steaks vary in thickness. Just pound it down to about half.
After the steak is all tenderized, heat some oil in a big frying pan. I like to use my cast iron pans for that beautiful sear. When the oil is hot, roll each steak in flour, and brown on both sides.
Place the steaks in a baking dish. Any 3-quart baking dish will work, or a 9×13 pan.
Frying steak in oil.
seared deer steak, waiting for gravy.
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