Got a freezer full of venison... now what?


 
T

Tom Ferguson

Banned
Was lucky today at my butcher, as someone who brought in a deer last week for butchering decided they didn't want it. I picked up the whole thing for the cost of butchering ($50).

This wasn't a huge deer, but I reckon I have about 50 lbs of various cuts.

So I'm looking for advice on preparing these different pieces of meat. Any help will be appreciated. I've never cooked venison before.

Here's what I have:

Lots of ground venison, nothing added.
Several Tenderloin Steaks.
Some shoulder roasts.
Some Deer Steaks.

I was thinking there's not a lot of fat in this stuff so BBQin' might be out. Also I was thinking the ground meat might make good chili. The steaks and venison are probably prime candidates for grilling, but I don't have any experience.

If you have experience with venison, I'd really appreciate your input.

Thanks in advance.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tom Ferguson:
Here's what I have:

Lots of ground venison, nothing added.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
SAUSAGE!!
icon_smile.gif


Bill
 
I've had a fair bit of deer sausage and moose sausage, usually mixed with pork and it can be very tasty.

It's quite lean, we did a lot of crock pot cooking with herbs and or root veggies with the roasts.

I can't say I've seen any I thougt would be fantastic for grilling, it's just all so lean, but I think oil based marinades would be a good idea.

Try gyros if that's your thing, I think it would work well.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bill Hays:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tom Ferguson:
Here's what I have:

Lots of ground venison, nothing added.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>
SAUSAGE!!
icon_smile.gif


Bill </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

So... should I just grind up some pork butt and mix with the ground venison? Any particular seasoning? 50:50 mixture?

I just trimmed a couple of butts I'm throwing on the smoker tonight. I saved the pork fat. Maybe I should just freeze it and grind it up and mix with the ground venison??
 
That's one way. Or just add pork fat, or mix beef, pork and venison. All depends on what you're after. There's many recipes on the net or you can purchase kits that contain all the spices; just add the meat part. Venison sausage is extremely popular in these parts; probably yours too.

Bill
 
I've done some venison, but not tons of the stuff.

IMHO - Like any wild game - it can tend to dry-out if proper technique is not used while cooking. It usually does tend to be more flavorful than most commercial meats.

If you have some chops or steaks - I suggest "stewing" them:

-Brown them at medium-high heat
-turn down to medium heat, add a little water (enough to immerse them 1/3 to 1/2 depth), and maybe some optional teriyaki sauce and/or onion slices.
-Cover & let them "steam" for a while (until most of the water is cooked-off, and they start to "sizzle" a little on the bottom.
-Enjoy
 
What, no backstrap? That's the loin from a deer; generally accepted as the best cut. For the steaks and roast, you can tenderize them (mechanically by your butcher or personally with jaccard or textured mallet) and do a chicken fried steak dish. You can make very good chili with venison also, but like sausage, you need a little fat in it IMO.

Paul
 
Well, I have trimmed a couple of pork butts that I cooked last weekend. I have probably 3 lbs of pork fat that I IQF'd and put in zip lock bags. Easy to IQF the fat. Just set them on a plate and once it was frozen I put in the ziplock.

I'll grind the fat and mix it with the venison and some spices.

Good News!!! I picked up another deer tonight that the hunter didn't want. Strange laws here in TN. Can't sell deer meat. You can give it away, however. I got a call today from my butcher and he said he had a deer that the hunter didn't want and I could have it for $50.

It took me a long time to decide on that... about 2 seconds... More for the freezer. I love venison, especially venison chili.
 
The ground also makes excellent spaghetti sauce. The tenderloins are good sliced up in Stroganoff. I have smoked venison roasts before, you just have to be careful not to dry them out. Think injecting, lots of basting and foiling.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ken McCrary: I have smoked venison roasts before, you just have to be careful not to dry them out. Think injecting, lots of basting and foiling. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have a similar issue as Tom. I've got a 6 lb. venison roast in my freezer and have no idea what to do with it. Care to elaborate my friend?
 
Tom, you could give me some meat...

well I had to resurrect this thread. I can't see all that venison going to waste.

Kyle - venison does well when cooked with moist heat. What I would do is to smoke the roast in pan on a rack with some liquids- soup, or just water with some onions garlic herbs. I would smoke for a a few hours then finish it off covered so the moisture states in the roast.
You could also cook the roast in a pot roast in a dutch oven.
 
I've been hunting deer and eating venison for a long time.

By far the best cut of meat is the tenderloin. We take a whole loin and slice it in about 1/2" slices. Soak it in milk and egg mixture for a short time, maybe a couple of minutes, then bread em' with crushed up crackers. Fry em' in vegetable oil on the stove. Awesome stuff.

We have the butcher add suet to the ground venison and use it in chili, tacos, spaghetti sauce, and many other things. You can use the round steaks for anything you'd use a beef round steak for. I make stroganoff with it quite often as well.
 
If you do a roast, don't forget to add vine....first, sear both sides in hot oil, once they're brown, add vine, and maybe a little water....I usually skip the water...LOL...

But if you're the adventurous type of guy, I recommend a Romanian dish, which goes very well with venison. It is acalled "mititei", or, translated in English...the small ones.I have read the recepee both in Romanian, and English and they're almost identical, although the Romanian version advocates lamb meat as a mixture and not pork. But nowdays the pork fat is the way to go, people are trying to avoid the lamb meat for its taste..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mititei

Here are a few more sites about this great dish

http://homecookinginmontana.bl...eimici-or-small.html

http://www.food.com/recipe/mit...beef-sausages-137695

I have made this sausage many times in the past, and when the spices are mixed well, this is one of the best sausages I've ever eaten...venison is a very good substitue for lean ground beef, and I made "mici" out of venison and pork fat in my years in Montana. I usually mix them both, and when you grill them, make sure you don't overcook them. Venison , just like ground beef tends to dry out fast, much faster than pork...
 
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