Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Buck Meat- it's what's for dinner!

Stephany asked if I could chat about venison and how I use it, here on my blog. Sure! I'd be happy to, although unfortunately, I don't think it's going to be blowing many minds.

When it comes to cooking venison we primarily do it 3 ways; roasted, fried and in anything that calls for "ground beef." This year was the first year that I canned it and we have been super happy with the results. The canned meat we use mostly for sandwiches (kind of like you would use tuna.)It is exceptional on a sandwich with lettuce, tomato and cheese! This year was also our first year eating venison roasts. Our normal routine for cutting up buck has been steaks and ground...and that's it, but as I said, we've tried a couple new ways this year and have been very pleased with how it's tasted.
For the roasts: I don't do anything different than I would for a chuck roast, I simply brown the meat in a pan on the stove top and then add a little water, seasoning, cut up potatoes and carrots, pop the lid on and bake.
For fried steaks: I dip the steaks in a egg/milk mixture and then roll them in a seasoned flour mix. I fry them in coconut oil or lard (depending on what I have on hand.)
For ground venison: I use it in pretty much everything, lasagna, hash, spaghetti, hamburgers, tacos, or anything else you need a ground meat for. This was the first year that we ground our venison with added pig fat. In years past, we have just ground it up and used it the same.
For stew: I treat it just as I would a beef stew...and use all the same ingredients. I wish I had some fabulous recipe to share but the truth is that I usually just end up throwing whatever I have on hand into the crock pot and cooking it for hours.
I know that some folks talk about venison being a very lean meat but I haven't personally noticed any different types of preparation needed because of it. Or maybe we just have some fatty black tail around these parts!
A blog I follow just posted this recipe, from a blog that she follows- does all that make sense?- about a great venison recipe. I haven't tried it, but it looks good so give it a go!
Does anyone have a tried and true vension recipe they could share with Stephany (and me?)

16 comments:

Heather's Blog-o-rama said...

I've never had venison...Sounds good!!! I'm not even sure where I would buy it here, but buffalo meat is expensive, but easy to find here. I enjoy that a lot!!! Love and hugs from Oregon, Heather :)

Mountain Home Quilts said...

Heather- I'm not sure if you can even buy venison? Can you? Anyone? I'm blessed to have a deer hunter in my husband!

Farmer's Wife said...

we havent had any in a while, unsuccessful hunting excursions. But when we do, we first soak the meat in ice water in the fridge overnight, then soak it in milk. this helps drain the extra blood and get out the gamey taste.

Bailey said...

Tried this recipe once and LOVED it - will have to have it again soon...thanks for reminding me.

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/venison-meat-loaf/Detail.aspx

Also, we usually BBQ our steaks and love them that way.

I've never seen that you can buy venison anywhere, though I'm sure there are ranches that raise deer and butcher them to sell....they're probably few and far between though.

Mountain Home Quilts said...

Thanks for the tip Molly and for the recipe Bailey!

Anonymous said...

I think here in Missouri it is against the law to sell wild game. We were lucky to get one this year too.

Truly Blessed! said...

Hi! We processed one deer and took one to the shop for specialty meat. I must say, that we find Doe meat better then Buck's meat.

Mountain Home Quilts said...

I've never had doe meat, since we aren't allowed to hunt them here in CA- I bet they would be less gamey though. Our bucks aren't very gamey anyway though since we let them hang for so long.

Sara said...

Heather~ We use ground venison/caribou/moose/elk alot. Just like any ground beef, but I notice that I never have to drain off any fat with the wild ground meat. I think it's alot healthier than beef.
I cook steaks on the stove top in any kind of marinade...Very very teriaki is our favorite. We only use the backstrap and tenderloin for steaks
For roasts, I always cook in the crock pot. I usually put beef broth in the bottom and then cut up carrots, potatoes, stewed tomatoes, and lots of garlic and pepper. Roasts are also good with just a couple cans of cream of mushroom soup and one of those Lipton onion soup mixes. Or I've cooked just a roast with beef broth in the bottom, no other seasoning, then when it's done drain off the broth and shred the meat, then add taco seasoning and water, let it simmer in the crock pot for just a little longer then you have shredded meat for tacos. It's really good that way.
Also, we don't mix our ground meat with anything when we process it. It makes for a pretty dense hamburger patty, but still holds together well without any fat added and it's so yummy!

Erin @ Why Not Sew? Quilts said...

I really like venison. Our favorite cut were chops on year. They were delicious and tender. But steaks and ground are usually what we would get. I don't have any recipes I just use it in place of beef.

Stephany Z said...

Thank you to everyone for such great suggestions!! I usually brown beef stew before putting it in the crock pot. I tried that with the venison stew and just ended up pouring off a bunch of liquid without being able to brown the meat. Should I skip the browning stage and put the venison stew straight into the crock pot?

Mountain Home Quilts said...

I don't brown my stew meat at all- beef or otherwise :)

Mary Marcotte said...

We soak all of our game meat in plain white vinegar and water (about half and half) for about 30 minutes. It helps to remove the gamey taste and tenderizes it. My husband hunts deer, duck, squirrel and rabbit and the vinegar works well for all of it.

http://fleurdelisquilts.blogspot.com

Renata said...

I've never tried venison, but then I live in the wrong country to have a lot of it! Sounds wonderful though!
I enjoyed reading!
Renata:)

Tarheelbilly said...

Hubby and I both hunt, and LOVE venison! Here are 2 faves in our house:
#1 Marinated venison steaks:
Marinate venison cutlets in apple cider for at least 24 hours and then grill. Caution: grilled venison cooks VERY quickly since the meat is so lean! I've used tenderloin and 1 inch thick roast cuts, and both work well.The marinade imparts a subtle sweetness to the meat, and pairs well with brown rice.

2. Tenderloin medallions wrapped in bacon. Hubby LOVES this-- well, he loves bacon, so no surprise there. Anyway, slice tenderloin medallions, wrap in bacon, and grill. Lovely!

I've consulted a few "how to cook wild game" books, but these two recipes were the only two that I think highlight venison well. I usually prepare the roasts as I do with beef-- slow heat in a cast iron roasting pan. We grind our venison into sausage, so I don't use it for tacos, etc. I haven't found it to be especially gamey, but that's just been my experience. Perhaps my opinion is a bit skewed because I grew up eating wild game.

Bonnie K said...

It does my heart good to see people discussing venison. I'm so tired of anti-hunting rhetoric. We eat tons of venison and I butcher it myself. I don't think there is anything better or healthier. I don't have any special recipes. My husband likes to inject his roasts with marinade before he grills them and they are always perfect. Keep up the great work. Your blog has been fun to peruse.

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