Overcooked venison is a common problem, and it makes the meat tough. This probably is why a lot of people don’t like venison. This results from two reasons. Many people are scared of wild meat and think it needs to be cooked until well done to avoid food poisoning. This is far from the truth. Most wild meat is safer than store bought. Wild animals eat clean food, breath clean air and can run all they want. They are not trapped in a dirty pen like many of the animals that end up in the stores. I believe your chances of food poisoning due to rare meat are far less with venison that you have field dressed and properly cared for yourself.
The second reason that venison gets over cooked is the color. Venison is red muscle tissue and is darker in color than beef. Well-done venison looks like a medium rare beefsteak, because it was so much darker before cooking. Venison has little fat in the meat and cooks faster than beef.
There are many cuts and methods of cooking venison but the meat should be eaten rare to medium rare. If venison is overcooked it is like eating rubber, but if seared and allowed to rest for about ten minutes before slicing, it is like eating butter. So how do you know when a steak is done? The best way is to use your fingers to check the steak for doneness. Here’s how you do it: Simply touch your forefinger to your thumb and poke the base of your thumb with your other forefinger. Feel that? That’s what rare venison steak feels like. Here is a good venison recipe.
Dutch Oven Venison
- Take 2-pounds venison steaks
- 8 oz. beef stock
- 1-pound peeled carrots
- 4 tsp. Seasoned Salt
- 6 celery stalks
- 2 cups bread crumbs
- 2 medium onions,
- chopped 4 oz. bacon
- 4 oz. can mushrooms
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 tbsp. olive oil or butter
Instructions
Combine bread crumbs and seasoned salt. Roll steaks in salt/crumb mixture and set aside. Fry bacon in a 12-inch Dutch oven. Add onion and sauté until soft. Remove the onions and set aside. Add olive oil to the pot and fry the steaks until brown on both sides. Remove the meat and set it aside. Put the celery and carrots in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Add beef stock and liquid from mushrooms. Arrange the venison steaks on top of vegetables, top with mushrooms and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 300 degrees until tender, 2-4 hours.
Venison is excellent when processed correctly, aged and not over cooked.
Enjoy!
Whether it’s deer, elk or antelope, I cut it thin, about a 1/4 to a 1/2 inch…. salt and pepper, maybe a little garlic, about two to three minutes.. that’s all it takes for me.. I do use it in soups and stews also…