What to do with venison backstraps?

[richhodg66]

I like this recipe for venison roasts. https://www.food.com/recipe/stove-to...#activity-feed

I have found it seems better if you cook it the day before according to the directions and leave it in the fridge overnight and reheat it. Not sure why, but that stand in the fridge seems to make it better. I do this on a stove top in a heavy steel pot.

Last year for our church holiday meal I made one of these, they also had a couple of turkeys and a ham. I was looking forward to trying some of it and it was gone by the time I got through the line, funny how many people "don't like venison". Of course, where I hunt is also Kansas farm land, so those deer are likely better fed than beef cattle are.

[richhodg66]

I love it as chicken fried steaks and I always cut and cube the back straps to do just that.

Another wasy I have found that I like a lot and is embarrassingly simple is to just dredge steaks in salted and peppered flour, brown them quickly in a skillet and then cook them in a crock pot for several hours in a mix of one can of cream of mushroom soup, one can of French onion soup and one small can of the spicy V-8 vegetable juice thrown in. Serve that with wild rice and it always turns out good.

[dk17hmr]

Have you considered a meat hammer? I like backstraps grilled in a 6" chunk and sliced afterwards. But every once in a while I'll take a 1/2" thick steak and pound it down to a little more than an 1/8" and chicken fry it.

You can also turn them into a pastrami or brined ham if you have a smoker.

[rondog]

"However, I like all meat well done and dry."

Ewww.....can't deal with that.....

[rondog]

Vacuum seal it with a couple pats of butter and cook it sous vide for 2 hours at 126-128F. Then put on a hot grill or skillet for 2 minutes on each side.
Sous vide totally transform game steaks into juicy, tender pieces of meat.

This, I'd love to try! Sous vide intrigues me.

[popper]

Like all muscle meat, very 'flat' tasting , like dove. Why? No FAT/oil. Good beef is marbles, not just fat layers. Like fish (except cat) no FAT. Hog is good due to the marbled fat. All the salting/marinating is just to get some flavor into the meat. Tenderizers are something else.

[MT Gianni]

Try slicing it as thin as possible and put it in hot butter for 30 seconds a side. Loins are best cooked with a very little liquid, IMO and worst thrown on a grill to dry.

[MaryB]

Lard it with some bacon to add fat... larding needle https://www.amazon.com/Paderno-World...3939863&sr=8-4

[jonp]

Look on a box of Bisquick or go to the online sight and look for a recipe for quick chicken pie. Substitute the venison for the chicken and it will be the best "chicken pie" you ever had.

[jonp]

Lard it with some bacon to add fat... larding needle https://www.amazon.com/Paderno-World...3939863&sr=8-4

I never heard of such a thing, Mary. Thanks, I just ordered one

[richhodg66]

We eat more ground venison than any other way and I always grind it and cook it pure, never add any fat to it. Makes the best chili that way.

Worst case if you don't like the way venison is, cut the whole thing into stew meat and have at it. If I could only have one meal forever, it would likely be venison stew. Lots of recipes out there, I tend to keep things simple and use the McCormick's beef stew seasoning mix from the grocery store and add salt, pepper, whatever to taste from there. Hard to screw it up.

[Elroy]

We usually grind everything,but the backstraps,and the way we use them is by steaking them,and pounding thin with one of the meat tenderizing hammers,and coat them in flour,and fry them hot,and fast with just salt,and pepper.My mother always canned a lot of deer,and we all loved it creamed with biscuts,or fixed with homemade noodles,but we don't fool with it.My Dad ,or me could kill a deer,hang it ,skin it,and quarter it,and my Mother would do a lot of the rest,but with me I have to do it all,but bag it in freezer bags..I took a deer to the slaughter house for the first time ever this year,because I killed one with a bow,and knew I could not handle it in the warm weather we were having.I did not care for the way they did,but at least it didn't spoil,or get blowed by flies.

[MaLar]

Corned venison is VERY GOOD!

[Jedman]

Since heart disease is in my DNA and I love red meat, deer and antelope make up a large part of my diet. I really like deer meat anyway anyhow . I have "( corned it ) canned it , and cooked it about every way I can think of and like it all. I am fortunate that my wife has the same tastes and I never have too much . I use my sense of smell to tell me what is good or bad. I have had deer that have been gut shot or been not killed quick and clean but do my best to get the most out of any animal I kill. I really feel when I take a animals life I have to make the most of what I have been given and not waste anything.

Jedman

[white eagle]

ground venison is killer
ad a 1/4 pound pork and 1/4 pound beef to 1# venison
never know its venison

[truckjohn]

You have to switch cooking methods from modern "Bring out the flavor in the meat because they are super young animals eating grain" to the old fashioned "Minimize weird off flavors in the meat because they are older animals who ate weeds, sticks, and grass".

If you look at old fashioned methods - they almost always cooked the meat slowly WITHOUT browning it. Browning the meat tends to accentuate ALL the weird off flavors.

The frequent cooking methods were:
Braising Or stewing the meat (simmered it in liquid/gravy)
Poaching (cooking it in just-off-boiling water)
Confit (slowly simmering it in fat like butter or chicken/duck fat). This is NOT deep frying - it is done at low temperature and hardly colors the meat.
Sauteeing - slowly frying in oil/fat at a lower temperature. Often the meat was breaded and fried to a light golden brown.

For example - with our venison chili... We cook the venison burger on low till it's gray and solid for texture... Then dump it in the chili pot. Alternatively - just dump the ground venison straight into the chili pot without cooking it. Do NOT brown it or you can get really weird flavors.

I like grilling backstraps - but you have to be careful not to brown them hard or overcook them or they can get really gamy.

If you don't like them this way - I would cube it up and braise/stew it.... Make your stew up and dump in the cubed back strap at the last 15 minutes of simmering.

Alternatively - you could try deep frying or sauteeing pounded out and breaded steaks at a fairly LOW temperature.... For example - fry at 300F or 325F till it's light golden brown - NOT dark brown or it will taste gamy...

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

If you like canned meat, then put it in jars and process it.
I like to put a little smoke on it first...like 10 minutes in a smoker, meat is still raw, cut in cubes then put in Jars with your favorite spices. I will eat the venison straight out of the jar at room temp, but it is also very good for making a chili (or hot dish) quickly.

[Oily]

Ditto on the sous vide method. Cook the backstrap (steaks) to rare in the sous vide water bath then sear in a cast iron skillet. The sous vide water heaters are only about 80 to a 100 bucks and then all you need is a small to medium ice chest or container to (cook) them in and a food saver or equal vaccum sealer. The sous vide method works great on meat of all types, my favorite is pork chops. Vegetables are also great with this method especialy asparugus

[reloader28]

I agree with Truckjohn. For some reason everyone has to cook as fast and hot as possible.
We like our meat medium well to well done and to get that and make it tender you have to cook it slow. The last backstraps I did were over a fire pit with cottonwood (thats our hardwood). Well done, juicy and fork cutting tender.

The last deer, I just cut the backstraps in half to stuff with a little cheese and wrap in bacon and put in the smoker or grill for a couple hours

[EMC45]

I honestly could not tell deer from cow side by side. And mushy is definitely not a way I'd describe a backstrap. I cook mine the exact same way I do steak. Cut about 1"-1 1/2" thick, marinade in olive oil and garlic, and grilled with salt and pepper, and any other seasonings I feel like. I've been experimenting with wood chips in tin foil for a bit of a smoker effect in the grill too. The result is a great, juicy steak, not at all mushy. Don't overcook, anything past medium rare is ruined in my opinion.

Tip: cut against the grain of the meat, not with it. This makes it more tender, not as stringy.

Couldn't have said it better if I wrote it myself, to include the tinfoil bundle of wood chips. Your post is exactly how I do my grilling.