Cooking Venison

[jednorris]

I love to eat fried Venison tenderloin but could use some advice. I realize that wild game like Venison has no natural fat and over the years the only thing I found to fry my Venison in was bacon grease. I works out well, however I need to cook about a quarter of a pound of bacon to get enough grease to cook a meal. I have tried other things to cook it in, but it is just not the same. I think I must be missing something, is there an easier way to get bacon grease or something very similar ?.

[BPSharps]

Sorry jednorris but there is no good sub for bacon grease. Everytime I cook bacon I pour the rendered grease in a jar to use in the future. Keeps a long time.

[NSB]

I have no problem using a bit of butter and olive oil to cook it in. Tastes fine to me and has for the last sixty + years. (Nothing wrong with bacon though either).

[zymguy]

my grocery store sells bacon ends and pieces. mostly fat and cheaper than bacon

[MyFlatline]

We fry a lot of Venison. No special lard or bacon grease needed. I toss my thin slices in Bisquick, with garlic salt and paprika. Run the vegetable oil up to almost burning, about 1 " in the pan. Drop in the pieces and within the minute take them out. Watch them brown and you will know.

Another tip, is to slice some of the ham in thin pieces, sprinkle with meat tenderiser and place in a zip lock until the next day. Then do as previously stated..

Here is a testimonial..Currently the wife has no teeth due to cancer but she can gum this when fixed this way. Just don't overcook.

[Dieselhorses]

My tender loin is in oven with salt, pepper and a splash of grape seed oil before deer is even finished getting dressed!

[USSR]

Fry? Broil it with a little butter and salt and pepper on top of it.

Don

[megasupermagnum]

The deer I shoot are just wild cows. You could cook our deer and cow next to each other, and you would be hard pressed to tell the difference. I'm not kidding, I've served sloppy joes with ground venison, not one person ever knew the difference. I mainly grill venison steaks, I treat it exactly like beef steak, season the same. I only keep the best parts for steaks though, most of it gets ground, and a lot get's turned into jerky.

[Chad5005]

my wife makes almost everything we eat with venison,but if she's frying it she deep fries with veg oil,we eat a lot of rooster bullets,venison onion bell pepper,bacon or jalapeno poppers,with jalapeno,onion,venison,cream cheese and chedder cheese and bacon

[Thumbcocker]

Do not fry backstrap.

HOW WE COOK DEER

1.) Thaw the meat.
2.) Put meat tenderizer (go easy or it will be salty), onion powder, garlic powder (not salt) and a little coarse black pepper on both sides.
3.) Cower meat and put in the fridge (overnight is best)
4.) Before grilling pour olive oil over the meat. Just before you put the meat on the grill use tongs to make sure both sides get some oil on them.
5.) Cook until just done. DO NOT OVER COOK! The meat is done when it is brown but still moist on the outside. If it dries out on the outside it is over cooked. Usually it takes 3 minutes or so on the first side and 2 minutes or so on the other side. Depends on thickness of the meat and how hot the charcoal is. The outside color of the meat and how moist it is on the outside is your guide. You can check the inside by cutting into it to check the color. Just a little pink is what you want.

[Bulldogger]

Coconut oil might be worth trying. You could also get a small tub of Manteca from the grocery store, Manteca being Spanish for lard. Either would work.

BDGR

[Shuz]

I grill all venison, elk or moose just like I do beef. I sprinkle a little Montreal seasoning and grill to my perfection, just a little pink.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

jednorris,
My local Mexican Grocer sells rendered pork fat, they do sell a lot of fresh seasoned meat. I think the fat they offer is from frying cracklin's (chicharrones caseros).
anyway, It's as good as bacon grease, just less salty and not smoky, both of which could be added.

[AggieEE]

A lot of good ideas here. Thanks guys. Around San Antonio there is a lot of cedar trees, juniper to non Texans, that the deer will eat. They will taste so strong of cedar that you will think you are eating a tree. Any suggestions on how to deal with this? Thanks again.

[gbrown]

Most places sell lard, which is just natural crisco. Only thing is, lard is actually better for you. Like butter over oleo. Crisco and oleo are hydrogenated oil (think that's right) and not good at all. Way I do my tenderloins and backstrap is to sear it really good (oil of your choice) in a cast iron skillet and then stick the skillet in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes. Tenderloins on our deer (SETX) aren't that big, so I leave them whole. I cut the backstrap into 2 inch thick medallions and sear on both sides. Come out Medium Rare and just delicious. How you marinade or rub them is a big factor. I like lots of garlic, onion, thyme and rosemary with a little oregano. Salt and black pepper, of course.

[merlin101]

Anyone ever can their venison? My wife and just canned almost a whole deer yesterday, it took a lot of time but wasn't as much work as I thought. We did some in BBQ and some in beef broth and some more in terakihi sauce, can't wait to try some!

[MT Gianni]

A lot of good ideas here. Thanks guys. Around San Antonio there is a lot of cedar trees, juniper to non Texans, that the deer will eat. They will taste so strong of cedar that you will think you are eating a tree. Any suggestions on how to deal with this? Thanks again.

Once you get them roped and dallied put them in a pen and grain feed them for 3 weeks.

[MT Gianni]

Anyone ever can their venison? My wife and just canned almost a whole deer yesterday, it took a lot of time but wasn't as much work as I thought. We did some in BBQ and some in beef broth and some more in terakihi sauce, can't wait to try some!

We do almost the entire front shoulders in pints. Add salt and bay leaf or a garlic clove. They get used in quick soups and stews, hot sandwiches, spaghetti filler and lots of other stuff.

[gbrown]

Anyone ever can their venison? My wife and just canned almost a whole deer yesterday, it took a lot of time but wasn't as much work as I thought. We did some in BBQ and some in beef broth and some more in terakihi sauce, can't wait to try some!

Haven't done it yet, but sure want to try. A pint jar of just plain cubed venison with broth, some potatoes and carrots and a gravy mix or roux, along with your favorite seasoning would make a quick and easy supper, either at home or the camp.

[rl69]

A lot of good ideas here. Thanks guys. Around San Antonio there is a lot of cedar trees, juniper to non Texans, that the deer will eat. They will taste so strong of cedar that you will think you are eating a tree. Any suggestions on how to deal with this? Thanks again.

I keep mine on ice for at least 5 days. I thaw in water for a day. Marinade in buttermilk for a day,I have never noticed a cedar tast are any other tast? I hunt just west of fort hood

[Lloyd Smale]

My backstraps usually are cooked on the grill. Fried steak is usually hind quarter steak ran through the cuber. that said I do like it chicken fried in bacon grease but butter works just fine too. the cedar thing is odd though. Our camp is right in a huge cedar swamp probably 200 square miles and I never noticed a difference in tasted between the deer I shoot there and the deer I shoot at the potato farm that eat potatos oats and alfalfa. Only difference ive seen is the deer at the farm seem a bit more tender because they don't have to work to get there food near as much.

[fourarmed]

I prefer to blacken the tenderloins (as well as the loin chops and the round steaks). This requires a propane burner (outside) and a cast iron griddle or skillet that is dedicated to blackening. Melt half a stick of butter on a plate in the microwave - or however - and dredge the whole tenderloins in it. Preheat the oven to about 175 and the griddle to a dull red. (In daylight it will look gray instead of black.) Shake your blackening spice onto one side of a tenderloin and put it on the griddle for a minute or until you can see it again after the smoke and flames subside. Do the same on the other two sides, and return it to the plate. Do this to all the tenderloins you are cooking, then pop them in the oven for a half hour or so until the brown juices start to collect on the plate. Slice thinly, and enjoy the best rare venison you ever ate.

My blackening spice is three parts paprika, and one part each black pepper, red pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and thyme.

[hc18flyer]

Anyone ever can their venison? My wife and just canned almost a whole deer yesterday, it took a lot of time but wasn't as much work as I thought. We did some in BBQ and some in beef broth and some more in terakihi sauce, can't wait to try some!

My brother and I been pressure canning deer for 20+ years, my daughter's expect it annually. I have had folks eat it right out of the jar. Most of ours is used in stew and stroganoff. I have written out a page of instructions for friends, if interested PM me?
hc18flyer

[mattw]

my wife makes almost everything we eat with venison,but if she's frying it she deep fries with veg oil,we eat a lot of rooster bullets,venison onion bell pepper,bacon or jalapeno poppers,with jalapeno,onion,venison,cream cheese and chedder cheese and bacon

Dude, you are a man after my own heart! Love gizzards and venison chunks deep fried in a spicy batter!

Normally we fire up the grill after the deer has marinated. Love it rare and well spiced!

[Texas by God]

Grilled in steak rub, on a chip with Zaragoza's finest on top. It'll do!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181209/a8c1530c27a83e3886044e5e2b1e570b.jpg

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[snowwolfe]

Been eating venison for well over 50 years. A couple of months ago spoiled both my wife and myself because I cooked up a batch of back straps using the sous verde method then finished with a sear on the grill.
Unbelievably delicious and tender.

[Lloyd Smale]

my favorite with back straps is on the grill. Butterfly a chunk lengthwise put some montreal steak seasoning (light) on it and close it back up. Put it on a hot grill so you sear it and seal in the juices and cook it till it done about a 1/4 of the way through. Then flip it and do the same on the other side (all the time brushing on butter) when the hole chunk is about half way cooked through open it up and put the rare side down and keep brushing on the butter and cook till its has just a ting of pink. Its as good and as tender as about any beef steak ive cooked short of tenderloin or rib eye. cut an onion in half and wrap it and a potato up in foil with some butter and put it on the grill about a hour before the meat and if after eating it you don't like venison then its all in your head. Learned that routine years ago from my partner at work. Before that I used to bash venison cooked on the grill because it was so dry. Now I shoot probably 30 deer a year and ALL backstraps go on the grill.

[RU shooter]

Yep , I started basting in butter a few years ago and do mine the same as Lloyd butterfly length ways cept I season mine all over inside and out with my homebrew seasoning dust grill on high heat to sear cook to rare inside takeoffthe heat and let it rest for 5 min minimum . I haven't pan fried for years and no plans to no matter how cold it is outside .
Another thing I've tried and works well to keep things juicy is to inject with that Cajun butter forget the brandat the moment but does things moist especially less choice cuts like the top and bottom round

[Winger Ed.]

The 5 pound package of ends & pieces is good. I get one, cook it all, chop it up, maybe even freeze it,
and use it where crumbled bacon is called for in beans or something.
It'll cook out almost a pint of bacon grease. Lard will work too, but the cooked out grease has that bacon flavor.

[trails4u]

Grilled in steak rub, on a chip with Zaragoza's finest on top. It'll do!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181209/a8c1530c27a83e3886044e5e2b1e570b.jpg

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And grilled properly! Any less pink than that and you've burned it up!!

[RP]

Try taking the tender lyon and slicing it super thing so thin you can see light threw it season it up and add some lemon juice. lay it on some wrap and cover it with some more wrap and press it with a rolling pin a few times. No cooking is needed try it you will be surprised.

[Lloyd Smale]

I found out something yesterday. Backstraps in a pressure cooker just don't work. My step son is up visiting and he wanted a venison roast. Hes a bit picky so rather then grabbing a rump roast I figured it toss a couple back straps in the pressure cooker. Even put a small pork roast in with it. The pork was excellent but the back straps were as dry as beef jerky. probably due to the fact there small in diameter and were probably over cooked.

[Hickory]

While I like my beef steaks cooked medium-well, venison is best cooked fast and hard.
By that I mean, venison, if frozen, should be thawed and at room temperature, fresh off the carcass even better, put in a skillet or on the grill on medium high to high heat cooked for 2-3 minutes on both sides. Even pink and a bit bloody, it is very good fair. (Cook times vary with the thickness of the meat.)

[RU shooter]

Try taking the tender lyon and slicing it super thing so thin you can see light threw it season it up and add some lemon juice. lay it on some wrap and cover it with some more wrap and press it with a rolling pin a few times. No cooking is needed try it you will be surprised.
Venison seveche ! That's a new one I've had regular seveche with seafood and it's delicious , Gonna have to try it next time . Was watching a travel /cooking show believe was anthony Bourdain was in Finland or Norway . Was reindeer back strap but close enough , back strap sliced about 1/8thick served raw and chilled with a nice pat of real butter and a sprinkle of sea salt on it . Tried it last year and it was actually really good .

[725]

Steaks I pound with the tenderizing hammer and dash of Adolph's Meat tenderizer. As noted above, not much. Marinade, rare on the grill. Of the many ways I do tenderloins, a good one is to slice into 1/4 - 1/2 inch "chops", salt & pepper, olive oil and a couple shots of bourbon. Pat the dry ingredients into the meat, make a "boat" of aluminum foil to hold it all and then wrap in foil all over. Bake at 180 or 190 for about 3 hours or until rare.

[redhawk0]

Backstraps I do in the broiler. I use no butter/no oil. But for a topping I make a Parmesan crust for it.

Makes 6-8 one inch thick pieces.

Take 2 Tablespoons butter and melt it down in a pan
Throw in some minced garlic and let it simmer a minute or two
Add 1 Tablespoon of flour as a thickener
Add 1/3 cup of grated Parmesan cheese and continuously stir. Wait until it starts to change from yellow to a light tan color. It will be very clumpy....if not...add a bit more cheese.

Set it aside.

Cut backstraps into 1" thick pieces and lay them out on a foil covered cookie sheet
Cook Backstrap pieces under the broiler for 4 minutes on one side...flip them over, broil the other side for 2 minutes...remove and add Parmesan mixture mounded up on each piece. Put back under broiler for another 2 minutes until the parm turns a nice golden brown color.

Enjoy.

redhawk

[redhawk0]

If you have a chewy deer.

Cut steaks into 3/8" by 2" pieces.
Heat a pan with Olive oil and add 1 Tablespoon of butter
Toss in the steak pieces and let cook for 5-6 minutes
Add 2 teaspoons of Southwest spices (Cajun spices work well too) Do not pour off any oil/grease
Once mixed well add 1/3 cup of Sour Cream and mix thoroughly.

Serve with Rice or potatoes

redhawk

[DLCTEX]

My last doeI cooked a backstrap by brining overnight, rinse, apply rub, and smoked at 225* for 4 hours. We had it for Christmas dinner and was the best ever. I use my Masterbuilt Smoker with apple wood and water in the pan to keep it moist.

[DLCTEX]

I get pork fat from my butcher for free and render it in my turkey fries. Put a little water in at the start to keep it from burning until some lard is rendered out. The water will boil away. Dip out any cracklings and strain the lard through cheese cloth. Can’t beat it for cooking oil.