Venison Season

                                                                   Venison Season

The week after thanksgiving here is a PA national holiday. For those not getting what that means, it's the first day of buck season for rifle! Archery is in a couple weeks before hand, but rifle season is long anticipated by all the hunters. We don't hunt anymore, mostly because we are fortunate enough to have family and friends who love to hunt but don't want all their meat and share with us. It's no longer fun to kill things, and I only ever hunted for the meat anyway. Never cared about antlers, I can't eat them. Besides, the older I get, I'm not overly fond of freezing my behind off and being in crappy weather to bag one, either. We just wrapped and froze some of the fresh venison from this week, and thought I'd share a couple ways I make it in various cuts. Our meat isn't usually gamey here. If it is, I soak the meat in milk in a gallon ziplock bag in the fridge overnight. It does two things, gets rid of the gaminess and tenderizes the cut.

Roast Venison

Above was a roast I did, sauteing onions and mushrooms and garlic in butter first, then searing the roast good on all sides to lock the moisture in before transferring to the oven or crockpot. I seasoned with rosemary, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper and deglazed after the sear with a merlot. Roast carrots, potatoes and lime beans and cinnamon applesauce will complete the meal. Venison is a fragile red meat, roast low and slow or it will dry out and be tough; I did this one for a couple hours  around 300-325. 

Another favorite for this cold weather is a nice venison stew.

Venison Stew

 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

 2 pounds venison stew meat

 3 onions, chopped

 2 cloves garlic, minced

 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

 1 bay leaf

 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

 1 tablespoon salt

 3 cups water

 7 small potatoes, peeled and quartered

 1 pound carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces

 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

 1/4 cup water

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Directions

In a skillet, deeply brown the meat in oil. Add onions, garlic. Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, oregano, salt, and water. Simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until meat is tender.

Add potatoes and carrots; cook until tender.

Combine flour and water. Stir into the stew. Remove bay leaf before serving.

Venison Chip Steaks and Tenderloins

These are simple, tender and delicious and should never be overdone, in my opinion. I sear them quickly (they cook fast so be careful) in a little butter and usually with onions, a touch of garlic, slat and pepper. They just don't need any more then that and are so good.

Venison Steaks

I like to do these a couple ways. Some times just grilled and seasoned, be careful, they cook quickly.

Another way is to do swiss steak with them. They're great with creamed potatoes, brown rice or noodles

Ingredients

12 to 14 oz venison cube steak

1/4 c whole wheat flour

 1 medium onion, cut into wedges

 2 medium carrots, slices

1 quart stewed tomatoes

   

Directions

Dredge venison in flour and brown in large, deep nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add onions, carrots, and tomatoes. If mixtures seems dry, add water or beef stock .Also add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to medium low. Cook until meat is tender, about 1 hour.