Venison is one of the most tender and flavorful wild game meats. Coming from deer, many hunters hope to kill several deer a season in order to stock a freezer full of this delicious steak-like meat.
Preparing of venison is dependent upon palates of the diner. Some say you don’t have to season while others say a light season helps to pack in the taste. One thing we know for sure is that there are a variety of methods one can use when cooking venison.
Venison that stays on a dead carcass for too long can become quite tough to eat, which is why you want to have it cut, skinned, wrapped and refrigerated quickly.
In order to preserve that flavor and take out some of the gaminess in the taste, you want to age it for about 10-14 days after being dressed out. This helps to dry the meat.
As well, it is often ideal to trim away excess fat. Beef fat often contains the most taste, but that is not true for venison meat.
Marinating Venison
It’s always smart (and tasty) to marinate meat with your favorite flavors. Marinating meat is best when you let the meat rest in the marinade overnight. For venison, flavoring can make the meat tender and a variety of seasonings can accentuate the taste of venison.
Marinade blends could be:
Simple – any brand of Italian dressing or a mixture of ½ cup of vinegar and olive oil with garlic and brown mustard.
BBQ flavor – you can use a store bought brand or make your own with onion sautéed in butter, ketchup, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar and chili powder.
Citrus – citrus flavors take the gaminess out of the meat. You can make a citrus marinade of lime juice, olive oil, chopped cilantro, minced green chili and ground cumin.
For a smoky flavor, venison steaks should be cooked to a medium-rare or rare with an internal temperature of 145 to 150 degrees.
You can also slow cook venison as a roast in the crock-pot. Cooking on low heat for at least 8 hours will make the meat incredibly tender.
Samuelson Outfitters offers exceptional guided hunts in Fraser, CO. You can contact us to learn more about joining us for an amazing experience hunting deer and other wild game.