Many people have concerns about the flavor of venison, and worry about the “gamey” flavor. While it is true that venison has a different flavor than beef or pork, this is largely affected by handling, both in the field and at the processor.
For several years, my wife and children were adverse to consuming ground venison, complaining about the taste and texture. I tried several processors with varying success. Last year, I resolved to talk with a processor about ways to reduce the “gamey” taste, and after about a half-hour discussion, we decided to have some venison blended with Boston butt pork, and some with beef trimmings. Well, this was one of the best things I’ve ever done for having ground venison be transparent for consumption. In talking with the processor, they said added a small amount of either of these “blending” meats. The pork gave it a milder flavor, but the beef was just enough to enough to kill off the “gamey” flavor, making it perfect. From now on, my ground venison gets blended with a little bit of beef. Over the course of a year, our family ate every bit of ground meat that was put in the freezer.
Venison Recipes
Photo credit FotoosVanRobin
Of course, venison also yields the same cuts as beef, so you can have hams, steaks, or roasts prepared. Unfortunately, many people are intimidated by trying to cook venison, so they just have all the cuts made into venison jerky. While different than cooking beef, cooking venison is not substantially more challenging than cooking beef products. As we discussed before, the fat marbled through a beef steak contributed flavor and tenderness. By contrast, leaving fat in venison has a negative effect on the flavor and texture of your steak. That lack of fat, which provides such dramatic health benefits, also creates challenges when cooking venison, as most of us are accustomed to eating meats with higher fat content. Most experts suggest cooking venison steaks and roasts using slow, moist cooking methods, such as basting, braising, or cooking in a crock-pot. Acid-based marinades and rubs are also suggested. Two excellent sources of information can be found at BellaOnline and AskTheMeatMan. Two excellent sources for venison recipes are VenisonRecipes.net and Deerfarmer.com. For a more thorough treatment on venison recipes, I’d suggest The Complete Venison Cookbook
Many people also like to have specialty products made from venison. These include items such as summer sausage, bacon, breakfast sausage, and venison jerky. These can be excellent additions to the freezer, and give a nice change from the usual table fare in most homes. Be sure to talk to your butcher before having these products made. Every butcher has their own special recipe. Many of these things are made spicy hot, and you may want to be sure that you and your butcher agree on the definition of “spicy.”
My son just started hunting and got his first buck two weeks ago. I had only had venison summer sausage before. We sauteed a few slices of the tenderloin with olive oil, salt and cracked pepper, and I was converted on the spot. We are processing the first deer ourselves as the hunter teaching my son wanted him to learn the right way to process the meat from the field on.
This week we ground ($99 meat grinder from Lowes) a few pounds of odds and ends. I made meatloaf with Hunt’s Meatloaf mix sauce, breadcrumbs, an egg, and a ground onion. No special prep to deal with “gaminess” other than thorough washing. It was fantastic!
We have also had red wine marinated tenderloin with rosemary, thyme, and garlic.
We’re novices, but it seems like the lack of unpleasant flavor started at the hunt(quick kill) and the field dressing.
After reading all the nutrient information, frankly, I don’t plan to buy beef again unless we run out of venison.
Next up will be curried venison, Caribbean style, as soon as I find a good recipe.
Congragulations! I’m glad to hear of your son’s early success in the field. That success will make him more likely to continue.
I’ve got to say that I’m impressed that you undertook the task of boning it out from the outset. That’s a task most people aren’t willing to tackle right out of the gate.
And, if you find a good recipe for curried venison, pass it along. I’m always searching for new ideas and that sounds tasty!
I used to have my deer processed by others and noted the gamey taste, and some downright unfit to eat. I’ve had to throw out two entire deer because they were bad. After the second one, I bought a grinder and started doing everything myself. What a difference. I’ve not had one piece of gamey meat since that time. When my wife and I (really…what a prize she is!) process a deer, we discard all of the fat, veins, shot up portions, etc, everything but clean red meat. We also age it in a cooler of ice for about a week. We make steaks, roasts, barbeque, hamburger, sausage, tips, and country style steaks. We can’t tell it is venison, and neither do others who dine with us. I’m convinced that the processors don’t take the care of the meat that we do, because it’s too time consuming. If part is shot up, if it’s tainted from stomach fluid, all the glands and veins, it all goes into the mix. They can’t make a profit taking all that out. We grind the hamburger 100% lean. We put about 20-25% beef or pork fat in our sausage to fry better. The only real challenge is the steaks, but we found that soaking them in olive oil and grilling them with bacon around them with toothpicks helps keep them moist. Try doing it yourself; I’m confident you’ll like the venison better.
Great thoughts! I’ve processed a few myself. As you point out, it’s a great deal of work when done properly, but well worth the effort. Tried making summer sausage a few times, but that didn’t work out so well. I know I would be better off to buy an electric grinder to do it right, but haven’t gone that far yet. I’ve tried wrapping steaks in toothpicks, which turns out great. Never thought to try soaking in olive oil. I’ll have to give that a try.