venison: what to do with it?

*Maya*

Haunch is the best joint for roasting but it is pricey. Shoulder can be roasted too but its like choosing between rib and topside of beef and you get what you pay for.

You can water down the juices or add cream if you must but I dont see why you want to. Venison is not very 'gamey' and the alternatives above (wine brandy redcurrant jelly) are good ones and will work better.

Pretani

*Maya* wrote: »

You can water down the juices or add cream if you must but I dont see why you want to. Venison is not very 'gamey' and the alternatives above (wine brandy redcurrant jelly) are good ones and will work better.

That's good to know. I thought it may be too strong for me.

Skint_Catt

Had venison for the first time yesterday at Mum's (roast dinner). It was lovely and not particularly strong - she did two very small joints for the four of us. It was just a slightly gamier taste than beef, but same texture and colour. The gavy she made with it wasn't at all strong and quite nice even though I'm not a big gravy fan!
Good luck and enjoy!

tripod2000

A little while ago my girlfriend had two deer butchered with flint tools for an archaeology experiment. We tried to have all parts of the two deer allocated for use before the experiment took place. This included a friend trying her hand at tanning, bones used for further experiments and most importantly the meat being eaten.

There was a lot of meat on these deers as I'm sure you can all imagine, it all has to be eaten at our own risk also because of the butchery method and environment. However it's beautiful meat that we refused to waste as these were magnificent wild deer.

My problem is that we have a whole deer's hind leg sitting in our freezer. We did not have time to butcher it further. My concern is that on defrosting the leg I will have 10lb odd of meat that has to be eaten or at least cooked in short time. We intend to throw a barbecue for friends (all are aware of meat eating risks) but was wondering on some recipes for the remaining meat that would use it up quickly or allow us to cook and refreeze safely.

After eating the rest of the meat it really would be a shame not to make the most of every part of this beautiful animal.

xxvickixx

This made fascinating reading it took me a while to get the tanning comment, I thought you meant fake tan and she was training to be a beautician lol! Sorry don't have any recipes though!

Penelope_Penguin

tripod2000 wrote: »

My problem is that we have a whole deer's hind leg sitting in our freezer. We did not have time to butcher it further. My concern is that on defrosting the leg I will have 10lb odd of meat that has to be eaten or at least cooked in short time. We intend to throw a barbecue for friends (all are aware of meat eating risks) but was wondering on some recipes for the remaining meat that would use it up quickly or allow us to cook and refreeze safely.

After eating the rest of the meat it really would be a shame not to make the most of every part of this beautiful animal.

What a lovley treat :T When my FIL asks us to help with his archaeology, we only get a flint or two

You could make a casserole, and that could then be frozen in more manageable portions for later.

Try this older thread on venison

Penny. x

champys

tripod2000 wrote: »

.

There was a lot of meat on these deers as I'm sure you can all imagine, it all has to be eaten at our own risk also because of the butchery method and environment. However it's beautiful meat that we refused to waste as these were magnificent wild deer.

My problem is that we have a whole deer's hind leg sitting in our freezer. We did not have time to butcher it further.
After eating the rest of the meat it really would be a shame not to make the most of every part of this beautiful animal.[/quot

Hmm - I live in the French Ardennes which is game country, and we are presented from time to time with what you could roughly call a haunch of venison by one of our neighbour 'chasseurs'. I don't know what shape your deer leg came in, but my DH has already had the experience of taking a hacksaw to it and cutting off hoof and furry parts (before freezing).
However, the meat has always been delicious! If the haunch or thigh bit fits your oven, all you really need to do (after thoroughly defrosting) is roast it at a fairy hot temperature like you would a leg of lamb. And just like a leg of lamb, it can be served medium and doesn't have to be 'well done'. Don't overcook it, it will get too dry and tough.
The leftovers of the roast will be great too - I'm trying to remember what I did with them last year, but I ended up with several batches of venison-something in the freezer that were extremely tasty. Must get my head around this again soon, because I have another deer leg sitting in my freezer as we speak (casually wrapped in newspaper).

Toonie

Venison makes a lovely stew, very nice with the addition of red wine to the sauce. You could make goulash and substitute the beef for venison.

"Barbecued bambi" is fantastic as it is or you could have a go at mincing the meat and make burgers.

You could also dice it up and make game pies, which when cooked can be frozen for later use.

tripod2000

Thanks.

The bambi bbq is a must. With the last leg we carved off the bone and wafted heat at it. After giving someone a piece I said might have been a bit too raw they ended up carving from the bone and eating completely raw. Doesn't seem the best way to eat it to me but each to their own. My parents have a mincer so I think some burgers are in call. My girlfriend and female house mate both have incredibly cold hands so I must teach them to make pasties of a kind and use some pie recipes here modified slightly. Maybe a chunk of leg also for a roast. The leg is much too large for our oven on the bone.

Very economical though. We had 2 prepared deer for £35 a piece. The fillets alone were worth it. As for using it all I did consider retting the sinews and tendons to make a bow (archery) string but unfortunatly did not have time to my shame.

becky2812

i roasted a venison joint for lunch yesterday and have half let still. I want to use this tonight for tea, but am unsure of the best way to reheat this?? any advice would be greatly appreciated, have got a friend over for tea and dont want to poison her!!!