venison: what to do with it?

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Hi becky,

Just treat venison as you would the same cut of beef. Chop it and use it in a pie, slice it and reheat it in gravy, slow cook it to make a stew. As long as it was cooled fairly quickly and kept in the fridge and then reheated until it's piping hot, there shouldn't be any problem with poisoning.

This thread might give you some ideas:

leftover beef ???

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mooomin

Hi OS folk

I have a lump of venison lurking in my freezer that I would like to have for dinner on Sunday. It's a reasonable size and I have no idea which part of Bambi it's from. My dad got it from a friend of his so it's just sitting mysteriously in a plastic bag :rotfl:

I did a little search, but found recipes full of terms like "braising" and "marinate". I can cook, in fact I consider myself to be not too bad, but I don't know much terminology and would be forever grateful if you could provide muppet-proof recipes for me! I am at my happiest when I have a recipe to follow step by step.

I have an oven and a slow cooker (As I have heard that venison is quite gamey I thought this might be the best bet) to use.

Any help you could give would be gratefully appreciated.

f_f

hotcookie101

Yum to venison. Difficult to know best way to cook it if unknown what part it is. Best to cook it slowly in case you try and roast it and its a tough old bit. I would sear it over a highish heat, then fry/saute some onions or whole shallots, add some soaked wild mushrooms and the soaking liquid and a touch of red wine. Cook in a low oven (I don't really get on with stews in SC, find them bland and tasteless) for a few hours. You could add a couple of juniper berries too.
PS it might be really nice if you marinade(soak) it in the red wine and juniper for a few hours or ideally overnight before you cook it. This was of cooking slowly in a low oven is braising.
Oh and a spoonful or two of redcurrant jelly near the end will improve the sauce. You can thicken with arrowroot mixed with water if too runny.
Other option is venison pie/stew type thing-again cook long and slow, chop meat into chunks, add mushrooms chestnuts and guinness

Meadows

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/glossary/ Basic techniques

http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/learnt-about-venison-meat-cooking-692398.html

http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/learnt-about-venison-meat-cooking-692398.html

Google Vension Recipes for ideas


Braising (from the French “braiser”), is a combination cooking method using both moist and dry heat; typically the food is first seared at a high temperature and then finished in a covered pot with a variable amount of liquid, resulting in a particular flavour. Braising of meat is often referred to as pot roasting, though some authors make a distinction between the two methods based on whether or not additional liquid is added.


Marination, also known as marinating, is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. The origins of the word allude to the use of brine (aqua marina) in the pickling process, which led to the technique of adding flavor by immersion in liquid. The liquid in question, the 'marinade' can be acidic with ingredients such as vinegar, lemon juice, or wine, or savory with soy sauce, brine or other prepared sauces. Along with these liquids, a marinade often contains oils, herbs, and spices to further flavor the food items.
It is commonly used to flavor foods. The process may last seconds or days. Different marinades are used in different cuisines. For example, in Indian cuisine the marinade is usually prepared with yoghurt and spices.

brownhandbag

I treat it as a slow cooked leg of lamb. Put garlic into the joint, stabbing holes with a knife, then add a half bottle of red wine and cover with foil. Cook in oven long and low removing foil for last hour. The meat will drop off the bone and be delicious! Make a gravy from the wine juices, with a little cornflour and red/blackcurrant jelly.
A nice onion sauce will be good to serve and some kettle crisps warmed in the oven.
Next day use for sarnies with some horseradish,
Good luck!

squeaky

The last venison that I was lucky enough to have I cooked in the slow cooker.

I used delia's recipe for duck in red wine (without the duck ) and it was absolutely fabulous.

mon1o

ok so heres the tale - nextdoor goes off camping one weekend and comes home with a deer he found dead at the side of the road. makes a stew hubby loves it and decides we can now afford to buy venison :eek: so off to the butcher i go £3.50 for 1 venison steak and of course hubby decides its better we get 1 each :eek: so now i need to cook the darn things because theres not a chance in hell im letting them go off (granted bbd is 4th nov!) so how on earth do i cook them?? frying? oven? slow cooker? ive no idea.

i think ive seen on masterchef that its eaten very rare - im not good with rare meat so its gonna be tough however i end up cooking it. As you can see theres only me thats mse-like in this house hubby and the kids still wont show me where this money tree is!

thanks in advance
Monica

Pink.

Hi mon1o

Venison steaks are not unlike beef steaks. There will be cuts that are beat suited to long slow cooking while other cuts will be better suited to quick cooking. I would cook it as you normally would a beef steak, so if you like it well done then just do that.

This thread may help:

venison: what to do with it?

I'll add your thread to that one once you've had some more replies to keep the suggestions together.

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valk_scot

My butcher does packs of stewing game meat (rabbit, venison, game bird) or plain venison which are about £3-£4 per pound. They're tougher parts than the steak but if you give them long slow cooking they turn really tender and delicious. I use half game meat, half stewing beef in a stew with Guinness or red wine, dried and fresh mushrooms, tomato puree, onions and carrots, with a few juniper berries for flavour. We have this with mashed potato and red or buttered Savoy cabbage. It's not an everyday meal but it's a nice treat for cold winter weekends and not as expensive as you might think for venison.

As to cooking venison steaks yes, as good beef steak. But they're not worth the extra cash imho.

bitsandpieces

I got about a pound of venison mince on offer. Any ideas what to do with it? I was thinking of burgers, unless there's something more imaginative.