Venison Recipes

Venison is one of the healthiest meats you can eat because it has very little fat. The fat on a deer is not marbled throughout the meat like beef or pork but is almost exclusively found outside of the meat, although there is some in the interstice between muscle groups. For those on a low fat diet because of heart disease risk, weight concerns, or arthritic concerns, venison is probably the best meat other than fish. It is difficult to make a "hamburger" from ground venison because it has so little fat that it doesn't hang together. Some people add pork to their ground venison to provide extra fat, but then it no longer qualifies as a health food. The commercially prepared venison sausage is great tasting, but much fat is added.

Three of our favorite recipes are the marinated steak, jerky, and the venison stew. The steak is best when made from back strap, but any steak is acceptable. My brother-in-law who is finicky about what he eats, after three helpings of marinated steak asked, "Man, this meat is good. What kind is it?" When he was told it was venison, he put his fork down and refused to have another bite. I hope your prejudices don't prevent you from enjoying these venison recipes.

There are many jerky recipes and commercial seasoning packets to make jerky. We prefer the recipe listed. The problem with jerky is that the dried meat is so concentrated. It is "addictive", you can eat the equivalent of two or three pounds of meat at a sitting without feeling full. Not good for battling the bulge.

In my opinion the venison stew recipe requires dumplings to be complete. Occasionally the wife balks at making dumplings, but this is always a disappointment.

Venison Steak Marinade

1-1.5 lbs sliced venison steak, about 1/4" thick
1/4 C pineapple juice
1/2 C low sodium soy sauce
1/4 C olive oil
1/4 C minced onion
1/2 a clove of garlic crushed
1 T sugar
Combine the ingredients in a Glad "Stand & Zip" plastic bag. Mix well. Add meat slices individually so that the marinade reaches all sides of the meat. Close the bag, minimizing the air in it. Knead the bag periodically to make sure the meat is saturated and in contact with the marinade. Let it marinate for 3 hrs. or overnight (refrigerated).

Cook the meat in a frying pan under low to medium heat (rolling boil of the juices), turning frequently until the juices congeal to a thin paste. Turn off the heat and coat each piece of meat with the congealed liquid as it is removed. Any extra paste is scooped out and placed on the meat. The rest of the marinade may be added to the pan and boiled a several minutes to be used as a gravy. Serve with brown rice, white rice, or mashed potatoes.

Dumplings for Venison Stew

1 C sifted flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 T olive oil
1/3 C milk (skim works fine)
1 egg, beaten
Sift together in a bowl: flour, baking powder, and salt. Blend in oil until the mixture is crumbly. Pour in milk, then add egg. Mix only until flour is dampened (the dough should be lumpy). Drop by spoonfuls on top of boiling stew. Cover tightly and steam (simmer) 12 min. without removing cover. Enjoy your stew!

Pepper Steak

1 lb. venison steak cut into slices 3/8" thick
2-4 garlic cloves diced
1 1/2 C beef broth
1 C sliced onion
2 green peppers cut in strips
2 T corn starch
1/4 C water
1/4 C soy sauce
2 large tomatoes cut in 8ths
Sprinkle venison with paprika and brown. Add the garlic cloves and beef broth. Simmer 30 min. Add the onion and green pepper and cook 5 more minutes. Blend the corn starch, water, and soy sauce and cook until thickened (about 2 min.). Add the tomatoes and allow them to heat thoroughly.

Venison Jerky

1/4 C liquid smoke
1 1/2 C low sodium soy sauce
3/4 C dark brown sugar
1.5-2 lbs venison steak trimmed of all fat and gristle
Mix the ingredients, stir, and let stand while you cut up your meat. Cut the meat into strips no more than 1/8" thick and a maxim of 1" in. wide. If the meat is partially frozen it is much easier to cut it into thin strips. Marinate the meat with the sauce mixture in a Glad "Stand & zip" plastic bag overnight. Squeeze the air out of the bag as you close it, and knead the bag several times to make sure that all the meat has had good contact with the liquid.

Dry the meat in a dehydrator or the oven to a firm leathery consistency, but not crisp. If the oven is used, set the thermostat at the lowest temperature, no more than 150 Deg. Store the jerky for long periods in the freezer.

Venison Stew

1 lb. venison stew meat
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 t salt
1 t beef soup base
1/4 t pepper
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t lemon juice
2 or 3 bay leaves
4 C hot water
About 3 medium carrots sliced
2 or 3 potatoes cut up
1 C celery diced
1 C frozen peas
1 C lima beans (optional)
Brown the venison on all sides with the garlic in hot oil.
Add salt, pepper, W. sauce, lemon juice, bay leaves and 2 C hot water. Cover and simmer 2 hrs. with occasional stirring. Remove bay leaves, add 2 more C water, potatoes, carrots, and celery. Continue cooking (simmer) 20 min., during which time mix up the dumpling dough. Then add the peas to the stew and prepare thickening by mixing 1/4 C flour and 1/2 C water until smooth. Add the mixture in small portions at a time to the boiling stew with stirring until the desired thickness is obtained. Taste at this time to see if more beef soup base is required. See the dumpling recipe for the conclusion.
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We hope these recipes help you enjoy your venison. In addition to these recipes we use ground venison in any recipe in place of hamburger. Also cooking a venison roast along with carrots, potatoes, and onions in a small cooking bag in the oven as you would a beef roast is very tasty. Alternatively, when the roasting is done in a slow cooker with cooking time the same as beef the results are excellent.