Hello, All! I'm the wife of an avid hunter, so I not only cook venison, but butcher it as well. Butchering your own not only saves money, but allows me to take care to trim the meat and I know exactly what is going into it, and what is being thrown away! I've been eating venison since I was a baby in Northern Vermont, and I never liked it until I learned a few "secrets" to preparing it correctly.
In response to a previous post...the fat and sinew of the venison are really what give it that "gamey" taste that many people don't like. My husband and I learned this from butchering videos, and also from a local hunting Guru that we are friends with who is affectionately known as "The Legend" around town. I am very careful to trim ALL the fat and silvery sinew, and leave only beautiful red meat. We also age our deer for 10-14 days in a large refrigerator, but I realize that unless you live in a very cold climate, or have a friend who owns a large apple farm and has a HUGE drive in commercial freezer (like we do) this is not feesible for many to do. It is a helpful step, but not a necessary step.
The poster who asked if you cook the deer in its own fat, I would give a resounding "NO!" unless you LIKE a real gamey taste. No one in my family (myself included) likes that taste, so I am very careful to trim the meat. It's a painstaking step, but well worth it when your non-venison eating friends rave about your roast, and are converted to game meat because of your hard work and effort! That is what I am most proud of! If you want to use fat, use butter or olive oil...that is all I use when I cook, and my venison turns out delicious every time. I cook roasts the same way I cook beef roasts...I'm a slow cooker fan, and use my favorite beef Pot Roast recipe.
Also, be sure to rinse the meat off before cooking to get rid of and blood or stray hairs...a valuable step I learned from watching Shemaine Nugent (wife of rocker Ted Nugent) do a cooking segment on Spirit of the Wild, Ted's hunting show on the Outdoor Channel.
I cook venison like any comparable cut of beef. I find that doe meat is more tender simply because male hormones tend to make the meat tougher. This is only my humble opinion. I marinade everything, and I find that we enjoy grilling our venison most, second only to sauteing in butter on the stove.
Thanks for letting me share my "unprofessional" opinions with all of you! Good luck to all in your venison cooking adventures! My husband just returned from the first day of muzzleloader with fresh backstraps to cook up (he was triumphant on the hunt!!) so I'll be going to cook now!
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A tip I've learned
Date: 2007-11-05 04:58 pm (UTC)In response to a previous post...the fat and sinew of the venison are really what give it that "gamey" taste that many people don't like. My husband and I learned this from butchering videos, and also from a local hunting Guru that we are friends with who is affectionately known as "The Legend" around town. I am very careful to trim ALL the fat and silvery sinew, and leave only beautiful red meat. We also age our deer for 10-14 days in a large refrigerator, but I realize that unless you live in a very cold climate, or have a friend who owns a large apple farm and has a HUGE drive in commercial freezer (like we do) this is not feesible for many to do. It is a helpful step, but not a necessary step.
The poster who asked if you cook the deer in its own fat, I would give a resounding "NO!" unless you LIKE a real gamey taste. No one in my family (myself included) likes that taste, so I am very careful to trim the meat. It's a painstaking step, but well worth it when your non-venison eating friends rave about your roast, and are converted to game meat because of your hard work and effort! That is what I am most proud of! If you want to use fat, use butter or olive oil...that is all I use when I cook, and my venison turns out delicious every time. I cook roasts the same way I cook beef roasts...I'm a slow cooker fan, and use my favorite beef Pot Roast recipe.
Also, be sure to rinse the meat off before cooking to get rid of and blood or stray hairs...a valuable step I learned from watching Shemaine Nugent (wife of rocker Ted Nugent) do a cooking segment on Spirit of the Wild, Ted's hunting show on the Outdoor Channel.
I cook venison like any comparable cut of beef. I find that doe meat is more tender simply because male hormones tend to make the meat tougher. This is only my humble opinion. I marinade everything, and I find that we enjoy grilling our venison most, second only to sauteing in butter on the stove.
Thanks for letting me share my "unprofessional" opinions with all of you! Good luck to all in your venison cooking adventures! My husband just returned from the first day of muzzleloader with fresh backstraps to cook up (he was triumphant on the hunt!!) so I'll be going to cook now!