Mostly all the meat we have in our freezer is deer or Elk. I am at a loss sometimes as to what to make with it. We have tenderloins, roasts, Steaks, all the usual cuts. If anyone has some good recipes they could share with me that would be great!
In my neck of the woods our white tail deer are frequently referred to as swamp mutton. For variety I sometimes season with rosemary. We often add 10% beef and or pork fat when grinding venison. Since we're not currently making our own candles or soap, I put the tallow trimmings into a winter bird feeder.Thank you for all the replies!
We do have a meat grinder, we process all our own meat so it was a must in this house I do actually have quite a bit of ground deer. My husband brews his own beer, and its amazing to marinate deer steaks in! Thankyou for the stew idea, I find it hard to flavor my deer recipes, they can get a little bland sometimes.
I use the same procedure...but little different ingredients. And I cook in a crock pot. I useWhen I had access to venison, I made this a lot. Now I make it with beef.
Venison and Ale Stew
Ingredients:
Flour (for dredging the meat)
2 lb. venison, cubed
1/4 c oil
1 c chopped onion
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
6 sprigs of parsley
1/2 tsp peppercorns
2-3 T dark molasses
3 c beef or venison stock
4-5 potatoes, pared and diced
1/2 tsp thyme (or 2-3 sprigs)
1 bay leaf
4-5 carrots, sliced
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
12 oz ale (or beer)
Directions:
1. Dredge meat cubes in flour.
2. Brown meat on all sides in oil.
3. Remove meat from pan, add garlic and onion and cook until light golden in color.
4. Use a teaball or cheesecloth, make a bouquet garni out of the parsley, thyme, peppercorns, and 1 bay leaf (I use fresh bay leaf, but dried works).
5. Put everything either in a crockpot or large dutch oven. Cover and bring to a soft boil. Reduce heat and simmer 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Correct seasoning. Thicken with additional flour, if desired. In a crockpot, cook on low or medium for 6-8 hours.
I don't know about elk, but we always prepared venison the same way one would eat beef. The only difference was my mom always warmed the plates in the oven (150-200) before serving to prevent tallow from forming on the plate before one was done. As much as I love venison, I do not like venison burgers unless the meat is 1/2 beef, 1/2 venison.