photo source: The Happy Housewife
While neither I nor my husband are hunters, nor anyone in the immediate family either, I do have several friends who are able to offset their food costs through hunting. And we’ve been the happy recipients of venison or wild boar sausage on one or two occasions.
Hubs isn’t a huge fan of game, but I had a chance to try different meats when I lived in France. I guess I acquired a taste for duck, rabbit, and venison there. So, I sometimes order it when we go out to fancier restaurants.
But, some of you may have a wealth of venison on your hands. I have known many a wife who struggled with a freezer full of meat. So, here are some recipes for you to try. I’ve never tried them myself since I don’t have any venison to cook! But, they all come from trusted resources.
Roasted Venison :: Epicurious
Tips for Cooking Venison :: Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures
Venison Sauerbraten :: Simply Recipes
Balsamic-Glazed Rack of Venison :: Food and Wine
How to Age Venison :: Georgia Pelligrini
Venison Marinade for Steak Lovers :: The Happy Housewife
Got a favorite venison recipe?
Feel free to share the link in the comments.
Katie says
Yeah! My husband loves to hunt deer and I love to use in it place of hamburger in most all recipes. This is a great resource for all the other meat we don’t grind into burger. Thanks!
Lori says
My husband managed to get two this year! YAY! We pretty much use it as if it was beef…ground, stew, steak…
This is an awesome resource though – thanks so much!
Emily says
My sister sent me a recipe called “No Peek Beef Tips” (from Mommy’sKitchen.com)…and it works GREAT for venison! You basically dice up 2 pounds of meat, add a can of mushroom soup, a pack of gravy mix, a pack of onion soup mix, and a cup of water, and some mushrooms if you like them. Pour it into a 13X9, cover tightly with foil, and bake for 3 hours at 300 degrees. SO EASY, and it comes out tender and delicious every time! I like to serve it over egg noodles.
I did try it in the crockpot but it came out way too watery… maybe it would work if you eliminated the water, but I haven’t tried it.
Wendy (The Local Cook) says
I grew up in a family that hunted so I’ve always had venison. I think of it as a lean beef. Here’s a post I wrote about it: http://thelocalcook.com/2010/11/23/how-to-cook-with-venison/ (with links to some recipes)
Shannon says
We have pounds and pounds of ground elk and venison in the freezer and I just adapted a sausage pancake muffin recipe from Heavenly Homemaker using elk breakfast sausage. It’s taken me quite a while to develop a taste for it but during this tricky time in our life it’s perfect for replacing ground beef in almost everything.
Jane says
My mom would pressure cook it with onions, celery, worcestershire sauce, and tomato sauce. We’d eat that for dinner one night with the leftover getting chopped and put into chili the next day. No one ever guessed that the big chunks of meat were venison and the pressure cooking worked well if it was an older deer.
She also used to slice it really thin and fry it with onions and worcestershire (sp?) sauce.
I do miss the venison now that dad is gone and I know of no one who hunts. It also made the best sausage!
Deborah Jennings says
The best Chili I ever ate was made from venison. You can make anything with venison that you can with beef. My mother and step-dad used to hunt. We ate a lot of venison.
Jessica says
We were given a few pounds of ground venison this year. I did not grow up eating venison so wasn’t sure if we would like it or not. Turns out we all loved it!
I googled venison recipes and searched a few recipe sites and wound up with some big hits. Our favorite was probably the Venison Spinach Quiche. I purposely tried to find recipes that would enhance not mask the flavor of the venison. I did pay more attention to seasoning while cooking the meat and I think that helped. My kids never balked or complained and ate every single dish made with venison with as much gusto as if it were hamburger.
Kim R says
My husband gets a deer every year. Sometimes we get extra from other people too. I use it just like beef. Great in Chinese recipes that you marinate, even if it is only15 minutes. I also canned some of the tougher steaks last year with some onions and garlic. It was fantastic. So tender. I empty the jar into a frying pan and crumble and add our favorite BBQ sauce. Taste just like BBQ beef sandwiches. Venison is great to use for beef recipes. It absorbs flavors you add. We love venison, even our children.
Dayna W says
We use venison in place of beef. If the venison tastes “gamey” to you, you can soak it in milk. We’ve never had a problem with gamey meat, but some people have, depending on what the deer are eating. Where we go, the deer eat the same thing as the cow so they have a similar flavor. Venison is a LOT leaner than beef. Just think of it as free range, hormone free beef. lol