Venison pie | Jamie Oliver recipes (2024)

FAQs

How do you cook venison so it's not tough? ›

Take great care not to overcook venison. As with all game, venison can become tough when overdone. Cook prime cuts like loin, haunch and saddle briefly on a high heat to medium-rare. Slow cook or casserole tougher parts like neck, shoulder and shank at a low temperature.

The best way that I've found to make sure a venison roast (bone-in or out) tender is to cook it in the crockpot or slow cooker on low for 8-9 hours, or until it is falling apart. If you cook it on low you won't dry it out. Please note that I don't recommend cooking this on high for 4-6 hours.

Cooks often find that the stronger flavor of wild game meat can make the meat difficult to season well. Herbs offer the perfect solution. Bay, juniper berries, rosemary, sage, savory, and sweet marjoram all pair well with venison, as well as many other wild game meats.

Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least four hours, and no more than 12, before proceeding to cook it as you normally would. The calcium in milk contains enzymes that will tenderize the meat, and the main protein in milk will neutralize the gamey flavor.

the 'gamey' taste is usually from the tallow and silver skin. Trim off ALL of the white tallow that looks like fat and the silver skin all you want is good red meat. Next DO NOT over cook, medium rare to medium at most. I grill mine low and slow, turning often.

1. Deer Camp Wild Game Seasoning. The hunt for the best venison seasoning is over. This robust blend features classic deer seasonings like sugar, garlic and paprika, with added earthiness from fennel and herbs to elevate your venison without overpowering it.

My favorite marinade/tenderizer is a cup of cold coffee, a tablespoon of brown sugar, and a teaspoon of Kosher salt. Let the meat soak in a ziplock for at least 15 minutes, a couple of hours in the fridge is even better. The acid in the coffee breaks down the meat and eliminates any gamey tastes.

While some hunters swear by certain soaking methods to take the “gamey” flavor away or bleed the meat after processing, others don't find it all that helpful. If you would like to try soaking your meat, instructions for a buttermilk soak can be found at The Backyard Pioneer.

Areas for working muscles include the shoulder and leg muscles. Working cuts of venison must be cooked for a relatively long time at a low temperature (220° to 325° F) to allow the connective tissue to breakdown. Once this happens you will get a fork-tender, flavor packed piece of meat.

For steaks, chops, and other thinner cuts, mechanical tenderizers are generally the best option. This includes crank or push-style cubers that use fine blades to sever the muscles into smaller lengths.

How is venison best cooked? ›

Step into any restaurant featuring a la chasse-themed menu, and you can expect to find classic pairings such as venison with cranberries, apples, celeriac, butternut squash, brussels sprouts or Belgium endive.

The gamey flavor of venison is a good match for flavors like apples, cherries, raspberries, cranberries, citrus fruits, peaches, pears, raisins, pomegranates, and dates. Try Venison and Cherry Pâté en Croûte, which uses both dried cherries and cherry liqueur.

Sometimes I combine ground venison and ground beef 50-50 to make a better mix for any recipe that calls for ground meat. If you do this, you can buy the cheaper ground beef that is a 75-25 mix of lean to fat, and when you add the leaner ground venison, you still get a pretty lean mix.

Venison behaves in many ways like beef, albeit very lean. You can cook the tender, steaky cuts of venison to the same doneness levels as you would beef, namely 130–135°F (54–57°C) for medium rare and 135–145°F (57–63°C) for medium. Hitting those temperatures just right is important for maximum enjoyment.

Soaking: The most common soaking liquids are buttermilk, saltwater, white milk, vinegar, lemon juice and lime juice. While some hunters swear by certain soaking methods to take the “gamey” flavor away or bleed the meat after processing, others don't find it all that helpful.