VENISON RECIPES

Here is where we will dive deep into all things pertaining to venison recipes.

And I'm not just talking about whitetail deer meat, I'm also referring to elk, moose, antelope, mule deer, and sika deer.

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Venison just may be the most popular wild game meat throughout the world.

And I think most people at one time or another have had a bad experience with eating venison, myself included.

But that usually isn't the animal's fault. Most of the time it's from the hands of the deer hunter, cook, or butcher. Even if you process your own deer meat, sometimes things can go wrong.

A hunter can take longer than expected to recover the animal. A cook can either overcook or undercook the meat. Or the processor could have a poor storage environment. All of these issues can lead to the "gamey taste" that everyone dreads.

GUIDELINES FOR COOKING VENISON

FOR STEAKS, ROASTS AND CHOPS

As a general rule, you want to cook your venison steaks and roasts between a rare internal temperature (120 to 125 degrees F) and medium rare internal temperature (130 to 135 degrees F).

These cuts of meat are classified as backstraps (loins), tenderloins (inner loins), deer round steaks or (eye of round, top and bottom round), and the ball roast (football roast or rump roast).

There are two different ways to cook these cuts of meat: "hot and fast" or "low and slow."

You have two options to get a good sear on venison while using low-temperature cooking.

For the first option, sear the meat and then finish cooking it at a low temperature in the oven or smoker until you reach your desired doneness.

Second option: Another great method is to perform a "reverse sear". For this method you sear the meat a few degrees before it reaches the internal temperature you're after. You then let the meat rest at room temperature and carryover cook to the perfect doneness.

With either method your main goal is to not overcook the meat and the best way to mitigate that is by using an instant-read meat thermometer.

FOR SHANKS, NECKS, SHOULDERS AND FLANKS

Each of these cuts of venison needs to be prepared in a moist cooking environment at some point during the cooking process. With venison being a lean meat, it doesn't have any help from fat to help break down all of the connective tissue and silver skin.

So whether you want to make pulled smoked barbecue or mouth-tender venison stew meat, you're going to need to introduce moisture into the mix at some point.

The best way to do this is either braising the meat in your oven or (almost) perfect cooking the cuts in a slow cooker or crock pot.

Below is a collection of some of my best venison recipes, from easy-to-make family favorites to gourmet preparations for special occasions.