Venison Recipes: Oh, Deer.

Venison recipes abound. However, somehow the
idea has grown that venison has to hang for awhile
to be edible. Not so. There’s nothing as good on the
table as fresh venison; especially in camp where
everything tastes better anyway.

When I first started deer hunting, New York had a special party tag. Any group of four hunters could get a fifth tag, to take a deer for camp meat.

That’s when I learned how good properly cleaned and prepared fresh deer could be, with many venison recipes to choose from. My group always put in for a party tag. Whoever got to the cabin first would try and fill that tag, and we’d have fresh meat for the week.

It’s rare, nowadays, that I hunt out of a camp. My friends and I hunt locally, and spend the nights at home. Still and all, we celebrate the first deer of the season with a group dinner. It’s not a bad tradition. One thing that bothers me, though, is the amount of deer liver that gets wasted. Most hunters leave it behind when field-dressing their deer. That’s a shame, because it makes one of the best hunt-morning breakfasts you can imagine.

Venison Recipes: Fresh Deer Liver

Slice the liver thinly, removing all tendons, membranes, and any blood-shot sections. Put the liver slices in a plastic bag, fill with water, and chill overnight. Next morning, drain and dry the liver.

Cook enough bacon to serve each person. Drain all but a few tablespoons of the grease.

In another plastic bag combine flour, salt, and pepper. Add a few slices of liver and shake. Remove from bag, shaking off any loose flour.

Fry quickly at high heat, no more than 1 minute per side. Liver should be on the rare side, or it tastes like shoe leather.

Serve hot with home-fried potatoes and eggs cooked to order. As with any animal, the tenderloins are the most tender part of a deer. Usually they’re too small to feed a crowd. I usually think of them as the reward for whoever butchers the deer. But they do make a nice appetizer in deer camp.

Venison Recipes: Medallion Appetizer

Cut the tenderloins into slices, about 5/8th inch thick. Melt some butter in a skillet, and a two or three garlic cloves, minced, until soft. Season the medallions with salt and pepper, and sauté until cooked through, turning once.

Alternatively, if you have fresh rosemary available, substitute a few springs of it for the garlic.

Here are some additional venison recipes equally suitable for camp or home: These are great just the way they are. For a fancier presentation, open a can of crab meat. Mix it a la crab imperial, and sandwich some of the crab between two medallions.

Venison Recipes: Deerstalker Pie

2-3 cups cooked venison, cubed 4 slices bacon 2 onions, chopped 2 carrots shredded Butter 1 cup thin brown sauce ¼ cup red wine Salt and pepper 2 cups mashed potatoes

Put venison in baking dish. Fry bacon, crumble it, and add to venison. Sauté onions & carrots in bacon fat over medium heat until onions are soft. Add to meat.

Mix red wine with sauce and over meat and vegetable mixture. Cover with a layer of mashed potatoes, leaving an opening in the middle. Dot with butter and bake at 400 degrees until top is browned, about 25 minutes.

Venison Recipes: Red Whiskey Deer Chops

6 venison chops about ¾ inch thick 1 onion, finely chopped Tarragon Vinegar Dash hot sauce 1 tsp hot mustard Dash Worcestershire sauce Chili sauce to taste ½ cup bourbon

In a heavy skillet, simmer the chops and onion covered with ¼ inch tarragon vinegar until chops are tender. Set aside and keep warm.

Add remaining ingredients except bourbon and stir until the mixture is thick, adding more vinegar or chili sauce as needed. Cook over low heat until sauce is thick enough.

Spread both sides of chops generously, place in a shallow pan, and pour the bourbon over them.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees, 1 ½ hours, basting occasionally with the sauce.

Venison Recipes: Cranberry Deer Pot Roast

2-3 lb venison roast 1 stalk celery, chopped 1 tbls sweet herbs (parsley, basil, tarragon) 1 tbls maple sugar 1 small onion, chopped 1 ½ cups cranberries 1 tsp nutmeg 2 cloves 1-1 ½ cups apple cider Salt and pepper to taste Flour Oil

Sprinkle meat with salt & pepper. Dust with flour.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, sear the meat on all sides until hot. Set aside.

Sauté onions and celery until tender. Add balance of ingredients. Return meat to pot.

Simmer until meat is soft, about two hours.

Venison Recipes: Sweet & Sour Venison Meatballs

1 ½ lbs ground venison 2 tsp salt ½ tsp pepper 5 tbls flour 1 cup oil 3 green peppers, diced 3 eggs 1 ¼ cups beef broth or venison stock 1 ½ cups pineapple chunks 3 tbls cornstarch 1 tbls soy sauce 1/3 cup cider vinegar ½ cup sugar

Mix together the ground venison, 1 teaspoon salt, and the pepper. Shape into 24 balls.

Mix together the eggs, flour and remaining salt. Dip meatballs in batter and brown in oil.

Remove balls and pour off all but two tablespoons oil. Add broth, pineapple, and green pepper. Boil, covered, for ten minutes and return meatballs to pot. Let simmer until meatballs are cooked through.

Just before serving add cornstarch, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar until sauce thickens.

Venison Recipes: Stir Fried Venison and Mushrooms

1 cup rice 1 lb venison, in half-inch cubes 2 tbls soy sauce 2 tbls sweet red wine 2 tsp cornstarch ¼ tsp ginger powder Pinch salt Pinch garlic powder 7 tbls butter, divided 1 lb mushrooms 1 large onion 1 cup frozen peas, thawed

About half an hour before serving prepare rice as directed; keep warm.

In a medium bowl mix the venison, soy sauce, wine, cornstarch, ginger, salt and garlic powder. Set aside.

Thinly slice mushrooms and onions.

In a medium skillet melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Increase heat to high and cook the mushrooms and onions, stirring frequently until mushrooms are tender, about two minutes. Remove mixture to a bowl.

In the same skillet melt the remaining butter and cook the venison mixture, stirring quickly and frequently until tender. Return mushroom mixture to skillet, add peas and heat through.

Serve with the rice.