BFE FOOD AND WINE
VENISON
Venison is a very lean red meat enjoyed all over Appalachia. The Whitetail Deer is the prevalent species encountered but the occasional Mule Deer pops up once is a blue moon.
Venison has an undeserved reputation of tasting "gamey" and even among those who hunt and eat venison regularly this belief is often held. It results is recipes calling for the meat to be soaked in beer, brine or other liquid to "extract" the gamey flavor. The sad truth is that even well experienced and accomplished deer hunters often don't understand how to properly field dress their kill. This results in the meat being contaminated by things that while not poisonous do add that off putting gamey flavor.
The first mistake usually made during field dressing is to either mishandle the scent glands found on the inside of the rear legs or to fail to remove them altogether. The contents of these glands are a strong and bitter fluid that deer rub onto trees and shrubs to mark them for various reasons. Leaving them intact is just allowing them to leech into the surrounding meat. Removing them is necessary but doing it bare handed gets the scent liquid on your hands and if you are not careful your field knife will pick some up and spread it around during the remainder of the field dressing process. I carry a few pairs of latex surgical gloves with me for this purpose. They are cheap when purchased in the 100 glove bulk box and I use the dickens out of them. The pair used to remove the scent glands is immediately discarded afterwards (Don't leave your trash in the woods, carry an extra plastic bag to haul out your trash) and the knife cleaned before proceeding.
The next and most common mistake is also the worst one. It seems like most hunters puncture the urinary bladder while removing the internal organs. This urine contamination is what most people are getting in their venison that makes it taste gamey. Once contaminated the meat cannot be effectively washed of it no matter how quickly one gets it to the water. No amount of soaking or marinating will cover this either. To backtrack slightly it is not just the main part of the bladder but rather the entire urinary tract that must be removed intact without puncturing it. To do this it is necessary to CAREFULLY break the interior surface of the pelvis where the urinary tract passes through to it's external opening. A surgical bone saw would be great for this but not very practical to obtain. The tip of a heavy bladed knife tapped in with the heel of the palm several times to perforate the bone WITHOUT penetrating into the urinary tract can weaken the pelvis enough to pry it open. Once the pelvis is broken the tract can be removed easily. I've also had good luck gently chipping the bone apart with a tomahawk.
The final and least problematic mistake is generally puncturing digestive and other miscellaneous organs during removal. As long as these nasty spatterings are washed off promptly they don't present much of a problem. Of course getting everything out intact is the most desirable outcome.
Assuming these three hurdles have been passed two last issues lurk in the shadows for those who pay to have their deer professionally processed instead of doing their own butchering. First, the ground meat one will receive from the processor will not necessarily be YOUR meat. As your deer is processed those scraps destined for the grinder are tossed in a pile. That pile is weighed then it is mixed with everyone else's scraps so it can all be ground at once. 5 lbs of your scrap gets you 5 lbs of communally ground meat. It's almost certain that a significant portion of the "other guy's" scrap will be contaminated and result in you getting gamey ground meat even if the rest of your venison is fine.
Second, one must pay attention to the temperature. If the weather is warmer than a refrigerator the deer needs to be processed and frozen the same day it is harvested. Many people "hang" their deer and let the carcass cool and go through riguer mortise before cutting it up. This is unnecessary but if you are taking it to a processor it's going to be hung just because the processors are usually so busy during deer season that it's just not possible for them to get to each deer right away. Processors often lack adequate refrigerator space to hang deer in until they can get to them. This means you have no way to know how long your deer may have been left hanging in higher than optimal (or even safe) temperatures. The colder the weather, the more leeway you have regarding speed of processing. If it's warm out I personally stop hunting until I have my deer butchered, packed and in the freezer.
PREPARING VENISON
Venison can be treated exactly like very lean beef in the kitchen or on the grill. Assuming it's been properly processed it can be eaten as rare or raw as you would eat any good cut of beef. If you like it well done it is naturally going to be tougher just like overcooked beef. Of course some cuts like the shanks tend toward the tough side. Tougher cuts lend themselves well to braising. I'm particularly fond of braised shanks where many people would just relegate this part in the grinder with their scraps for making ground deer.
The tenderloins are the choice cut and often considered the Hunter's Cut. Many non-hunting people get their venison from friends who hunt and hunters generally prefer to enjoy this cut themselves as opposed to sharing it out. If you do hunt your own venison or have a REALLLLY good friend who hunts and is willing to part with the "tenders" this is the cut to prepare in tartar (raw) dishes. It is also fantastic simply seared on the stove and served for breakfast like steak and eggs. Marinated lightly with jerk or bul go ki flavors and quickly seared over hot coals is our favorite.
The loins (also called backstraps) are next most prized and make excellent butterfly steaks. This cut is also best served on the rare side to preserve the venison flavor and stay tender. Save heavy marinades and spice rubs for the cheaper cuts and enjoy the natural taste of venison. About the heaviest flavor I like to use on loin is souvlaki marinade. The loin does make excellent souvlaki.
The hindquarters of a good sized deer will yield several different muscle groups that break down pretty well into "roasts". These roasts can be broken down further to make steaks, stew meat or other shapes and thicknesses. Partially frozen chucks can be shaved into stir fry meat. Stew size chucks can be skewered and grilled like shislik (shish kabob). Souvlaki marinade works well this way. I also like to use some curry flavors (not yellow curry). My two favorites for venison are Madras and Biryani. Besides grilling with these flavors venison also works well with them in more traditional Indian curry preparations (like braising in madras or biryani gravey).
Stir frying in a wok is also one of our mainstay uses for venison. Shaved thin on the bias and cooked super fast over high heat it comes out tender and works well with many Asian flavor profiles. Marinate with a little lite soy sauce and chili paste of you like it hot. For a more intense heat profile marinate in lite soy sauce and a little olive oil then heat oil in your wok. Once the wok oil is hot throw in some dried hot peppers and a little garlic for flavor. Let these singe into the oil quickly and fry your meat in it before the peppers and garlic can burn. Ginger and garlic also goes very well with venison stir fry, especially when served with stir fried broccoli florets. Just let the ginger and garlic flavor your oil then cook in it.
The front shoulders are best with the should blade bone left in and either braised or roasted. Making an herb rub with lots of fresh rosemary and roasting at about 300 degrees F for an hour give or take usually comes out very flavorful and tender. (Adjust cooking time to the size of the roast and feel free to drop down to 275F and go even longer. Low and slow, just like braising.) Braising the shoulder in red wine and mirepoix or in a more Greek inspired tomato, garlic and oregano braise both work great as well.
The neck is very difficult to remove the meat from and it truly is wonderful meat. Braising the neck until the meat is falling off the bone then letting it cool and "picking" it works best. This is also a good time to think about making venison chili instead of starting with ground meat.
Ground venison made from the scraps or even roasts makes great chili too. It's also popular in spaghetti sauce although this is one of my least favored applications for it. Many people make venison sausage and it does make very good bratwurst and keilbasa. I'm not at all fond of most commercial "venison sausage" prepackaged spice blends. They tend to be strong with juniper berries that really just cover up the flavor of the venison. I see no point in that.
Ground venison also makes great hamburgers and if you like can be combined with other meats for this. It is very lean so the addition of some fatty pork or even bacon is beneficial but not absolutely necessary. Mix in chopped onions, oregano and perhaps a bit of basil and cumin for something more like Gyro loaf. I actually make a "loaf" on the grill and slice it just like Gyro meat and serve the same way with lettuce, tomatoes and a tzatziki on a pita or flatbread, Sprinkle on a little crumbled feta cheese too.
The heart, liver, lungs and such are also edible although lung in particular is not consumed in the US. If one likes heart do as you would with beef heart. If you grind your own meat like we do the heart can be included in your ground meat and will not be noticeable at all. The heart is also the best part for making deer jerky because it has no fat at all. The liver is best fresh however you like your liver. The lungs are edible but I have to admit I just don't like the spongy/waxy texture. We will sometimes add the heart to our ground meat but all the rest of this stuff becomes dog food. More on this below but I have to talk about not wasting the bones first.
The bones. If you do your own butchering don't throw these out. While I am cutting and packaging I take all the meat I can reasonably get off the bones for making ground meat. There is still a lot of good meat left on there as well as the collagen within the bones. I have a BIG pot of simmering water on the stove while I'm processing and the bones go right in there to make stock. This includes the rib cages which I find have very little salvageable meat considering the amount of work involved in filleting them out. It's far easier to boil it off. The rib meat on a deer is pretty sparse to begin with and is sinewy so deer ribs on the grill are just not really terrific. Simmer or boil this all until the meat leaves the bones and the bones look dried and "bleached". Strain out the liquid, pour into freezable plastic containers in portion sizes you will find useful for stock applications and freeze them. Set aside as much of this as you care to spare for making dog food. If you'll use it all don't bother. Freeze it all. If you don't need any stock use it all for dog food. The dogs won't mind either way. Let the rest of the material cool then "pick" the meat from it and dispose of what's left. Your dogs will LOVE this.
Dogs, like coyotes and wolves, LOVE the soft organs of prey far more than the muscle tissue us 2 leggers call "meat". If you've been out in the field and seen cattle or other larger animals that have fallen prey, the first thing gone is the eyes and guts. Dogs are NOT vegans, not even poodles. They love these bits and pieces that we don't favor. Gather up all the lungs and other organs you don't want and grind, chop or chunk them up. Throw this all in a big pot with either the extra stock you made or add water and simmer/boil until cooked thoroughly. Add in the reserved meat you picked off the bones. Cook this down as much as you have time to. The more condensed you can get it the less filler you will need to thicken it up at the end. If you can cook it down enough it can be refrigerated and will set up just like "head cheese" with no thickener needed. If it's a bit looser you'll need to thicken it. Look around the pantry. Any bread, rolls, crackers, pretzels etc. that are not going to be consumed before they go stale can go right in the pot rather than waste them. None of that laying around or at least not enough of it? The next thing to start adding is oatmeal, grits, farina or other "hot" cereals. The amount of thickeners you add will depend on how much of the stock you used. If you run out of these things any corn flakes or other "cold" cereals can be added then if you have cornmeal you should be able to finish it up by thinking of it as polenta. It shouldn't take much. The end consistency should be like a bread pudding. Depending on how many dogs you have and how big they are you need to judge how fast this will be consumed and freeze any excess in portions you can defrost and have consumed before they spoil. If you have cats I suspect they will love this too. You'll just need to portion and freeze proportionally. No pets at all? Your neighbors dogs/cats will love it or your local animal shelter should be happy for the donation. Of course you could just leave it lay out in a field for the coyotes and wolves.