how to cook deer

[canesisters]

Ok - I just MIGHT have gotten in over my head.

One of my customers told me this morning that he spent the whole Thanksgiving weekend hunting. I was teasing and said "And you didn't bring me anything!"
To which he replied "You want some deer?"
It was at that point that some unknown other person took possission of my head and the words "Well, if you have some you don't want I'd love to have it" came out of my mouth.

My customer was thrilled and said that he would bring me a whole cooler of meat on Monday.
Unfortunately, the person in my head left at that point - I'm sure SHE knew what to do with a cooler full of deer or she wouldn't have been so quick to agree to this. However I don't have a clue what to do with it. I've had it a couple of times and have NOTHING against eating 'bambi'.

But I've also heard all my life - "it depends on how you cook it - if you don't do it right, it's terrible"

HELP! I'm gonna get a whole freezer full of meat

and not be able to do anything with it.

(He said he was going to 'soak it' and 'salt it' over the weekend.)

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Being a backwoods boy, my favorite is fried. The EASIEST way to do deer, especially the front shoulders, is to put it in a foil covered pan & bake it in the oven at 225 degrees for 6 hours. The meat will flake off of the bone. You can make barbecue, soups, sandwiches, or add some to ANYTHING you cook. It's delicious!

 

[StupidBird]

any lamb recipe generally works, or any recipe for slow, moist cooking will keep the very lean meat tender. The backstrap/tenderloin must be wrapped in your best bacon, gently seasoned with salt, pepper and fresh rosemary, and roasted low to medium rare.

 

[dfr1973]

Quote:
I'm partial to backstrap sliced into thin medallions, beaten with a mallet, dipped in milk then dredged in my secret flour/seasoning mix, and fried in the cast iron skillet in bacon grease.

At least we agree on the bacon part!

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

If you can cook a cow you can cook a deer the same. The doing it wrong things comes from cleaning not cooking.

 

[Imp]

Quote:
Yummy,

It's been a long time since I had any venison. Wish I had your dilemmma.

Like Sir Bird says. My favorite was always the thinly sliced, breaded and pan fried; like a chicken fried steak. Other than that pretty much like beef. Younger deer are usually more tender. So for younger and tender cuts I'd cook like beef steak. Tougher pieces I'd cook longer with some kind of liquid. Venison is lean and can be kind of gamey tasting, so it can take stronger seasonings , if you like that. As a last resort, when I was a kid, everthing else was made into jerky.

Imp

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

We've had a big year for acorns here in the south. The acorns, to me, ruins the taste of deer. To remove a bunch of the "gamey" taste from too many acorns, I soak in cola overnight.

 

[oldchickenlady]

Deer meat is very dry so you can't cook it like most regular beef or pork. Also it hasn't been 'aged' like commercial beef so will be more tough if not cooked right. I always 'age' my meat on ice in an ice chest for at least 4-5 days first. This can be done in fridge if you have room. Then I go over all the meat and remove as much membranes, tendons, etc as possible. What you do next depends on what cuts of meat you have. Steaks, hamburger or sausage, stew meat, or jerky are what I usually do with it. If he brought it to you already processed it will be much easier...if not then you will need more info on how to process it. What did you get?

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Send it to me???

Yummy.....cooked like everyone has mentioned. Or made into Jerky or..............delish venison sausage (I'll be right over

)




When you find the woman who was in your head - give her a hug

She is a quick thinker.

 

[carolinagirl58]

Deer has very little fat so you must cook it in such a way that it does not dry out. Otherwise, anything you can do with beef, you can do with deer. If you are frying it, cut the steaks across the grain or it may be tough.