Venison

[fifi]

I have to say that I like Dave's idea better. Smoking first and cooking later would probably disperse the smoke flavor better. After smoking, I would consider doing it in a LC with the lid on.

You could still do the molasses glaze. The Nephew really likes that glaze for venison.

[Smithy]

HELP!!!! (yes, I am shouting).

This is on the table on my deck and I need to take care of it.  Advice, please!

I have until Thursday morning when I leave for a long weekend.  Fortunately it is cold outside.

It is two fore and two rear-quarters of a little doe.  All manner of knives and power tools available.

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Sorry I didn't see this sooner, and sorry I won't be much help. I think the DNR is recommending boning all the deer. If you have time, check that recommendation before going to the trouble. Cut off the shanks (per Fifi). If you do have to bone, it's best to cut through joints instead of through the bones themselves. I did that last year, anyway. Last year I was flying blind on this. It seems to me that the muscle groups more or less presented themselves into logical roasts, and I broke the roasts out into sizes appropriate for our family. Last night I cooked up one of the roasts, labeled "rump roast", and I'd say it was about 2 lbs before cooking.

If the roasts look too big, or ungainly, then you can cut across the grain to make steaks.

There will be a lot of odd bits of meat left over from trimming, especially if you bone. Those become stew meat pieces.

Wrap each carefully in butcher paper, taking care to squeeze out all air. Wrap each several different ways to ensure a good seal. Label them. Enjoy.

FWIW, yesterday morning I cooked up the rump roast in question, and I'm pleased with the results - especially considering I was making it up as I went along. I stuck a bunch of garlic cloves into slits in that roast, then rubbed it with a mixture of sweet paprika, hot paprika, black pepper, white pepper and salt. I melted bacon fat in the appropriately sized Le Creuset, threw in a couple tsp cumin seeds, let them sizzle a bit, browned the meat, tossed in a red onion that had been cut into 8ths, let that soften a bit, then deglazed the lot with red wine. I added more red wine, red wine vinegar, water to the proper braising height (about 1/4 of the roast's thickness), 2 bouillion cubes (heresy, but I didn't have any thawed broth), a bay leaf, thyme, and some rosemary sprigs. I put a cap of prosciutto on top of the roast for barding. Covered the pot and stuck it in the oven to cook at 220F for 8 hours, and off I went to work. The internal temp when I finally got around to checking was 198F. The meat had fallen apart - not a bit of silverskin left, but you could see where it had been. The flavor was outstanding, and there was good juice to be boiled down and thickened (a step that got short shrift). The meat might have benefited from slightly less cooking, because it was a bit "thready" (dh's word) although not really dry, but the time got away from us. The onions were to die for. All in all, this was a treatment worth repeating and refining (mushrooms would have been good, and perhaps some potatoes, but I had none). You may feel free to play with it and see what you can do.

Happy holidays!

[Smithy]

listen to FiFi. Nice fact cap there, that's something you don't see every day.

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BTW, some people claim the fat is where the gamey flavor resides. I don't know whether that's true, but I do know that in my family I was the only person who'd eat the venison fat. It's a bit like lamb fat: concentrated flavor.

[Smithy]

Ha! While you were flurrying over here, I was doing a low-slow cook of a venison roast. I just finished posting about it on your "One Dead Deer" thread. Sorry, I didn't realize you'd planned to cook all the meat now. I wrote about butchering and freezing it instead.

At any rate: my first experiment with low slow braising on venison worked darned well yesterday. I'm sure it can be overdone, and I may have come close, but I can report that the connective tissue dissolved and the flavors were very good, just as with pork.

[snowangel]

Well, those four quarters have been taken care of:

Nicely wrapped in butcher paper, labeled well, and secured with electrical tape (it was what I could find, thanks to my son and his friends).

These deer are interesting. This was my first attempt at home butchering. I have learned a lot. You can see the "weapons" of destruction: a hack saw and a strange knife given to me my a former neighbor who worked in a slaugther house. I would take that knife over any cleaver any day. It is made of that stuff that rusts if you don't dry it immediately, and takes a sharp like no other knife I've ever had.

There's a reason those deer can leap as far as they can. You know how when you cut up a chicken those tendons around the joints just slice really easily? Well, with a deer, they are almost like bone. The fat is odd, too. Very hard.

There are some bones in a stock pot merrily simmering away. I don't know what I'll do with venison stock, but I'll find a use.

The packets of meat are out on the deck in our single digit windchill getting a head start of freezing before hitting the deep freeze.

Next time it will be neater and cleaner. I doubt I'll ever send one away again for butchering, as long as someone else will skin the thing for me. The $20 extra to have the damned thing skinned was money well worth it.

[snowangel]

Thanks, Nancy, for the report. As you can see here, it has been cut up, wrapped, and labeled.

But, my labeling sometimes doesn't indicate what the cut it, but the intent.

The smoking is going to have to wait for a bit. But, I will report!

[fifi]

I think the fat cap and its relation to gaminess is probably a product of how the deer has been eating, is it a good clean shot, no running, field dressed by someone who knows how, that sort of thing. The Nephew is a crack shot and knows how to choose his deer and drop it with a head or neck shot. His is usually fine. And you are talking about people that can't tolerate the least whif of gaminess here. We finally gave up on accepting "gifts" if we don't know the hunter. I can't even stand lamb that is too "lamby."

Susan, you will be the best judge of what to do about the fat. I do know that some of the best venison we ever had were some doe that came from a ranch outside of Kerrville. The acorn crop had been enormous that year, the weather was cold during the hunt and the animals were well killed and dressed. We left that fat on.

[snowangel]

I have left the full fat caps on my smokeme pieces.

Stock report. It is barely burbling away. Interesting that there is almost no skimming with this stock, and it was a different kind of skimming. None of that foamy stuff. Just a couple of blobs of stuff.

The house smells good. I opted not to add anything to the stock, just the meaty bones, which we whacked with an axe to try and break them up (unsuccessful, but I think I exposed some good bone stuff).

I think I need a band saw.

[srhcb]

Snow,

That knife looks just like the one my friend Dave, the now retired butcher, always used. His had a special left-handed edge on it. I'm sure he's been using it the past few weeks cutting up a few deer in his garage for cash on the side.

SB (admiring your knife and your zeal)

PS: As of last report my brother has three deer so far. One muley from New Mexico, a nice buck shot on his farm in Rauch, MN, and another one yesterday morning up in Manitoba.

[fifi]

. . . . .

I think I need a band saw.

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Here comes Santa Claus . . . Here comes Santa Claus . . .

Glad to hear that the stock is smelling good. That should give you great confidence in the quality of that fat cap.

[fifi]

Ha!  While you were flurrying over here, I was doing a low-slow cook of a venison roast.  I just finished posting about it on your "One Dead Deer" thread. Sorry, I didn't realize you'd planned to cook all the meat now.  I wrote about butchering and freezing it instead.

At any rate: my first experiment with low slow braising on venison worked darned well yesterday.  I'm sure it can be overdone, and I may have come close, but I can report that the connective tissue dissolved and the flavors were very good, just as with pork.

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AH HA! This tells me that long, low, slow smoking can work. But I do think that it will have to be wrapped in foil, or something, for some part of the process. The fact that you found that the connective tissue dissolved as in pork is the key, I think.

What about what I did one time, in the oven, with the leg wrapped in the pig skin? Maybe that could be put on the smoker and done that way.

Ladies . . . We may be on to something here.

[dockhl]

Ah, I remember when I was a poor college student (Pitt'75) and had NO money for meat......

My dad and brother both got deer and my Mom HATES venison. the only meat I had that winter was venison.....

chops, steaks, roasts and burgers. i found they were most compatible with mushrooms/green peppers and red wine ! Leg steaks done as "Swiss Steak".

Now I live in California and rarely even SEE game. Recently moved to Paso Robles (a little different from San Diego !) and found a guy selling (farm raised, I think) venison at the Saturday Farmer's Market !

So, now I have two lovely venison shanks that I was going to make "Osso Bucco" style. Any suggestions?

[snowangel]

I have four shanks and am planning on an Osso Bucco thing, which I have never made. Should I cut up the shanks first? They are about a foot long (I think).

Yes, I'd welcome suggestions, too.

Edited to add: I'd bet the shanks you got, dockhl, are farm-raised. I know Minnesota (and probably most states) prohibit the sale of wild game that hunters shoot.

[Bill Miller]

I was given several of these--very small. Do you bake whole, slice and pound into cutlets, smoke, or grill them? Should they be soaked in milk? They are from small white tailed deer , probably young.

[Ling]

I sear them and keep them very rare. There's not much fat in them.

[suzilightning]

i agree with ling - sear quickly. deglaze the pan with some port and maybe some blackberry jelly to create a sauce

[rich]

Sear or grill, but make sure the grill gets up to 700 degress F. There's virtually no fat, so it will cook quickly. I've also made in Wellington Style, but up the temp to 500 (preferably in a covection oven) to cook the pastry quicker.

[adegiulio]

I cook a ton of venison. My favorite preparation was searing the loin dusted with finely ground cacao nibs (with a mortar and pestle). Deglaze with 3 parts zinfandel, one part port, then veal stock or glace.

I think people are just as guilty about undercooking venison as they are in overcooking it. True, while it is a very lean meat, there is still a postive textural change as the tempurature rises. There is a fine line between undercooked and overcooked. Simply lacking fat does not mean we should serve it underdone.

[carswell]

Leftover from yesterday's holiday dinner: three ribs from the centre of a rack of venison. Total weight, including bones: about 250 g (1/2 lb.). Roasted briefly in a 500ºF oven, the meat has a crusty exterior and very rare interior. The meat is extremely lean.

Any bright ideas on how to recycle this into a one-person meal?

Thanks!

[Adam Balic]

When in the same position I once made it into a Thai-style salad (see larb thread) and this worked very well.

[dockhl]

Leftover from yesterday's holiday dinner: three ribs from the centre of a rack of venison. Total weight, including bones: about 250 g (1/2 lb.). Roasted briefly in a 500ºF oven, the meat has a crusty exterior and very rare interior. The meat is extremely lean.

Any bright ideas on how to recycle this into a one-person meal?

Thanks!

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Tamales or ravioli !

[lesfen]

I'd go with comfort food... venison with gravy over egg noodles. Mmmm.

[hwilson41]

You have before you the makings of a superb sandwich. Some sourdough bread, a little mayo and spicy mustard, dill pickle and lettuce. Season meat with salt and pepper if necessary, a chunk of sharp cheddar on the side, and you're home. Better yet, just send me the venison and I'll take care of it for you .

[snowangel]

My mission to rid my freezer of the boatload of venison I have continues.

I have made a curry (Thai) with some odd bits that were in chunks. I cheated and used canned curry paste, and added a can of bamboo shoots (drained) which had been hanging around, just waiting to be used. No photos, as I was camera-less at the time, but it was a good and worthy use of the venison.

Tonight, I made a venison chili (again)

Details here

Stay tuned for a venison braise, riffed from Molly Steven's All About Braising. Pot-Roasted Brisket with Rhubarb and honey. It's done, and frozen on the deck, awaiting Sunday night. Promises to be divine, if nibbles count as a taste test. I'm just waiting for a night when school activities and girl's hockey high school state tourney doesn't interfere.

[lesfen]

Mmmm... shanks. The last time I had them I made a nice venison/barley/mushroom soup. It was wonderful and very filling.