Tenderized Deer steak - need recipes

karynspeace

I have 6 packages of pretenderized deer steak left from last season. I have tried it in stew- nasty. In soup- nasty. Fried- nasty. Grilled-yep, nasty. A friend suggested I make "chicken fried steak" with it. I have never made that. Any suggestions that will not be... NASTY?

TexanThom

Soak in buttermilk overnight. Get some Lawrys mesquite with lime 30 minute marinade and soak it over night. Grill to perfection and enjoy!

aforange

Gramps251

Have you ever had venison that you liked but just not these cuts?

I live in Michigan where deer hunting is big and I'd guess that 90% of the people I know who hunt don't like venison. They do their best to hide it in chili or other stongly flavored foods.

Personally I like it and will saute it with salt, pepper, and some Herbes de Provence from Penzeys Spice. I never over cook it. Med-rare at the most.

CarmenSRT

Some people just dislike the taste of venison. Your best bet if that's the case is to hand it off to someone who enjoys it. It's also possible the deer wasn't a clean quick kill. That can lead to meat that's nasty tasting because of the intense running before death. You could try to soak it in milk and then add it to something that's cooked for a long time like spaghetti sauce.

Lesa_Sass

I have never tried buttermilk but I recommend marinating it in balsamic vinegar.

Here is a recipe that is so good my non deer meat eating husband could not tell it was not beef (hehe)

Cut the meat into cubes coat with soy sauce then dust with flour and put in the bottom of a crock pot. Then cut up some peppers, green, yellow, hot, mild it does not matter. I usually do one green one and a few chili peppers for some heat. Then put them on top and add one large can of stewed tomatoes, 1 can of french style green beans, 1 can of mushrooms and give a good stir. Cook all day on low or several hours on high. (feel free to add fresh beans and mushrooms, the recipe calls for canned but I do not use canned vegetables with the exception of tomatoes.

The acid in the tomatoes help with the gamey taste. If the deer fed on acorns the taste is going to be harsher than had it been eating corn or other things before slaughter.

This recipe is a good one and I have had several people that did not like deer to try and and say they would eat it again like that. Good luck and if you try it, please let me know how you like it.

tabinmaine

Get a teriyaki marinade and let it sit all day, then either bake or grill with onions. ... should be yummy and tender

llamalland

Most people have trouble with it because it is so lean, therefore can be dry and tough if not cooked properly. Any cooking method where it cooks quickly and retains moisture will work. Since it's been tenderized, it should cook more easily than usual. Maybe lightly braise, then thin slice cross-grain? Some great suggestions above me.

If you get more deer meat this season, the easiest way to package it is ground (except for back strap, which is heaven on a plate!). Ground venison can be used anywhere you'd use ground beef/poultry. but keep in mind its' need for some additional fat/moisture when cooking.

razorbecky

I used a tenderizer called "game tame" it takes away all that nasty flavor, Then I usually bread it in garlic breadcrumbs and fry in a little bit of olive oil. Tastes great and not too many cals.

Amy_Lynn74

Maybe you just don't like venison. I had some moose meat the other night, which isn't as gamey as venison. The first time I made it I marinated it and grilled it. It was a little tough so this time I braised it. I browned it on both sides then removed it from the pan and added about 1/2 an onion and partially cooked the onion then deglazed the pan with worcestershire sauce and a can of low sodium beef broth. Then I put the meat back in and cooked it in the oven for an hour and 45 minutes at 350 covered then let it rest for 15 minutes. It was very tender and yummy.

kmburns3

Marinate in lawry's 30 minute marinade. I like the Steak & Chop one, I usually leave mine overnight then grill them the next day for dinner. While on the grill pour a beer (any will do) over them every couple minutes. Beer is a natural tenderizer so they won't be near as tough. Cook to medium-rare for best taste.

karynspeace

Have you ever had venison that you liked but just not these cuts?

I live in Michigan where deer hunting is big and I'd guess that 90% of the people I know who hunt don't like venison. They do their best to hide it in chili or other stongly flavored foods.

Personally I like it and will saute it with salt, pepper, and some Herbes de Provence from Penzeys Spice. I never over cook it. Med-rare at the most.

We love it in our house... eat so much of it that when we have beef, it tastes bad. It's all in how you cook it. My dad taught me that when we lived in Texas when I was young. We used a new butcher and got back what is tagged as "tenderized deer". Not what I would have called tenderized though - stringy pulverized meat patties mostly. I am trying to figure out a way to use these as I hate wasting it. It reminds me of chicken fried steak patties in a way.

I will NOT be using that butcher again though!

newmooon56

we eat a ton of deer meat and if youve already stewed it and its still nasty Im going on the idea you got a deer that was shot badly and the meat was crapped on OR- you just dont like free food. which is cool- deer isnt for everyone.

Grind it and make tacos- that should kill any semblance of deer flavor - or make chili or nachos with a LOT of seasoning. If stewing and marinades didnt work seasoning it to death with taco seasoning is all I got left.

A deer steak is incredibly easy and delicious with some sauteed onion and mushrooms.

Drop that meat in a crock with 1 can of cream of mushroom and 1 can beef broth- tender, juicy and no one Ive ever fed this to will guess its deer til I tell them.

If these dont work- can I have you deer?

Lesa_Sass

Have you ever had venison that you liked but just not these cuts?

I live in Michigan where deer hunting is big and I'd guess that 90% of the people I know who hunt don't like venison. They do their best to hide it in chili or other stongly flavored foods.

Personally I like it and will saute it with salt, pepper, and some Herbes de Provence from Penzeys Spice. I never over cook it. Med-rare at the most.

We love it in our house... eat so much of it that when we have beef, it tastes bad. It's all in how you cook it. My dad taught me that when we lived in Texas when I was young. We used a new butcher and got back what is tagged as "tenderized deer". Not what I would have called tenderized though - stringy pulverized meat patties mostly. I am trying to figure out a way to use these as I hate wasting it. It reminds me of chicken fried steak patties in a way.

I will NOT be using that butcher again though!

It actually could have been the deer, but I will agree that butchering it is important. Older deer and what they eat really make a difference in the way they taste.

hmstarbuck

Mmmm.... deer. We just had deer steaks last night. YUM! We just seasoning them really well and pound them out. Fry them in a cast iron skillet to medium. Melt in your mouth.

I would have to guess that if you have tried it all those different ways, you just don't like deer. There are many ways to hide it. I've made tacos, chili, stew, "beef" and noodles. Most of the time others wouldn't have a clue it wasn't beef. If you put in it the crock pot with a package of onino soup mix and some beef broth, I would be surprised that you wouldn't like that. YUM

Good luck!

sarahharmintx

We do smoked venison roast on the pit. Its awesome.

karynspeace

we eat a ton of deer meat and if youve already stewed it and its still nasty Im going on the idea you got a deer that was shot badly and the meat was crapped on OR- you just dont like free food. which is cool- deer isnt for everyone.

Grind it and make tacos- that should kill any semblance of deer flavor - or make chili or nachos with a LOT of seasoning. If stewing and marinades didnt work seasoning it to death with taco seasoning is all I got left.

A deer steak is incredibly easy and delicious with some sauteed onion and mushrooms.

Drop that meat in a crock with 1 can of cream of mushroom and 1 can beef broth- tender, juicy and no one Ive ever fed this to will guess its deer til I tell them.

If these dont work- can I have you deer?

I would not call it free- We hunt and kill and "usually" process our own. We just tried a butcher for one this past year. I don't think they knew what they were doing. The deer was a clean kill and all but these tenderized steaks have been good. Something about the tenderizing is off. I keep trying. Oh well

onehurt

Maybe it wasn't your own deer. One thing we always hated was that we butchered our own deer and took some of the meat to a butcher to be made into salami etc. There were no guarantee that you were getting your own meat back. We make our own now so all the care we take in the cutting up is not wasted and mixed in with somebody else that wasn't so careful! I bought a tenderizer last year and tried to do a chicken fried steak. I mixed up a marinade with some beef bullion, black pepper, garlic and soaked it for a while. I floured it and fried it, made a awesome sandwich. So this season if I get some will make more that way.

Mark

deerslayer1963

I was raised up on deer meat, and I hurt as well. We eat what we harvest, (I do not beleive in wasting it.)
. Heres one thing, it dont matter how or for what reason. If it has that gamey taste,Soak it in " BUTTERMILK", Or a marinade this is what I use, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup lemon juice, (and I wing it on this next ingredient ) Garlic POWDER to your taste ( I put around 3 tsp) .You "only put these 3 ingredients". If you add salt it will be way to salty. The soy sauce takes care of that. Anyways you soak it in this mixture over night, be sure all the meat is covered, if not double up the recipe. Next day, take it out of the mixture, then flour, spray a skillet with some pam, and cook it that way, or any way you choose. I love fried deer meat, and this is a much healther choice. I really like this one marinade its my # 1 choice ( I found this simple marinade recipe from my local newspaper like 25 years ago ), then my #2 choice is the buttermilk.
Anyways, what your trying to do is "take out" the gamey taste. When properly done, you can not tell the difference in it and it tastes almost just like beef. These are ones I know that works. Hope this helps.

Nikfb

Thanks everyone for all these comments. Venison is quite rare in Australia and I have about 20kg to get through. My first attempt at deer pan fried steak was gamey and tough. This time I did schnitzel style in the oven but first soaked in buttermilk for 2 hours and it was perfect!!!!

Mygsds

My family also hunts. We do our own processing because we have the meat saw and grinder and my brother took several classes from a local butcher how to cut the roasts, steaks etc. love the meat, but the year we did not do our own and sent it to be processed, the meat was horrible. There is no way we got our own back. We soak ours overnight in buttermilk then soy sauce with brown sugar. Dip in flour, fry slowly in butter and add bacon and mushrooms. This was for the steaks. The roasts we use a injection from the store with all kinds of spices and base. Good luck.