5 Mouth Watering Venison Meat Recipes To Die For (2024)

Do you like eating venison meat? Not everyone does but we got some great venison meat recipes here that might invite others to give it a try!

Venison Meat Recipes That Taste Really Good

Cooking venison has always been a bit of a controversial subject growing up. I know my grandfather used to eat venison brains with his scrambled eggs, so some of us are adventurous.

However, several people in our family were squeamish and would only eat the hams and tenderloins if they were breaded and chicken-fried. This was the only way I knew to cook venison meat until I was in my 30’s.

A few years before my son was born, I started frequently hunting again and decided to find new ways to cook venison. I also wanted to use every part of the deer that I possibly could, so I knew this would take some creativity.

Even my extended family has come around and is now branching out from their chicken-fried limitations. My wife and three-year-old son love the flavor of the meat with nothing but salt and pepper.

Here are my top venison recipes based on popularity and on utilizing as much of the animal as possible:

1. Coffee Rubbed Venison Tenderloin

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If you are having guests over that do not mind their meat medium, this is a good option. It tones down the gamey flavor so anybody can enjoy your meal. The combination of the coffee and berry sauce is a nice highlight.

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½-2 lbs. Venison Tenderloin
  • Berry sauce (optional)
  • Berries of your choice
  • Lemon juice
  • Water
  • 2 Tbsp. Sugar

Rub:

  • 1/2 cup coffee grounds
  • 1/2 cup cocoa
  • 1 Tbs brown sugar
  • 1 Tbs cinnamon
  • 3 Tbs salt
  • pinch of pepper

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • Mix the rub and thickly coat the tenderloin on all sides.
  • Heat a cast-iron pan to the point of almost smoking and then sear meat on all sides.
  • Pop in a 350F oven for 5 minutes.
  • Remove from the oven, cover with foil, and then drape a towel over top. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
  • Slice 1″ thick and serve with or without berry sauce. Goes well with a spinach salad.

For optional berry sauce, put any berries along with a little water and a little sugar in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Add a little salt and turn it down to a simmer until it reduces by 1/2. Spoon over sliced venison.

2. Seared Venison Steaks

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This one is about as quick and easy as it gets.

Ingredients:

  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Venison Ham or Tenderloin

Instructions:

  • Trim all fat and silver skin off of the meat and cut it into one inch thick steaks.
  • Heavily salt and pepper both sides of your steaks. Venison needs a lot of salt.
  • On a smoking hot grill or cast-iron skillet, sear each side for 3-5 minutes. You want these steaks to be medium or medium-rare.
  • Rest your meat by removing from the grill on a plate, wrapping plate in foil, and throwing a towel on top. Rest for 10 minutes, serve, and enjoy!

3. Venison Meat Stew

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This recipe is intended for all the little bits of meat that you may throw out or grind currently. I use rib meat, flank steak, and sometimes, the neck meat for this stew.

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs scrap venison cut in one-inch pieces
  • ½ lb chopped carrots
  • ½ lb chopped onions
  • 2 cups dry red wine
  • ½ lb chopped celery
  • ½ lb chopped potatoes
  • 1 cup Worcestershiresauce
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 2 Tbsp. chopped garlic
  • 1 can of cream soup (mushroom, chicken, garlic)
  • Salt, Pepper, and Italian seasoning
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 Tbsp butter

Instructions:

  • Make sure all the fat and silver skin are removed from the meat.
  • Heavily salt and pepper the meat and then sprinkle with flour.
  • Melt the butter in a pan over medium-high heat and brown the meat on all sides.
  • Put your crockpot or stew pot on the high setting and add the veggies and liquids.
  • Add the meat on top without mixing, add Italian seasoning, and bring to heat.
  • Reduce to low and let cook for six or more hours. It is done when the meat falls apart like roast beef.

4. Venison Osso Bucco

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Here is one of the few ways that you can cook the shanks from a deer and have it turn out delicious. For this recipe, you will need two whole shanks sawed into disks 1 ½ inch in thickness. Partially freezing the shanks and then using a hacksaw or power saw is the best way to cut these.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 or 2 medium onions finely sliced
  • 4 cloves minced garlic
  • 3 medium carrots, diced into fine cubes
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2 8-ounce cans of vegetable stock, beef stock, or water
  • 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tablespoon each of finely chopped rosemary, thyme, and oregano (optional, but strongly recommended)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 325F.
  • Put an oven-safe pan over medium-high heat and add the oil.
  • Sprinkle the meat with flour and sear on all sides. Set aside on a plate.
  • Add butter and onions, garlic, celery, and carrots. Drop heat to medium and cook for about seven minutes or until they start to get translucent.
  • Arrange your meat discs flat and side by side packing them all in with the bone marrow facing up.
  • Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, and pepper on top of the meat. Then add stock to the pan bringing the liquid just to the top of the meat but not submerging it.
  • Add a tight-fitting lid and cook for three to four hours or until the meat can be pulled back easily with a fork. Check periodically and add more stock if the liquid is low enough for half of the shanks to be exposed.
  • Serve over polenta, rice, or couscous. Make sure you have some toast points and spread the bone marrow over the toast for added richness. Enjoy!

5. Prime Rib Style Roast

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For those of you that have ever had tough or dry venison, this recipe will blow your mind. It is also super easy.

Ingredients:

  • Venison roast (preferably bone-in)
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Whole garlic cloves

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 300F.
  • With a sharp knife, cut slots in the meat to stuff your garlic cloves on all sides.
  • Rub down heavily with salt and pepper.
  • Next, Cook for 25 minutes per pound for rare and add 5 minutes per pound for medium and so on. Use a meat thermometer and check the internal temperature without touching the bone with the thermometer – 145F is rare and add 15F for medium and so on.
  • Remove from the oven, cover with foil, and drape a towel over top. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes. Slice and serve with horseradish on the side.

Bonus: The Classic Chicken-Fried Venison Meat Steaks Or Hearts

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Ingredients:

  • Tenderloin, ham or heart
  • Oil
  • Flour
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Instructions:

  • Cut tenderloins, hams, or heart into steaks ½ thick and trim off fat or silver skin.
  • Heat oil in the pan to 350F.
  • Dredge in flour, salt, and pepper (with or without egg-wash depending on how thick you like your breading).
  • Fry both sides until golden brown and move to a plate with a paper towel.

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When you have time to cook, do give these venison meat recipes a try. We’d love to hear how they turn out in the comments section!

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5 Mouth Watering Venison Meat Recipes To Die For (2024)

FAQs

What's the best seasoning for venison? ›

Ideal flavours for venison
  • Fruits: quince, cherries, prunes, blackberries, apples.
  • Herbs: thyme, rosemary, bay, sage.
  • Spices: star anise, allspice, black pepper, cloves, juniper.
  • Alcohol: red wine (e.g. Grenache, Zinfandel), cider, ale. Other: chestnuts, celeriac, red cabbage, chocolate, mushroom.
Mar 7, 2016

How do you cook venison so it's tender? ›

Whenever I pull a package of venison from the freezer, I always make a point to remember to match the method to the meat. That means cooking tender cuts like steaks and chops with high heat, fast and dry, such as grilling or pan-frying.

How to make ground venison less gamey? ›

The distinct game flavor of either birds or animals will be milder after soaking the meat overnight in the refrigerator in either a salt or vinegar solution. 2. Vinegar solution - 1 cup per quart of cold water. Use enough solution to cover the game completely.

What's the best way to cook deer meat? ›

Rib and loin (tender cuts): chops and steaks

Can use dry cooking method. Pan frying, broiling or grilling. Retain more juice if the cuts are no thicker than 3/4 inch. Cook steaks and chops quickly.

What is best to mix with deer meat? ›

As a hunter, you can ask the process to mix in beef fat or pork fat, or none at all; often people will get some with added fat and some without. Beef fat works well with ground venison, and makes the flavor closer to ground beef.

What gives venison a gamey taste? ›

Deer fat is generally bitter, unlike beef fat. This is probably the number one reason why folks think venison, particularly ground venison, tastes gamey.

Does venison get more tender the longer you cook it? ›

Large cuts of venison taste best when pot-roasted for several hours. If you have access to a crock pot, use any recipe for beef pot roast and you'll be pleasantly surprised. However, instead of cooking for two to four hours, venison may require substantially longer cooking time for the meat to become tender.

What is best to soak deer meat in before cooking? ›

Soaking: The most common soaking liquids are buttermilk, saltwater, white milk, vinegar, lemon juice and lime juice. While some hunters swear by certain soaking methods to take the “gamey” flavor away or bleed the meat after processing, others don't find it all that helpful.

Why is my deer meat tough and chewy? ›

"Freshly butchered venison — especially when it is in rigor mortis — will be super tough," Cihelka said. When rigor mortis sets in, the animal stiffens. Hanging the animal prevents the muscles along the spine from shortening. This is why backstraps and tenderloin are tender.

How do you soak venison to get rid of gamey taste? ›

You can soak it in a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water over night in the refrigerator, or soak it in milk and rinse thoroughly before cooking it. Soaking it removes the blood and really improves the flavor, especially the meat of those with some age on them. Another way is to make a marinade to add flavor to it.

How to make venison taste like beef? ›

Incorporating fat into venison is key to mimicking beef. This can be achieved by wrapping the venison in bacon or barding it with beef fat before cooking. Alternatively, cooking venison in beef stock or adding a bit of beef fat during the cooking process can also impart a richness closer to that of beef.

How do you make ground venison taste better? ›

Pure ground venison cooks up great with a little cooking fat like pork lard. However, many people like to add fattier cuts of meat or pure animal fat to their ground venison to enhance the taste and spread their venison out into more meals.

Why is venison hard to cook? ›

Actually, because of how lean the meat is, it's actually PREFERRED to eat deer meat medium rare. There's really very little fat in venison, so it's a pretty tricky meat to cook quickly. Most wild game cooks recommend medium-rare because if too much moisture is cooked out of the meat, it'll become tough and chewy.

Why should you not soak deer meat in water? ›

This is one of the worst things to do to any animal carcass after its slaughter. Putting the meat in water allows bacteria (primarily E. coli) to grow and spread over the entire carcass. It also removes all of the flavor from the meat.

What temperature should venison be cooked at? ›

Venison behaves in many ways like beef, albeit very lean. You can cook the tender, steaky cuts of venison to the same doneness levels as you would beef, namely 130–135°F (54–57°C) for medium rare and 135–145°F (57–63°C) for medium. Hitting those temperatures just right is important for maximum enjoyment.

What do you put on deer meat before cooking? ›

You can make a good marinade from a bit of oil, red wine, a bit of vinegar, minced garlic and onion, salt and pepper (that's just one simple idea, there are lots of recipes for marinades). But in general, venison does not need to be soaked before cooking.

How to season deer meat? ›

You can simply pat the venison dry and season with salt and pepper before cooking, or you can marinate the cut of meat for a few hours or overnight. Personally, when it comes to venison steak and venison backstrap, I like to use a simple marinade to enhance the flavor of the venison without overpowering it.

How to season venison to taste like beef? ›

Use ingredients like red wine, garlic, onion, and herbs such as rosemary and thyme to infuse the meat with flavors that are reminiscent of beef. Acidic components in the marinade also help tenderize the meat, making it more similar to the texture of beef.

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