Venison Cooking/Handling Tip

 Venison Cooking/Handling Tip

    Your first consideration is immediately after the kill. Make sure the game is completely dressed/cleaned. Heat and contamination are the primary culprits responsible for meat deterioration and the “gamey” flavor that many associate with venison ( Also attach your temporary tag using string, wire, or some other appropriate material that you provide. Until this is done, your deer is not properly tagged, and you are subject to a citation). It is important to get all blood and body fluids away from the meat. As soon as  possible, if clean, cold water is available, rinse the body cavity well. This will remove any remaining blood as well as help reduce the deer’s body heat. Hang and cool the meat as soon as possible. Removing the hide and propping open the body cavity help dissipate the heat from inside. Use bags of ice in the body cavity to help cool your deer if you are not able to process it quickly. Try to get meat cooled below 50 degrees as soon as possible.
For a complete video guide on how to field dress your deer/elk check out  LEM Products Deer Processing DVD This video teaches you: Field dressing, proper handling of your deer, how to cool your deer without a cooler, skinning, a boneless method of processing, how to make burger and sausage, and proper freezer wrapping. Everything on one tape! (sponsored Link)
   Aging large game is critical before butchering, bare minimum of 72 hours ( up to 5 days) This can be done by simply hanging the game in a cool, dry place. This allows the animal to go through and come out of rigor mortis, which helps keep the meat from being so tough.
    A lot of the gamey flavor in venison comes from the fat. Before storing or cooking venison, trim off all the fat, cartilage, and silver membrane, this is where a lot of the gamey taste comes from. Whole meat can be frozen for about a year while ground meat is best if used within six months.
   When cooking venison you can add bacon, or pork fat and/or beef fat(also called suet) because venison is a lean meat(dry). Venison can be prepared basically the same as any similar cut of pork or beef. Remember that venison is a lean meat that can become dry and tough when using dry cooking methods, that is why it is best to use slow cook, moist methods for cooking. Serve grilled steaks and open-roasted steaks/roasts while the meat is still juicy and pink on the inside. Add a pinch of salt after cooking (salt before cooking causes toughness/dryness). Keep in mind any recipe you use ground beef for you can substitute ground venison.


Marinades:
The following ingredients work well as marinades for venison:
Italian, Russian or French salad dressings.
Tomato sauce(add a little water), V8 juice, tomato soup, and tomato juice.
Citric Juices like orange, lemon and grapefruit juice(they have citric acid which helps tenderize meat)  Also Worcesterhire & soy sauce.

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Venison cooking tips  Venison handling tips