Do You Cook Venison Like Beef
Venison is one of the healthiest sustainable foods in the earth. Moreover, dining on deer meat is one of the greatest pleasures in life one tin can have.
Deer are gratuitous-range animals consuming good for you herbs, grasses, acorns, berries, and nuts. Exempt from harmful antibiotics and hormones, deer meat is low in fat and cholesterol and loftier in vitamin B6, B12, and Omega 3 fatty acids.
And so why don't more people care to know how to cook venison?
Gamey, Tough Meat? Rethink Venison!
Many people forego eating venison considering they think of information technology as a tough, chewy meat with a wild, gamey flavor. Actually, they are not incorrect–if they prepare the meat as if information technology were beefiness they had purchased from the supermarket.
In other words, the surreptitious to tender, tasty deer meat is in the cooking. With just a few tips for preparing venison, you will never want to purchase corn-fed beef over again! You lot will not only relish the life-giving nutrition of venison, but y'all will crave the flavour of this superior meat. You will be proud to serve information technology alongside your heirloom vegetables to round out your sustainable meal.
Stacy Lyn's 10 Best Tips to Know When Preparing Venison
Here are my ten tips to know when preparing venison.
1. Preparation Begins in the Field
From the moment a deer is harvested, you should have a plan for getting the deer dressed (removing the intestines and other inedible internal tissue) every bit soon as possible to remove whatever possibility of tainting the meat.
Make sure to go far chop-chop at your processor's door as soon as possible, if you lot're using a processor. He volition most likely take a walk-in cooler at the perfect temperature (34-37 degrees with 88 percentage humidity) to historic period your deer meat. If yous are not using a processor and are going to be more than a few hours before processing the meat, quarter the deer and get it on ice as presently as you lot are able.
While processing, always think to remove the sinew, gristle, silver skin, and anything else that is non muscle. This volition ensure that your meat will be equally tender as possible.
2. Aging the Deer Meat
Many people forget what may be the near important step in creating succulent, tender deer meat: aging. Aging the deer helps develop the final tender texture of venison.
If you are using a processor, this step volition be done for you lot. If y'all are processing your ain deer, y'all can consummate this stride before or after thawing your meat. There are besides ii methods of aging meat: dry aging and wet aging.
Dry vs. Wet Aging Meat
I prefer dry out aging my meat earlier freezing it. In dry aging, the meat needs to be surrounded by a constant air temperature of 34-37 degrees. This denatures, or breaks down, the meat.
You can easily make your own crumbling appliance. Kickoff, buy a plastic bin and poke holes in the sides and top of the bin. Once yous have done this, identify butchered venison on a cooling rack inside the bin. Every few days, empty the blood from the bin. Go on aging the meat for vii to ten days.
Many people permit the meat to historic period for upwards to fourteen days, but I feel that ten days is sufficient to suspension down the connective tissue and muscle cobweb for tasty meals.
Wet crumbling often gets washed after thawing the meat. This is the common fashion that grocery stores age meat. No air must bear upon the meat afterwards vacuum sealing. Once meat is thawed, permit it to historic period past leaving it vacuum packed for up to fourteen days.
If y'all have not adequately aged your venison and need to use it fairly quickly, hither is some other option. Identify unpackaged venison on a cooling rack on the counter and point a fan directly at the venison for well-nigh 30 minutes. Yous will exist amazed at how much improve your meat volition brown and how much more than tender your venison volition exist.
three. Never Mask the Flavour of Venison; Enhance Information technology
Venison is non gamey; information technology merely has a flavor. Deer forage for their nutrient. They eat grass, herbs, acorns, berries, and nuts, while corn-fed cows swallow corn. Corn-fed cows are really tasteless compared to foraging animals.
Sometimes the simpler the seasonings, the better, especially with the tender cuts of venison such as the tenderloin and backstrap of the deer. The backstrap can exist cut into steaks, seasoned liberally with salt and pepper, and cooked over loftier heat with a lilliputian olive oil. Trust me, that is the best eating you could ever want!
4. Exercise Not Overcook
There are many cuts and methods of cooking venison where the meat must be eaten rare. If venison is overcooked, information technology is like eating condom. However, if it's seared and immune to residual for about ten minutes earlier slicing, it is like eating butter!
Venison cooks faster than beef, and when cooking it rare, information technology needs to simply attain a temperature of 130 degrees. If venison reaches 150 degrees, it begins to toughen.
5. Avoid Trying to Cook Venison Like Corn-Fed Beef
Since deer provender and are commonly older when they are harvested, they have an abundance of muscle cobweb and connective tissue. Deer do not have the marbling in their meat that corn-fed beef has, then cooking venison like beefiness volition non piece of work.
Rather, look at deer meat as a unique poly peptide that is healthy and exotic, even so easy to prepare with merely a piffling knowledge. The flavor of these foragers far outweighs the necessary steps in creating tender, succulent meat.
Because there is little marbling and much muscle fiber and connective tissue, there is so much flavour when the collagen transforms into lovely delicious gelatin. There is zilch like information technology in the world!
6. When Braising, Make Sure Your Temperature is Low Plenty
Braising is a cooking technique in which you dry-sear the main ingredient and and so sear it in liquid on low heat in a pot. This method is unremarkably best for the tougher cuts of meat. The tough fibers and connective tissue suspension down into collagen, which then dissolves into gelatin. Over time, these fibers expel moisture, leaving the meat dry.
Once the meat is dry out, upon continued cooking, the fibers volition relax and begin to absorb the fatty and gelatin, creating tender, flavorful meat.
Slow Cooker or Dutch Oven?
Many use their ho-hum-cookers for braising, merely they go on to produce sub-par meals of stringy, tough meat. The optimal temperature when cooking low and slow should be between 131 and 149 degrees, and about ho-hum cookers exercise not get that low.
Your best option is to melt in a Dutch oven on top of the stove on a very low simmer, or if you take an oven that maintains temperatures between 131 and 149 degrees, cook your repast for several hours in a Dutch oven inside it.
If cooking low and slow, I notice that if I allow the mixture to cool, then place it in the refrigerator overnight, the meat continues to relax. Thus my meal will be even amend the next day.
7. Match the Cut of Deer Meat to the Cooking Method
You will want to friction match the cut of venison to the best cooking method that will bring out the most flavour and the well-nigh tender results. Some cuts will naturally exist tender (loins and tenderloins), but other cuts will exist extremely tough and stringy.
Beneath are a few methods of cooking the various cuts of venison.
- Tenderloin and loins: serve rare.
- Shoulders, shanks and neck: braise (low and slow for stews and soups).
- Hindquarter: this cut is incredibly versatile and can be cut into steaks, tenderized, and cooked just like the loin; cut into cubes for low and ho-hum method; used in sauces; cutting into strips across the grain and used in salads, fajitas, burritos, or on sandwiches.
- Other meat from the carcass such equally flanks and rib meat: grind and use in hamburgers, sausage, spaghetti sauces, bolognese sauce, amidst other recipes calling for ground meat. I use a 3/4 horsepower grinder, simply if you lot just are going to be grinding a few deer, i/2 horsepower is fine. They are a bit expensive, but you will make up that price very quickly by processing your own deer.
viii. Tenderizing Meat Allows for More Diversity in Cooking Tough Cuts
Using a dry rub, marinade, or brine will tenderize your meat, allowing yous to cook the tough cuts in much the aforementioned way yous would cook a tender cutting. All of these methods infuse flavour and intermission down the meat, causing a tender juicy issue in the finished product.
Dry Rub
A dry rub consists of endless combinations of dry herbs and spices. To use this method, combine spices and vigorously massage into the meat. Place meat into a drinking glass container, cover, and refrigerate overnight or for 24 hours.
Enzymatic tenderizers that are already prepared tin be establish in most grocery stores. They use papaya, figs, or pineapple to pause downward the amino acids in the meat. Personally, I adopt using homemade dry rubs because enzymatic tenderizers take away from the flavor of the venison. If left on too long, they also will cause meat to become mushy.
I usually add salt, coffee, or ginger to my dry rubs. Kosher salt improves the texture of the venison. First, it breaks down the protein and draws out the hydrogen, leaving oxygen in the muscles. This forms lactic acid, which breaks down the fibers in the muscles and connective tissue. Coffee and ginger are both acidic and will break downwards the enzymes in the meat. In this way, they tenderize meat just like marinades.
Brines and Marinades
Brines and marinades are fantastic for tenderizing meat as well. I usually reserve brining for my fowl recipes such as wild turkey or pheasant, merely many people brine venison.
Brines consist of a mixture of water, salt, and sometimes sugar. This method may reduce the "gaminess" or strong flavor in the venison. To utilize this method, combine ingredients, submerge venison in the mixture, and refrigerate overnight or for 24 hours.
Marinades are one of my favorite ways to tenderize venison. For an excellent marinade, you volition need an acid (wine, vinegar, lemon juice, or lime), an oil (I prefer olive oil), and herbs and spices of your option.
Not only do marinades add together flavor, but the acrid volition also finer denature your meat, which volition issue in tender, tasty venison. To use this method, combine ingredients in a non-reactive bowl, encompass, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. You can also place the ingredients in a null top bag for easy clean-upwardly.
9. Use the Best Kitchen Tools
Kitchen tools can make your task of preparing venison either a nightmare or a wonderful and enjoyable feel. You will need a very sharp knife that holds its border and will not rust, besides as a honing steel. An eight inch chef's knife will allow you to cut venison and chop vegetables also equally perform but well-nigh whatever job needing a knife. If y'all have room in your upkeep, a serrated knife will perform well for cutting breads.
Ii Kitchen Essentials
A bandage atomic number 26 skillet and a Dutch oven are the most essential tools for cooking venison at its best, and you can discover them at very reasonable prices. The cast iron will evenly oestrus the venison, causing a beautiful caramelization when browning your meat. A Dutch oven also volition hold oestrus well.
Both the skillet and the Dutch oven can be used over straight heat. Moreover, both tin can stand up to very high oven temperatures. These ii kitchen essentials are incredibly versatile; yous tin can make anything from stuffed loin, stews, and soups to breads and pies.
A few helpful things that will finish off your minimal kitchen needs for preparing venison are a meat mallet, mortar and pestle, and twine.
When pounding out venison, no thing the cutting, a meat mallet will tear the fibers and connective tissue. This immediately produces tender meat. At this point, you can fry, stuff, or truss the meat. You lot tin make information technology a complete meal by chopping herbs and vegetables and placing them on the pounded venison. Truss and brown the loin in a cast atomic number 26 skillet and then finish it off in the oven.
There are many more helpful kitchen utensils, simply these are the ones that I use on a regular basis!
x. Don't Be Afraid to Be Creative
Cooking should be fun. I believe people eat out more than often than not considering they don't believe homecooked nutrient can exist as good. With only a trivial understanding of the ingredients you are using, the sky is the limit. Using your instincts and taking a few risks will prove to your advantage in the kitchen.
The creations that you bring to the tabular array volition amaze you. Your taste buds and your family will cheers. Happy hunting, happy cooking, and happy eating!
For a video of any of these cooking techniques, click here. You tin can notice my dry rub recipe here.
For simple, incredible recipes using wild game and fresh vegetables, bank check out my books and DVD.
Source: https://stacylynharris.com/ten-tips-to-know-when-preparing-venison/
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