Because there are lots of freezers that are full of lean and healthy venison this time of year, here are a few of my very favorite ways to prepare it. This is a recipe I often use, given to me years ago by outdoor writer Charlie Burchfield.
CROCK POT VENISON
1 medium onion, thinly sliced, saute till limp.
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups stewing beef or venison, add to onion, stir to cool
Put in crockpot.
MIX:
1 bay leaf
1 to 2 teaspoons dried currents, cranberries or raisins
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup burgundy wine or red cooking wine
1 tablespoon wine vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cumin (optional)
1/8 teaspoon each of ground cloves and garlic powder
Stir and add to meat in crock-pot, cover and cook on low 7 to 9 hours or on high 3 to 4 hours. Stir to blend.
Exactly 20 minutes before serving, cover with 1/4 pound Monterey jack cheese, dried or grated or any cheddar cheese and 1/4 cup broken walnuts. Cook on low for 15 minutes more.
My hunting buddy, Bob Beck of Duncansville, gave me this recipe that is so easy and so good that I make it for myself. It is also quite good in the crock-pot.
EASY VENISON STEAKS
2 medium-sized venison steaks
1 package onion soup mix
1 medium onion
2 green peppers, sliced
1 large can stewed tomatoes
12-15 mushrooms, sliced
Brown the steaks then add all the other ingredients. Add 1 cup water, cover and simmer slowly until meat is tender.
Venison is not some exotic fare that needs flouring, marinating and soaking to disguise some "wild taste." That venison has a wild taste is mainly a figment of the imagination. However, if a deer was not properly cared for after being harvested, it may indeed have a strange taste
I repeat: do not overcook venison. When I'm frying a steak, for instance, or a hamburger and I get to the place in the cooking process where I think it needs just another minute or two, I remove it from the heat then. The additional minute you would give to beef will simply dry out the venison. Most of the time if a venison steak is tough, it has simply been cooked a little too long.
A friend once gave me this recipe. You won't be sorry you tried it.
Barbeque venison steak
1 cup catsup, cup water, cup chopped onion, cup chopped sweet pepper, 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 3, 2 tbs. brown sugar, tsp. salt, 4 pounds venison steak.
Combine all ingredients except steak and bring to a boil, then simmer 3 minutes. Pour over the steak, cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 2 hours, depending on thickness of steak. So easy and so good.
For a savory roast or also with steak, mix 1 can of cream of mushroom soup and I can water, package dry onion soup mix, then pour over meat and cook until done.
Here's a great way to cook venison hamburger that everyone will like. If you don't tell anyone it's venison, they won't know. It's called
CHEESEBURGER PIE
1 pound ground meat, 1 cup chopped onion, 1 cups milk, cup Bisquick, 2 sliced tomatoes, 3 eggs, tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper, 1 cup shredded cheese.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a baking dish. Cook hamburger with onion, then drain and spread in dish. Beat milk, Bisquick, eggs, salt and pepper. Pour into the dish. Top with tomatoes and cheese. Bake about 30 minutes or until casserole is browned and cheese is melted.
Frankly, my absolute way to prepare venison steaks and chops is the simplest way: saute them quickly on a hot stove.
I fry up a batch of onions and mushrooms (peppers if you like) and when almost done, set them aside. Then drop the chops or steak into the pan and fry quickly on each side, taking care not to overcook. When browned on both sides, add the onion mixture, cook a bit longer and you have a dish fit for a king.
