Venison:
1 pound venison soaked all day in milk, sliced 1/4" thick, breaded, and fried like chicken fried steak. Served with cream gravy, mashed potatoes, and buttered corn. Delicious! No gamey flavor whatsoever... tasted like tender juicy (albeit much more flavorful) beef.
2 pounds venison sliced 1/8" thick, marinaded in brown sugar, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, Worcestershire and Tamari sauce for 24 hours. Dehydrated for 7 hours to make jerky. YUM!!!! I can't tell the difference between this and beef jerky.
Elk:
4 steaks sliced 3/4" thick, marinated in red wine, salt, garlic powder, black pepper and olive oil for 24 hours. Grilled on a high heat grill for 4 minutes each side. Served with red wine, baked potato mashed potatoes and green beans. Tasted just like a rich buffalo steak... a little beefier than beef, but in a good way.
The verdict: I want a freezer full of game. This stuff was incredible. My mother-in-law said something about somebody having moose... I'm game!
Sounds delicious! Steve keeps wanting to find a deep freezer so we can score a deer and stay stocked on "free" meat year-round... I am a little hesitant because, like you, I don't want to taste "game" every time I cook it. Thanks for the recipes!!
ReplyDeleteThis makes me SOOOO happy to read this! Jason has been bow hunting all month (but hasn't had any luck) and I just didn't know what I would do if he brought home a big deer. I really am not a fan of the taste of the meat at all. But your recipes look delicious!!!
ReplyDeleteI have one important question: How the heck do you get the breading to stay on the meat?!?! We have been breading and frying meat for a year (mostly pan-frying) and the breading always comes off. It still tastes delicious but doesn't look nearly as appetizing.
Sure thing! I hear that venison varies throughout the country with some places having gamier deer than others. This stuff, though, was pretty darned amazing. I would love to have a freezer stocked with it :).
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lisa! I hope he has some good luck soon :).
ReplyDeleteWith breading... uh... well... I think there are a few "secrets."
#1, you don't want to flip whatever you're frying too many times. If you only use half a pan of oil/fat (vs. deep frying) you'll only want to flip it over once or twice. The more you flip, the more likely you are to flake off the breading.
#2, be sure your fat is hot enough. It should splatter fiercely if you put a drop of water into it. For some reason, cold oil tends to strip the breading. Then again, if your food is turning dark brown as soon as you put it into the oil, it's too hot. If you have a frying thermometer, I think 350-375 is ideal.
#3, don't crowd the pan. Each piece should have a nice buffer zone :).
#4, I'd use tongs if you have 'em. When I use a fork to flip, it often punctures the coating but when I use tongs it stays intact.
#5, Double coat the food. Usually I dip it in flour first, then the egg (or milk), then back into flour. I don't know if this helps or not, but it makes a nice thick crispy fried crust.
#6, It seems utterly counter-intuitive, but after you dip it into the flour, shake off the excess. You'd think a lot of coating would make it stay on better, but I think shaking off the excess is pretty important.
Well, I could keep going with this manual, but that seems to be the most important things for frying.