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

5 Mouth Watering Venison Meat Recipes To Die For (1)

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

5 Mouth Watering Venison Meat Recipes To Die For (2)

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

5 Mouth Watering Venison Meat Recipes To Die For (3)

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

5 Mouth Watering Venison Meat Recipes To Die For (4)

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

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

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

5 Mouth Watering Venison Meat Recipes To Die For (6)

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.

5 Mouth Watering Venison Meat Recipes To Die For (7)

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!

For more updates, please follow our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterestpages!

Up Next:

  • 15 Uncommon And Tasty Venison Recipes
  • Camping Snacks | 11 Simple and Delicious Recipes for Outdoor Enthusiasts
  • 21 Refreshing Redneck Recipes And Camping Food Ideas
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

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

General tips:
  1. Don't overcook or cook at temperatures above 375 F. The short fibers in wild game meat will get tough.
  2. Serve game meat very hot or very cold. Lukewarm game fat has a very greasy taste.
  3. Baste very lean cuts with additional fat to improve flavor. Covering roast with bacon strips will provide self-basting.

Is it safe to eat venison rare? ›

The CDC also urges hunters to cook their venison more thoroughly. They recommend cooking steaks and other whole cuts to at least 145 degrees at the center and letting it rest three minutes before carving and eating to ensure the heat kills all parasites. Ground venison should be cooked to at least 160 degrees.

How do you cook venison in outdoor life? ›

The method: slowly roasting or smoking meat at no higher than 200 F, then once it hits 108 to 110 F internal temp, pulling it and searing each side over high heat (700 to 800 F) for 1 minute each side, allowing to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

How do you make deer meat super tender? ›

Hanging your meat, skin on, for about two weeks is the best option. Aging the meat allows the animal's natural enzymes to break down the connective tissues and mellows the flavor. Cihelka said this is the reason his venison is so tender.

How do you cook venison so it's not gamey? ›

the 'gamey' taste is usually from the tallow and silver skin. Trim off ALL of the white tallow that looks like fat and the silver skin all you want is good red meat. Next DO NOT over cook, medium rare to medium at most. I grill mine low and slow, turning often.

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.

Is it better to cook venison fast or slow? ›

Tender cuts of venison should be prepared using quick cooking methods to a rare or medium-rare level of doneness (internal temperature of 120° to 135° F). If it is prepared past medium-rare too much moisture will be cooked out causing the meat to become dry and tough.

How do you season venison 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.

What is the parasite in venison? ›

Trichinellosis, also called trichinosis, is a disease that people can get by eating raw or undercooked meat from animals infected with the microscopic parasite, Trichinella. Persons with trichinellosis may initially experience gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting.

What is the parasite in deer meat? ›

You'll notice muscle worms when butchering venison. They look like 1- to 3-inch pieces of white string. Unfortunately, they often inhabit the backstrap and hams of the deer, making them particularly annoying. Like sarcocystis, the worms are harmless to both deer and humans.

When can you not eat deer meat? ›

Do not shoot, handle or eat meat from deer and elk that look sick or are acting strangely or are found dead (road-kill). When field-dressing a deer: Wear latex or rubber gloves when dressing the animal or handling the meat.

Can you leave deer meat in water overnight? ›

I've heard some hunters say soaking the meat overnight is enough and others who prefer a week or more. 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.

Can you cook bacteria out of deer meat? ›

Venison should be cooked to at least 165° to ensure harmful bacteria are killed.

Can you overcook venison? ›

1. Don't overcook it. The number one mistake people make when preparing venison is that they overcook it, rendering the meat rubbery and gamey.

How to flavor 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.

What can you put in deer meat to make it taste better? ›

Chili powder and cumin are some of the greatest seasonings for deer meat.

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.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Carmelo Roob

Last Updated:

Views: 5921

Rating: 4.4 / 5 (65 voted)

Reviews: 88% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Carmelo Roob

Birthday: 1995-01-09

Address: Apt. 915 481 Sipes Cliff, New Gonzalobury, CO 80176

Phone: +6773780339780

Job: Sales Executive

Hobby: Gaming, Jogging, Rugby, Video gaming, Handball, Ice skating, Web surfing

Introduction: My name is Carmelo Roob, I am a modern, handsome, delightful, comfortable, attractive, vast, good person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.