Deer Recipies - Dont like It Dont Respond.

Updated on January 16, 2013
C.Z. asks from Manning, IA
32 answers

Uhg so last day of the season we get our deer! finally! anyways, I have made taco's and burgers but this meat is dry (more so I think than last year). For those that cook with it can you please give me more recipies for deer meat that give it a little moisture. It seems like last year I had a ton but this year I am fighting for anything. We did get the loins and roasts off of it.

Also does anyone have a good Jerkey recipie? Ours last year did not work well. To much of something but still not sure what.

O and my rug is going to be amazing. I usually try to do something with the hide so that we are not "wasting" anything. This year is a rug for the house.

ETA - For the ground stuff we did add a little hamburger. Must not have added enough lol. I will add more as we cook.

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So What Happened?

Rayne Bo- To answer your question I will ask one. Would you rather me be one of those that wastes? Yes we have made blankets, attempted leather, or we give it to the people that do make things out of it. You know those $200 rugs... Yea I get mine by doing it myself. It gives me pride in saying "Cost? no honey I did that!"

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K.H.

answers from Detroit on

I don't have a recipe, but have you tried brining the roasts? I've had great results with poultry and pork brines. I did a quick google for venison brine and it looks like there are a lot of recipes.

2 moms found this helpful
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D.H.

answers from Louisville on

I know that at a past job, some of the guys got deer and brought in some steaks and grilled them and invited a few of us in the office to join them - and it was good! Asked what they put on it - and it was marinaded in McCormick's mesquite but only for about 15 minutes or so as they said it got to be too much if they let it go longer!

2 moms found this helpful

A.W.

answers from Kalamazoo on

did you add fat to it when grinding? we always add a bit of beef fat to it.
Spaghetti, lasagna, meatloaf/meatballs (do half ven and half sausage),
I like to do the roasts in the crockpot.
Loins can be cut and panfried or wrapped in bacon and baked or broiled.

2 moms found this helpful

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S.R.

answers from El Paso on

You can substitute the ground meat in anything that calls for hamburger (that's what my mom does). My mom has also done stir fry.

Here are a few recipes I found. There appear to be a lot more than I would have expected. Go to allrecipes.com & search "venison." Mmmmm.... venison..... :)

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/venison-chili/detail.aspx?ev...
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/texas-venison/detail.aspx?ev...
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/venison-jerky/detail.aspx?ev...
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grilled-venison-backstrap/de...

ETA: Rayne Bo Brite, my dad has a 20 lb striped bass (aka striper) that he had mounted as a trophy. If he ever got a buck with a fantastic rack, he'd get the head mounted as a trophy, too. It would be one thing if the animal is ONLY be hunted as a trophy, but I've (personally) never met a hunter who wasn't hunting whatever animal for food purposes. Just because we don't HAVE to hunt for our food anymore doesn't mean there isn't merit to it.

4 moms found this helpful
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S.B.

answers from Houston on

My daughter's boyfriend is a hunter. He got his deer this year as well as last year. 8 point last year. He was really excited. His family uses everything from the deer. He brought over deer sausage. YUMMY!!!!

Rayne Bo Brite - you feel that using the hide as a rug is a "trophy"? Wow! You might want to get out more often. There are a lot of people who use deer hides as rugs.

Good for you 2boysforme for using the whole deer and not wasting. I will see if I can get a couple of recipes for you and send them your way in a PM.

4 moms found this helpful

J.E.

answers from Minneapolis on

My ex was/is a big hunter as are both of my children (especially my son) so we have several deer in the freezer. Their dad makes jerky by grinding the meat and using the seasoning packets and then dehydrating - love it! He gave each kid a bag for Christmas and it goes really quickly.

You've got some good suggestions already, but here are a few of our favorites:
- marinate steaks in Italian dressing and grill/broil
- great in stew
- If its really dry, add in some ground pork and its really good in enchiladas
- really not good for you but melt a stick of butter in small cake pan and then add chic bouillion (sp?), Greek Seasoning, garlic powder and seasoning salt. Serve with rice and use some of the sauce over steak and rice
- cut into bite size pieces, wrap in bacon and broil for appetizers
- smoke a roast

I'm impressed you're making your own rug! My son just turns them into to Hides for Habit and gets a pair of gloves out of it.

3 moms found this helpful

M.B.

answers from Tampa on

I don't know any recipes but can you send me some deer?!

3 moms found this helpful

J.W.

answers from St. Louis on

Troy cooks the deer, if I did everything would be jerky. I know for jerky he gets the packets from stores like Cabalas.

I do add Bambi burger to my chili and that is the extent of my cooking deer.

He does the roasts into Italian or Mexican beef.

I wish I knew how he did the tenderloin because that was so perfect. Even my older daughter loved it until she was told it was venison, then she declared she was bamboozled, could she have more. :)

3 moms found this helpful

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

Venison chili is awesome.
Google it and you'll find lot's of variations.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/venison-chili/

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A.C.

answers from Madison on

We find that if the venison is a little dry to pan fry/simmer it in water; at the end, when the water has boiled off and the meat is a little fried, we add some sherry or other type of cooking sauce to give it flavor and some moisture.

We love grinding up loins and roasts and other parts like that and use it for tacos. Yummy! We add nothing else, just use plain venison.

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D.G.

answers from Dallas on

We use it just like we use hamburger. If we do hamburgers or meatloaf, I always mix it 50/50 with hamburger meat because it is too dry. The backstrap we tend to fry like chicken fry. Season it good with salt & pepper or season salt. I have used it for chili, stew, beef tips & gravy in the crock pot (this is one of my favorites !), etc. I haven't ever made jerky though. Hope your rug turns out great !

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A.C.

answers from Huntington on

We use our deer the same way we use beef. Here are some that we have liked particularly well:

Bacon wrapped deer tenderloin (basically you marinade the tenderloin in a mix of soy sauce and sugar for a few hours, then wrap the loin in bacon, dump some more of the sauce on top and bake it. Message me if you are interested and I will go through my cupboard and find the specific temps and measurements.

French dip sandwiches (this is such an easy recipe, done in crockpot)
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/03/french-dip-sandwiches/

Crockpot beef and broccoli - just subbed venison roast instead of beef, again, was super easy, we served over rice

Sloppy Joes, hamburgers, meatloaf, any hamburger variation (teriyaki burger, blue cheese burger, Italian burgers)

Sweet and sour meatballs or Italian meatballs

I would suggest this site http://www.ourbestbites.com/category/recipe-index/beef/. I have their cookbook and have found all the recipes to be very good and also easy. Just swap out the beef and add venison. We have a whole freezer full of venison and have tried just about all the recipes at that link with it rather than beef and they have all been great.

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M.R.

answers from Miami on

Ditto on the Venison chili idea. Weirdly one of my best memories of college was my history professor bringing in some homemade venison chili, still dreaming about it 10 years later!

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C.N.

answers from Baton Rouge on

I've never made venison jerky, although I love to eat it.

I made a simple marinade for a venison shoulder a few years back that was amazing, If I remember correctly, it was olive oil, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, garlic, Tony's, and Worcestershire.
I let it sit for several days in the marinade, then slow roasted it in the oven, and it fell off the bone.

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M.G.

answers from Kansas City on

I have to say that I love the headline for your question!!

My hubby does not hunt, but we have friends that do. They had a party a few years ago and I was just about to put a bite of summer sausage in my mouth when my friend comes running and screaming across the room "THAT IS DEER MEAT!!". I looked at her and said, "we are in your house, that's what I assumed, chill out!!!

I don't really like the steaks, but sausage is perfectly fine and ground would probably be OK too.

M

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S.B.

answers from Dallas on

Well, I am not a fan of venison most days, but I'll respond anyway. I have been on the hunt for a good recipe that I enjoy so my husband isn't "stuck" eating the deer by himself. I have used this recipe many times and I enjoy it. In the past I have made it all beef, all venison or half venison and half beef (depending on what we have on hand). And the whole family likes it. It seems to work even when the meat is a bit drier or gamier than one would like, There are A LOT of ingredients in this recipe, but it's easy to make. I cook the meat in a skillet and then throw it and all the other ingredients in the crock pot. I just cook it on low until we are ready to eat it. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chili-i-2/detail.aspx?event8...

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I.G.

answers from Seattle on

For ground meat you can add some stale white bread soaked in milk to help make it moister (and stretch it).
My mom always used to make roast with the deer we got from my grandpa. She soaked it in buttermilk (reduces the gaminess and helps break down the tissue) for something like 3 days and then slow roasted it in the oven and served it with a red wine sauce....

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A.F.

answers from Fargo on

Can you go to your local butcher and see if they have a packaged seasoning for jerky? We don't eat venison, so I've never tried this, but our local meat market sells a seasoning that they mix.

1 mom found this helpful

L.A.

answers from Austin on

Make a marinade of soy sauce, some fresh ginger, peanut oil and a bit of rice wine vinegar. Marinade for about an hour.. then throw on a grill.

Or Breakfast sausage.. so delish.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/bulk-venison-breakfast-sausage/

As a very rare treat we chicken fry it.
You tenderize it by using an old fashioned meat tenderizer mallet..

Then dip the meat in a milk and egg bath.. Shake in a bag of flour, garlic salt and black pepper.

Then dip into hot oil and cook about 8 min on one side and flip over until the crust is brown.. May be 8 to 10 minutes..

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V.G.

answers from Birmingham on

My favorite thing to make is deer meatloaf, in a muffin pan. Doesn't need to cook as long as it would in a loaf pan, and tastes awesome!!

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A.V.

answers from Washington DC on

Ground is always good for chili, IMO (buffalo also makes good chili).

Chopped is good for stew or kabobs. For Christmas, a friend had brought us some of the venison that he had just hunted and DH made really good kabobs with onions and peppers and mushrooms.

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K.C.

answers from Norfolk on

For the roasts, coat in olive oil and cover with Caribbean jerk seasoning (like McCormick's). Be sure to cook to rare, about 130 degrees and then let sit. The more well-done it is, the drier and tougher. I also have au jus on hand (just the packets) for dipping... helps mellow the gamey taste.

I also don't recommend using any kind of citrus marinade... just doesn't work with venison.

You could do a slow cooker recipe like for pulled pork. Just pull the venison.

Also, our friend makes a fantastic summer sausage! Perhaps your butcher can help you with this one. My kids LOVE it!

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J.K.

answers from Sacramento on

My brother in law hunts deer. If I remember correctly he adds some pork to the ground deer to add moisture.
Hope that helps!

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E.B.

answers from Duluth on

If you are asking how to make ground venison less dry the answer is ground pork. We generallyuse a ratio 30% pork, 70% venison & then you get a result that is about the consitancy of ground beef.

It is the leaness of the venison that makes it so dry. once you have the meat mixed you can use it just like ground beef.

Do you process the deer yourself? If so when you grind the venison next year just add some pork to it when you grind it so you dont have to mix it each time. Otherwise if you take it to a processor, many give you the option to mix in beef or pork when they grind it, you have to pay the extra cost for the other meat but it is done for you & is ready to use when you take it out of the freezer.

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P.G.

answers from Dallas on

I would guess stew would work, but google cause I don't have a recipe ;)

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

We always just use it where every we'd use ground meat, like Hamburger Helper. That way it has fluids added to it. Deer is usually dryer so we can always add a 1/2 cup more fluids to the mixture.

I think that it works better as ground meat. We have even made sausage with it at the meat store. We took some to them and they made the sausage in 3 lb rolls. It was really good but they did add fat to the ground meat.

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⊱.✿.

answers from Spokane on

deer recipes for burger? steaks? roasts? or all of the above?

When we grind ours up we add fat, otherwise it is too dry and won't hold together like it should.

I substitute deer burger in everything I make ~ lasagna, spaghetti, sloppy joes, etc.

For the back strap we coat in seasoned flower, then dip in egg then in bread crumbs/crackers/seasoning and fry in a little bit of olive oil. We also have wrapped the loin in bacon and bbq'd it.

If you're doing a roast I like to wrap it in bacon then slowly bake in the over like you would anything else. The bacon gives it great flavor and helps to keep it moist.

My 8 y/o is the only one in our home that got his deer this year :) My husband and I are eating tag soup!

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E.S.

answers from Asheville on

Oh, I am so jealous! I love venison sausage!!! My dad makes it, I don't. No meat grinder and getting divorced so...No meat. :( I don't hunt myself because I dont like getting up in the dark and cold, sitting in a tree stand for forever waiting and being to stiff and cold to get one as they come by. :/ Oh well, going to have to bum off of Dad!
I would get his recipe but I think he pays someone to do it. Around here we do deer chili or bbq in the crock pot. It is a staple at most teacher luncheons :) I love the chili, but prefer pork or chicken bbq. Roast with potatoes and carrots in the crock pot with dried onion soup mix sprinkled all over is awesome. Had a friend when I lived in SC that put his deer hams in a pit lined with hot stones and coals and sweet grass between heat and meat. Very involved but it was so good!

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A.N.

answers from Madison on

You could also try to add a half pound of pork sausage to a pound of ground venison, which gives it a bit more flavor as well as moisture.

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J.O.

answers from Boise on

My hubby hunts also, and I am not a fan of deer or duck, both of which sit in our freezer.

Everyone already gave some good suggestions, but a little trick I learned to cut out the gamey flavor is tomato's. It's about the only way you will see me eat it.

Beyond that as everyone has already said it can be used in any way that you would use beef.

To jerk it I like a really simple recipe that my mom taught me years and years ago, never have found anything that tastes as good. We just soak in soy sauce for a minimum of 4 hours, then we pull it out, sprinkle it with garlic and onion powder, some black pepper and if you really want a kick some red pepper flakes.

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L.R.

answers from Washington DC on

Don't have the recipe but the best venison I ever ate was done in a simple stew just like beef stew -- carrots, potatoes, etc. and venison rather than beef. Low, slow cooking and a good gravy would help with the dryness. I would think any decent beef stew recipe would do but alter it to account for the fact that venison as much less fat than beef -- don't overcook the venison. Enjoy!

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J.R.

answers from Davenport on

We don't add any fat to the plain ground venison we have, and yes, by itself, it cooks up pretty dry, like you don't have to drain off ANY fat usually, and that is good ! It Is much healthier then beef or pork for us. We do have pork fat added to the breakfast sausage, but it is still very much less than actual pork sausage from the store.

For the plain ground, we usually cook it in a way that has a "sauce" to it, and is simmered in the sauce for a long-ish time - marinara with meat sauce, sloppy joes, chili, my meatloaf (has a layer of brown sugar on the bottom of the pan, then a layer of ketchup on that, then the "loaf" is venison with eggs, milk, rolled oats, onion, ginger and milk). I use Allrecipes.com a lot - look for "Neat Sloppy Joes", "Brown Sugar Meatloaf", "Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce".

I don't do roasts much, but with steaks/chops we cube them and use them for stew. I put the meat in a Lowry's marinade - garlic steak flavor- overnight, and then drain it, shake it with flour and salt and pepper - brown it in a pan with olive oil, then throw it , a 15 oz. can of diced tomatos with juice, a 15 oz. can of beef broth, and a whole onion cut into wedges, in a dutch oven, covered in my oven at 350 for one hour, then add sliced potatos and carrots for the next hour, then add in a cup of frozen peas after taking it out of the oven at 2 hours, serve with sweet corn bread on the side......YUMMY!

Good for you for getting your meat cheaper and healthier than beef, and for using all of the animal! I believe animals shouldn't be hunted purely as trophies, but if you hunt for your food, and then use the rest of the animal, too, all the better! My husband and all his family are deer hunters, my family are avid fishermen, and we all eat our "catch" and if it is a really big one, we might have a taxidermist preserve part of it too!

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