Venison Wellington | Jamie Oliver venison recipes (2024)

FAQs

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

I like to cook venison on low heat because I am less likely to over cook it. Venison should only be cooked to about a medium doneness. Anything further will get really tough. I cook the venison on the top rack of my grill and turn it only once before it is done to perfection.

Heat a large heavy-based frying pan until very hot, and then sear the fillet on all sides until dark golden-brown on the outside (this will take about two minutes). Then reduce the heat to low and gently fry, turning regularly, for 6-8 minutes or until cooked to your liking.

Hot and Fast

If the meat in question is one of the tender cuts found on a deer's loin (T-Bone, Club, Rib-Eye, Sirloin, or porterhouse steaks) or upper rump (rump roast), your job couldn't be simpler: Cook venison at high heat– the quicker the better. “Cook it no more than medium rare,” Goff says.

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.

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.

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.

Slow and low is the secret. Anything past medium rare will automatically make them tougher to chew due to the lean nature of venison. One trick that many claim to help is to soak the meat in milk for 30 minutes before cooking. Personally I don't feel it helps much but others swear by it.

Particularly for medium-rare doneness, venison needs to achieve an internal temperature of 145°F before removing from the heat, whereas ground venison must be cooked at 160°F. Additionally, a casserole dish made from venison including leftover meats must be reheated to 165°F .

Once the internal temperature of venison is confirmed with a food thermometer and has reached the minimum internal temperature, it is safe to eat, regardless of the color of the meat, which may still have a pinkish color.

Can you overcook venison? ›

Mind your cooking time

Simply put, overcooking venison will result in a potentially rubbery piece of meat with a gamey flavor (via Southern Living). You may have already heard others describe venison and other hunted animals as "gamey" and wondered what it meant.

If those muscles are cut from the bone before the rigor mortis releases, they won't stretch back out, resulting in tight, or tough, cuts of meat. In hot weather, or a backcountry situation where starting the cooling process is critical, always err on the side of caution.

Don't overcook it.

The number one mistake people make when preparing venison is that they overcook it, rendering the meat rubbery and gamey. Tender cuts of venison should be served rare or medium rare unless you are braising it or mixing it with pork to add more fat.

Venison behaves in many ways like beef, albeit very lean. You can cook the tender, steaky cuts of venison to the same doneness levels as you would beef, namely 130–135°F (54–57°C) for medium rare and 135–145°F (57–63°C) for medium. Hitting those temperatures just right is important for maximum enjoyment.

Many cooks swear by a method of soaking the meat in saltwater overnight, then in milk to draw out the gamy flavor.